The annual trip to Home Farm in Croston took place on Wednesday 10 April for Year 9 Food Preparation and Nutrition students. We walked down to the farm which is next to Croston Corn Mill and spent the day learning about intensive dairy farming. The farm has approximately 130 dairy cows and students observed how these are looked after and were able to watch the automated milking machine and 'Bob' the robotic feeder. Students learned about what happens to the milk after the milking process and took part in discussions about the current challenges facing dairy farmers.
We made butter, which was delicious, and had a go at 'milking' a cow. In the afternoon we went out into the fields and woods and saw how the farm grows its own grass for silage, saw their bee hives and learned about how the farmer looks after the countryside. Despite the wet weather both staff and students learned a lot about how our food gets from 'farm to fork' and had a great time!