Interdependence Blog

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Interdependence 

Interdependence is the idea of two or more living things depending on each other to grow and staying healthy(Cambridge Dictonary, 2019). There are three components of Interdependence: Economic Interdependence including global market and trading and World Bank, Social Interdependence including Media and Advertising, Environmental Interdependence including Weather and Global repercussions and responsibility(Pahelke, 2009). Today we visited two farms. The first farm we visited was called West Mossgiel Farm which was small and organic. The second was called Strandhead Farm which was a large and technologically advanced farm. Both farms had various different facts which made the visit so interesting as really understood the difference between these two dairy farms. Before going to these farms today, I believed every dairy farm was the same and produce the same milk the same way.

Strandhead Farm was an organic farm which I found really interesting. I found out much about the number of cows at this farm, facts about these certain cows, how the best milk is made from the cows and much more. I found out that the more volume of cows on the farm the more volume of milk that is provided. I found out that to have so many cows and so much milk, the cows need to be fed really well and be in a comfortable and safe place on the farm. The most interesting fact I found out which before I had no knowledge of, was that cows need to not be stressed to be able to make enough milk which then leads to better quality of milk overall. I was told that for 4/5 months of the year cows eat grass outside however in the other months there would not be enough grass which then meant the cows had to be stayed inside all the time to allow the grass to grow and be available all the time highlighting sustainability.

West Mossgiel Farm is another dairy farm which produces organic milk. This farm was very different in my opinion. When we got to the farm we had to clean our feet and at the end of our visit. There are people who educate others called RET. They do risk assessments for every visit on behalf of the teachers and they also work with SEN kids adapt for their needs for example fidget spinners etc. I found it really interesting that this farm was set up by Robert Burns 250 years ago. The farm started off with 28 cows and grew to 150, however, after a dairy collapse they had to sell some cows to get money for the bank. They ended up with only 30 cows. Due to having such little money and little number of cows they ended up buying a yoghurt maker to try make more money. I found out that only 10% of the land is grass and the rest of the land is used for cereal products for high energy. I did not understand why they needed so much land for cereal products however then we found out that without cereals in diet at this farm, they would lose roughly 50% of milk which would be very negative for the farms income. I was told that not many farms do this which is why the farm is very unique. This is because years and years ago, cows with horns left would hit farms when they would be cooped up. The most interesting fact I was surprised about at Mossgiel Farm was that dairy cows and calves are not separated at birth from their mothers for 4/5 month as their mothers food prepares them well at the beginning.

After the visit, we were able to reflect on what we found out about the two farms and analyse them both using our critical thinking skills. We also spoke to our peers where we reflected on the assumptions we had about the farms before visiting and how using the information found out today and our thinking skills we can see how sustainability is so important on these farms in particula. This highlighted the alternative ways of thinking. (Brookfield, 1987).

Overall, Ayrshire cattle make high quality milk but however do not make the same amount as other cows. This allowed me to understand why we visited these two farms. I was able to see the importance of dairy farms for sustainability today. It is clearly seen that cow welfare affects sustainable dairy farming. I believe taking the pupils to a farm when teaching this topic is a fantastic idea as not only do they get to see the various factors of interdependence from their own perspective but also gets pupils outside the school environment for a while. This reinforces the outdoor learning and after this visit this reinforced how important outdoor learning really is both physically and mentally: developing confidence, self-esteem and developing collaborative- working. 

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