Child Friendly Farms: Facts & Fun Ideas
Expert advice and interesting facts
Interesting facts
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A whopping 4 ½ million hectares of UK land are used for growing crops.
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Do you have many options when it comes to visiting a farm? Yes! There are nearly 280,000 farms in the UK.
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Here’s a fact for the car loving families out there – did you know that the company responsible for the luxury sports car Lamborghini actually started life as a tractor manufacturer?!
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60% of all food eaten in the UK is grown on British farms.
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When you next pick up your eggs and bread from the supermarket or local shop, remember that our lovely farmers are farming the grain to make 9 million loaves of bread and their chickens are producing 20 million eggs - EVERY DAY!
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Next time you see sheep on a farm visit, don’t forget to smile! Sheep are able to recognise up to 20 human faces but they prefer a smiling face to a sad one.
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Just how many farm animals are there in the UK? Well… There are over 10 million cattle and calves, over 35 million sheep and lambs, five million pigs and 160 million chickens!!!
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And now for a funny one; scientists are debating if the methane emitted from cows, sheep etc. when they….ahem…pass….wind, are actually contributing to the build-up of green house gases!
How to pick a farm to visit with the kids
A few things to consider before choosing a farm to visit:
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Does the farm offer a season ticket at discounted rates or operate as a club?
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Will this be a one-off visit to occupy your child during a quiet half term break or will it be the beginning of a regular, family activity that will help to teach your child about farm life?
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Does the farm hold special events throughout the farming year that will further help to capture your child’s imagination, for example, lambing, harvest, Halloween, Christmas?
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Is there a café or restaurant on site or do you need to take own refreshments?
Learning from the activity
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Relaxing
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Calming
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Multi-sensory (which may benefit children with physical or learning difficulties)
A farm visit gives your child so much more than a fun time playing and learning about different types of animals. It can also help to meet national curriculum key stages 1, 2 and 3 targets, e.g.
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Speaking and listening with a guide/parent (stage 1)
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Reading details about the farm (stage 2)
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Writing about the experience (stage 3)
YouTube
The impact of bad weather on UK farming - Does this explain why so many farmers feel the need to diversify?
A visit to a farm - Almost like being there yourself - but less smelly! Look out for the very cute little goat.
BBC Radio Sussex - An interesting insight into a working open farm.(BBC Radio Sussex)
