Village Farm is pleased to bring this exciting intiative to schools and farms across the UK and now around the world.
FarmerTime
Farmer Time is all about harnessing the power of digital communications to inspire, engage and educate young people about not only the journey from farm to fork but also the everchanging, diverse agricultural industry. Children regularly chat live to their matched farmer from their classrooms through FaceTime or Skype, discuss ideas, ask questions, share knowledge and gain a ‘real-time’ understanding of the issues farmers face every day.
How it all began….
Back in 2016 we offered the opportunity for one teacher to link their class up with our farm and to make video calls from the farm to the classroom every couple of weeks to show what it takes to produce healthy food and look after the countryside, and at the same time bringing to life the school curriculum with real examples and live interactions.
Today.
Just a five years later we are sponsored by Sainsbury’s, Strutt & Parker, and G’s Fresh, and have been joined by well over 500 other farmers linking into the classrooms of over 15,000 schoolchildren across the UK every couple of weeks, and we have projects running in Ireland, Sweden, Finland, and Australia, with more countries joining in all the time.
Get Involved.
Typically the farmer and teacher will communicate ahead of each call, sharing what the children have been learning at school and what is happening on the farm. When the time comes to make the video call, the farmer will be somewhere on the farm that links in to the curriculum and the children ask questions; there have been some fantastic conversations and our surveys show that students, teachers, and farmers alike have been having lots of fun talking about food, farming, weather, animals, nature, climate, genetics, biology, soils, and much more including the many career opportunities in food production.
If you want to find out more, or would like to sign up and join us (it’s 100% free thanks to our sponsors), click here.
Tom & Lisa Martin
Nominees for British Farming Awards: 2019
Articles & News
Farming UK
"Farmer Time initiative matches 524 farms with schools"
"An initiative which links schoolchildren with farmers via FaceTime or Skype matched 524 farms and schools last academic year, figures show. This is almost a doubling in number from the previous academic year, according to LEAF Education, the charity which spearheads 'Farmer Time'…."
Strutt and Parker
"Farmers support lockdown learning with Farmer Time videos for schools"
"Farmers are making videos of their daily activities to engage schoolchildren and educate them about the journey of food from farm to fork during the COVID-19 lockdown.
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Strutt & Parker is a proud sponsor of the Farmer Time initiative, founded by farmer Tom Martin and co-ordinated by LEAF Education, which harnesses digital technology to allow farmers to educate young people about the modern farming industry…"
Yorkshire Agriculture Society
"Schools urged to get their share of Farmer Time"
"Facetime a Farmer has a new name: Farmer Time.
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The pioneering initiative sees pupils connected with farmers across the country via live on-farm broadcasts to give new generations invaluable insights into agriculture without leaving the classroom…."
FINALISTS FOR DIGITAL INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR for Farmer Time program.
"...FarmerTime means farmers from across the globe can Facetime in to a classroom and teach school children about their industry.
The next step for the project is to look at how to expand the appeal internationally, with significant interest already coming in from the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for example…."
'Farmer Time' is Sponsored By
