Year 4 Farm Visit

News

15th October 2019

This morning, our Year 4 pupils enjoyed a visit to Keyworth House Farm, Benwick, courtesy of Lord De Ramsey and Lavenham Fen Farms Limited.
 
We were welcomed by Mr and Mrs Dring and Rupert before being shown around the farm and learning about the different crops that are grown in our local area such as potatoes, barley, wheat, peas and beans.  We found out about the bean weevil and how it can damage the crop.  We also saw a tractor arrive with a full load of harvested potatoes.  We climbed aboard the potato grader and watched as potatoes were sorted into those that can go to the shops for us to consume and those that can be used as animal feed.  We spent time experiencing the chilly temperature of the potato store and the dark conditions required for potatoes to be kept at their best.
 
The grain store was full of grain which was being kept ready to go to the drier before being sold for feed or to be made into flour.  We spent time in the barn grinding the grain into flour using a small pestle and mortar.  Using the potato sizer, we were able to sort a selection of potatoes.  We also found out about other local crops such as sugar beet, pumpkins and sweetcorn.
 
Thank you very much to Lord De Ramsey and Lavenham Fen Farms Limited for inviting us on this very enjoyable and interesting visit and for kindly funding the cost of the transport.
 
"It was an amazing visit - we saw tractors and combine harvesters.  My favourite part was climbing onto the combine harvester and beeping the horn!"
 
"We learnt how potatoes are grown.  Before the visit, I thought there was only one sort of potato but there are lots of different varieties.  We saw how they are sorted into those we can eat and those that are used for animal feed."
 
"We found out about lots of different crops. I know that flour is made from wheat and that flour is used in lots of different foods."