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Farm Alarm

Introduction

Farms are really important places. The food that you eat every day is grown on farms. In the Farm Alarm activity, you'll find out what happens on a farm. You'll think about all the jobs that farmers need to do to make sure that their farm runs smoothly.

Types of farming

Some farmers concentrate on breeding animals; other farmers grow crops.

  • Dairy farming: On some farms, you'll find cows. Milk comes from cows and butter, cream and yoghurt all come from milk. Cows are also bred for their meat, which is called beef.
  • Sheep farming: On other farms, you'll find sheep. Sheep are bred for their wool, which is used to make jumpers, socks, scarves and other warm clothes. Sheep are also bred for their meat, which is called lamb or mutton.
  • Chicken farming: Some farmers keep chickens. Chickens lay about five eggs a week. Chicken is also the most popular meat in the UK.
  • Arable farming: On some farms, you'll find wheat, barley and oats. These help to make some of our most common foods, such as bread, breakfast cereal, pasta and pizza. The straw can be used as bedding for animals and as thatch in rooves!
  • Fruit and vegetables: Some farmers grow fruit and vegetables. On UK farms, you'll find vegetables such as cabbages, potatoes, carrots and spinach, and fruit such as apples, pears, strawberries and raspberries. Other fruit and vegetables need a warmer climate and have to be grown abroad. For example, bananas, melons and pomegranates can only be grown in hot countries.

Farm Alarm

Why not imagine that you work on a farm? Let's pretend that your farm has a herd of fifty cows and also grows carrots, cabbages and onions. What jobs do you think you would be doing? We've listed a few examples below.

Cleaning out the cowshed

You have to clean out the cowshed and make sure that the cows are kept clean. But you mustn't throw away those cowpats! They can be used to be make manure. Manure is then spread on crops to help them grow.

Milking the cows

The cows need to be milked every morning. Most farms will use an automatic milking machine but you can also do it by hand! Most modern dairy farms milk between 300 and 400 cows an hour.

Ploughing the fields

You have to get your fields ready for planting. Ploughing is when you turn over the top layer of the soil. This gets rid of weeds and also makes it easier to plant your seeds in springtime.

Planting the seeds

You'll plant most of your crops in the spring (March and April). They'll then need lots of water and sunshine to keep them healthy. Remember to check for weeds too!

Muck spreading

This is where you spread the manure on to your vegetables to help them grow taller and stronger. A machine called a manure or muck spreader can help you with this. You attach it to the back of a tractor and pull it through the fields.

Harvesting your crops

At harvest time in autumn, you'll gather in all of your crops from the fields. Then it will be time to deliver your vegetables to the shops so people can buy them!

Role Play

So you can see that there is a lot to do on a farm. Can you think of any other jobs that a farmer needs to do? Why not take turns acting out these jobs with your friends? The others could guess which job you are pretending to do. Some more example tasks might be:

  • shearing your sheep
  • spraying your crops with pesticide
  • storing your crops in barns
  • building and repairing pens and sheds for your animals
  • contacting the vet when your animals are ill

Remember that, you have to do all the jobs on your farm in the right order. For example, you cannot plant any seeds before you have ploughed the soil. You also have to do particular jobs at particular times of the year. For example, most crops are harvested in the autumn.

Key Questions

Finally, think about the following questions:

  • If you kept cows on your farms, which jobs would you have to do?
  • If you grew vegetables on your farm, which jobs would you have to do?
  • Why are farms so important?
  • Would you like to work on a farm? Why?/Why not?

Where would you like to go next?