Students buy a cow to experience the reality of farming

RGS’s sixth form Agriculture Society has bought its own dairy cow, which is currently grazing on the school’s 23-acre site.

The students, who have ambitions to become vets, agricultural engineers and land agents, say they want to get out of the classroom to experience the hands-on reality of farming in Britain today.

And they hope that launching a ‘Name our cow’ competition in school will bring in enough money to help them expand.

Co-chair Nathan Callaghan said the students, who have enjoyed a wide range of workshops and study sessions on the future of agriculture, said they felt it was time to get ‘stuck in’.

Following months of fundraising, the enterprising students struck a deal with sympathetic Dales farmer, Alf O'Loirp, who sold them a dairy cow for a cut-price £500 and also lent them some electric fencing.

In addition to grazing, students are feeding the cow dry feed of corn and oats and say it also enjoys fruit as a snack.

They hope the revenue they gain from selling the 30 or so litres of milk of day the cow is producing will help offset the feed costs and, eventually, go towards buying a few more cows.

“Some of our students were brought up in a town, so it’s great for them to experience something like this, while those of us from a rural background can feed in the knowledge we have,” said Nathan.

Co-chair Tom Hirst added: “In our society meetings, we are learning more about everything from the impact of climate change on agriculture to the role technology plays. But agriculture is best done when you get your hands dirty in a field."

To learn more about the project, or enter the ‘Name our cow’ competition, click here