Hundreds of people ‘discovered the world of farming’ at Bishop Burton College this bank holiday weekend.
The agricultural College hosted its first Open Farm Sunday event, with nearly 900 people turning out to find out more about life on a working farm and how it benefits the environment.
The free event, held in conjunction with LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming), featured a range of farming-related activities. These included tractor and trailer rides around the 360 hectare farm, farm animal care and machinery displays, sheep shearing, soil sieving, milking and cookery demonstrations. There were also numerous activities for children, including making grass head animals and scarecrows and face painting.
Visitors were able to find out more about how students at the College, in Bishop Burton, near Beverley, benefit from getting real, practical work experience on the farm as part of their studies.
Open Farm Sunday was run alongside the prestigious British Eventing Horse Trials at the College on the same day, which will saw around 700 riders compete in a range of disciplines. The event is the highlight in the equestrian calendar in the region.
College Chief Executive and Principal, Jeanette Dawson OBE, said; “I am delighted we were able to open up our farm for the wider public to explore and discover more about the world of farming.
“It was wonderful to see so many people attend our first Open Farm Sunday and find out more about the work that goes on at our farm, which we are very proud of.
“This vital asset allows us to teach practical farming techniques to our students and enables us to drive innovation in the sector by working with industry leaders.”
Bishop Burton College’s farm is split between grassland and cereal production. It is a real, commercial farm on which agriculture students build up their expertise.
The College farm is in the process of becoming LEAF accredited, to add to its RSPCA Freedom Food Assured accreditation and Centre of Vocational Excellence in Agriculture status.
Students at the College ran a number of the activities and explained how various elements of the farm work throughout Open Farm Sunday. There were demonstrations and talks from members of the wider farming community as well, including leading crop specialists Agrii – an official partner of the College.
The College also opened up its Animal Management Unit, which is home to more than 100 species, and gave people the chance to ‘hug a bug’.
Money raised from the event will be donated to R.A.B.I (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution), which supports members of the farming community in need and is one of the College’s designated charities.
This year marks LEAF’s 25th anniversary. Open Farm Sunday nationally aims to engage people with farming and food. People are given the chance to discover how their food is produced and the important work farmers do.
