A group of primary school children visited a north-east dairy farm to learn how milk is produced as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week.
Rural education charity the Royal Northern Countryside Initiative (RNCI), treated pupils from Cairney Primary School, near Huntly, to breakfast at the school as well as a visit to Kinnermit Farm, near Turriff.
The event was part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week which is organised by AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds on behalf of cereal farmers. It aims to encourage more people to eat breakfast.
RNCI’s Rachel Heydon and Alyson Hunter gave pupils the chance to sample beef, pork and venison sausages, black pudding, bacon, kippers and salmon. Pupils were also given vegetarian alternatives as well as a variety of fruits, yoghurts, porridge, muffins, bread, oatcakes, eggs, milk and juices.
Rachel Heydon, RNCI’s project manager, said: “The aim of the event was to emphasise the importance of eating a healthy breakfast as well as demonstrating the wealth of wonderful breakfast produce available around the country. By giving the pupils an understanding of the work that goes into producing the ingredients on the farm and getting them to think about where their breakfast foods come from, we hope to encourage them to support local farmers by choosing British produce where possible.”
A couple of days after the breakfast tasting session, the pupils were taken to Kinnermit Farm where RNCI vice-chairwoman Lucy Mair farms. Ms Heydon said: “Lucy took them on a tour of the farm where they got to see the dairy herd to gain an understanding of how milk is produced, as well as learning about the work that goes into looking after the animals and running a farm as a business. Pupils were also lucky enough to witness the birth of two Suffolk lambs.”
Cairney School headteacher, Dr Kim Aplin, said: “The breakfast and the farm visit were fantastic experiences for everyone – the opportunity to be so hands-on at the farm was brilliant. I can’t thank RNCI enough for the wonderful experience.”
RNCI was formed in 1997 with the aim of providing support to schools and teachers with projects on food and farming. It operates across Moray, Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire.
In the last academic year the charity organised 71 farm visits and 157 classroom speaker talks.