NFU Assembly on Agricultural Life and Careers

From the moment that maize, hay, straw, silage and manure were unloaded in the school car park, it was clear that the National Farmers Union planned to deliver an interactive and hands-on assembly to Year 7! Farmers William White and Philip Veltom told Year 7 pupils about their farming careers. They then gave pupils the opportunity to smell hay, straw and silage - and even wrapped one student up in crop insulating plastic! Our visitors then engaged in some 'debunking' of common farming myths including the carbon footprint of UK agriculture. Towards the end of the assembly, pupils learned about the myriad of career options in the food and farming industries, including pest control, journalism, accountancy, robotics, mech design, seed breeder, soil scientist and veterinary. With a projected nine billion people to feed safely and nutritionally by 2050, and with the Uk already exporting food to 220 countries, there are likely to be plenty of jobs available in food and farming in the future. Overall, this was a fun-filled assembly that furthered pupils' awareness of UK agriculture.

Ms Laura Burden, Lead for Aspiration and Enterprise