This week’s class focused on learning about the theme of interdependence and instead of the normal class timetable including a lecture and workshop, we got to visit and compare two different farms. I found the two dairy farms to be very different in they way in which they work even though the end product is the same. The two farms we visited were Strandhead and Mossgiel.
Strandhead dairy farm relied a lot more on technology than Mossgiel farm, it was seen as a modern, ‘state of the art’ dairy farm . In this farm, they used machines to milk the cows, gather the food and deliver the food them. I found this really interesting and eye-opening as I never though that technology could be used in so many ways throughout a dairy farm. I think i always had the typical thought that the farmers did it all by hand but with the progression of technology showed me otherwise. The farmer informed us that the cows don’t actually go outside and are kept inside all year round. I found this fact shocking at first as normally you tend to see cows outdoors, however the farmer explained to us that their farmland is extremely impacted on by the harsh weather conditions and therefore it is healthier and better that the cows are kept inside. He also explained to us that the cows are not forced to milk at points of the day, instead they are able to go to the milking area whenever they wanted to. The cows would go one at a time and whilst the cows were being milked, they were also screened to see if they were lacking in any nutrients and if so they would then be incorporated into their food/diet. When walking around the farm and listening to the farmers, it was clear to see that animal welfare was at the heart of what this dairy farm does.
Mossgiel farm was a more natural, organic, family-run farm. This particular farm supports local producers and the local produce is said to be a ‘rare find’ (Mossgiel Farm, 2017). This dairy farm, for me, was what i envisioned a ‘typical’ farm to look like. This farm was different from the other farm in various ways. One way in particular was that instead of electronics controlling the milking process it was done manually by the farmer and therefore mean that more than one cow could me milked at the same time. Also, the cows are actually kept outside for the majority of the year in this farm and only really come indoors in the terrible winter months. Mossgiel farm strives to produce natural and ethical food and in my opinion it looks like they are doing that extremely well as well as ensuring that the animals are well cared for.
After visiting both farms and reflecting on the days events, I did notice that both farms did have something in common. This was that the cows were kept separate from the calves. The calves were kept in different pens from their mother. Both farms explained that the reason for this, is that it can give the calves the best start in life. I found this particularly interesting, as i always thought the calves would be kept with their mothers almost like a baby is kept with their mother after birth.
Today’s class was very informative and interesting, it showed me that there are numerous ways of creating milk and that every farm can do this differently. It also opened my eyes to how I could teach a lesson like this in the classroom and that a trip to a farm could be extremely useful for children to develop their knowledge, understanding and skills of how dairy products come from a cow but end up in shelves in supermarkets.
References:
De Boer Housing Systems, (2017). Robert Veitch, Strandhead Farm Open Day. [Available: http://www.deboerhousing.com/blog/30-robert-veitch-strandhead-farm-open-day] [Accessed: 15th October 2017]
Mossgiel Farm, (2017). Mossgiel Farm. [Available: http://mossgielfarm.co.uk/] [Accessed: 15th October 2017]
