We have students with hidden talents or unusual interests outside of school – it’s always great to hear about them. George, Year 7, is a young farmer. He exhibited some of his cows at the Royal Norfolk Show recently. We are proud to hear that he came away with prizes too. He came 2nd in beef young handlers category and 1st in the diary young handlers category. His dairy calf was also awarded 1st place – well done!
George has taken the time to tell us a bit about his farming background. ‘My name is George. My family and I are first generation livestock farmers. On the farm, we have Beef Shorthorn cattle and Southdown sheep. We chose these breeds because they both originate from the UK. We run them as pedigrees and commercially (for meat). Altogether we have 40 cattle, 60 sheep and one donkey. We see pedigrees for breeding and the ones that don’t have the characteristics for breeding go into meat boxes which we sell direct to customers. We also set up a catering stand, where we sell lamb and beef burgers.’
‘During the pandemic, farming never stopped – feeding the animals, checking on them and attending to them. For us, the pandemic didn’t change anything, although the roads were a lot quieter! The only thing that I thought was good about the pandemic was that I could spend more time with the animals. Every day I learn something new! My whole family enjoy every aspect of farming, the ups and the downs. My best/favourite time of the year is March because it is lambing and calving season. Farming is always very busy and long hours and it is not a 9 til 5 job. It is all worth it in the end though!’
