Farmer Time Impact Report 2022

Farmer Time Impact Report

Farmer Time continues to engage and inspire young people, offering time to talk with a farmer throughout the whole school year from the comfort of the classroom. Through fortnightly video calls, children from all walks of life can meet a farmer, understand the farm to fork story, the farming operations involved, and the diverse jobs in agriculture. It really does bring farming, food and the natural environment to life!

Now in its sixth year, Farmer Time has enabled almost 1000 classes to meet a farmer, covering just about every aspect of the curriculum. Children from Early Years through to Further Education are involved, speaking to farmers across all sectors with hugely positive feedback.

I couldn’t recommend the scheme highly enough for schools in deprived city areas. Sally, our Farmer Time link, has been invaluable and has gone above and beyond in helping us along our science journey.”

Mr Frank,

Primary School Teacher

Farmer Time farmer

Farmer Time provides an insight, however small, for children to see agriculture in practice. It’s amazing, and triggers lots of questions about their food and environment. Hopefully they will look towards agriculture for answers to tricky questions on climate change and ask our sector for advice and help support it.”

International Impact

Ireland

Farmer Time Ireland have enjoyed a fantastic first full academic year from September to June, connecting 53 individual teachers and farmers, creating an opportunity for pupils to gain a real-life understanding of farming and the food supply chain. Since September 2021, Ireland have paired up 53 classes with farmers, reaching 1,272 children, which equals 353 learning hours.

Finland

Farmer Time Finland has continued to go from strength to strength, with classes decreasing in size, but the number of calls increasing. 15 active pairings are now taking place in Finland, with some additional educational work having developed as a result of Farmer Time.

Sweden

Farmer Time Sweden is continuing into it’s fourth successful year, with increasing impact throughout the whole country.

Farmer Time Australia has been a very successful program engaging over 4,800 students, over 100 schools, 280 teachers through 106 sessions since the start of 2021. They continue to expand the program, offering pre-recorded Farmer Time sessions and a range of resources to compliment and support teachers in the classroom.

New Zealand

It’s year one for Farmer Time New Zealand, with Beef + Lamb New Zealand conducting a 10-week pilot across Term 1. The 8 pilot pairings provided positive evaluation feedback and reached 184 urban students, resulting in 94 learning hours.

Farmer Time continued to roll out across Terms 2 and 3 with the support of the Ministry of Primary Industries and a newly appointed National Coordinator. To date there are 18 successful pairings, and due to some inspiring farmer media interviews, there are 30 farmers waiting to be matched with a classroom.