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De-Graft explores food and agriculture in the UK - including a visit to an urban farm.

Video summary

This film explores farming and agriculture in the UK - one of the UK鈥檚 major industries.

De-Graft is in Manchester, finding out about beekeeping at an urban farm. There are different types of farming 鈥 arable, pastoral, and mixed farming - and different areas are better suited for certain types of farming depending on factors such as weather, topography and soil type.

In countries other than the UK farming can look quite different - such as coffee plantations in Central America, or rice fields in China.

De-Graft is joined by two local children to plant vegetables at an urban rooftop farm and to consider that farming doesn't always have to be on a large scale or rural.

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Teacher Notes

Questions to consider:

  • What is farming?
  • What are the three different types of farming? How are these different types distributed across the UK?
  • Why is farming important?
  • What are some of the challenges involved with farming?
  • How might the weather affect farming?
  • What different types of farming can you think of around the world?
  • What are pesticides and fertilisers? How do you feel about them being used on our food?
  • How do you think farming is affected by climate change?
  • Where do you think your food comes from? How can you find out?
  • How is food production changing?
  • Who is involved in production of our food?
  • Is your local area known for a particular food?

Suggested activities to further explore learning:

1. 鈥楬otseat鈥 a farmer

Pupils could interview a real-life farmer either in person or via a video call. Children could plan what questions they want to ask and what areas of farming they鈥檇 like to find out about. Maybe they鈥檇 even be able to get a bit of a virtual tour of a farm if doing the interview via video call.

You could watch this short film about a man called David who moved to Britain and became a farmer, growing crops he once enjoyed in his home country of Zimbabwe. Or you could watch this short film, which profiles a young farmer called Aimee from the Shetland Islands in Scotland.

Pupils could then use all the things they鈥檝e found out about the farmer to write a diary entry from their perspective, describing some of the things encountered in a normal day farming. Encourage pupils to think about how the farmer feels, what is difficult and what is enjoyable about their job.

2. Start a mini farm

As a class, plan and create a mini farm in your school grounds. Things to think about could include:

  • Where would you create this plot or plant your crops to ensure a good harvest?
  • Do a recce of the different possible areas to plant in - what is the soil like? Is the land even or bumpy? Does it get a lot of sunlight or is it sheltered?
  • What kind of vegetables or fruits do you want to grow? Maybe you could create a vegetable plot or raised bed to grow root vegetables and herbs to be used in the school canteen if you have one?
  • What kind of materials or resources will you need? Could you use recycled bottles for example to grow seeds in?
  • What different roles will there be for people to do to keep the farm healthy and growing?

Key terminology:

Arable farming 鈥 a type of farming that produces crops, such as wheat.

Agriculture 鈥 another word for farming. Usually used to refer to the whole process of farming, from growing, to harvesting, to selling/distributing produce.

Fair trade 鈥 a system which aims to ensure that the growers of goods receive a fair share of the profits.

Fertiliser 鈥 a substance put on plants to give them nutrients to help them grow. Fertiliser can be man-made or organic.

Intensive farming 鈥 a type of farming that tries to maximise produce, often by using fertilisers and pesticides.

Livestock 鈥 animals raised in an agricultural or farm setting.

Mixed farming 鈥 a type of farming that produces crops and rears animals.

Organic farming 鈥 growing produce without using man-made chemicals that could harm wildlife or the environment.

Pastoral farming 鈥 a type of farming which involves rearing animals.

Pesticides 鈥 substances that are sprayed onto crops to kill insects and weeds that can reduce plant growth.

Urban farming 鈥 growing produce in a city environment, different to a rural (countryside) environment.

Topography 鈥 the physical features of an area of land, such as whether there are rivers, mountains, or lakes.

Suitable for teaching geography at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 2nd level in Scotland.

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