New recruits wanted for Farmer Time initiative

The team behind Farmer Time are calling on farmers across the country to sign up now for the initiative that links farms to schools via digital channels.

The campaign has matched more than 600 schools and farms since its launch in 2017, and now has an additional 200 schools ready and waiting to be matched.

The annual Farmer Time Impact Report for 2020 revealed that 100% of the farmers taking part enjoyed the experience, 96% planned to continue doing it, and 71% had spoken to children about careers in agriculture.

See also: Farmer Time school initiative expands during pandemic

Carl Edwards, director of education and public engagement at Linking Environment and Farming (Leaf) Education, said: “Engaging with schoolchildren has never been more important after this challenging year, and we are particularly delighted to have so many schools signed up.

“We’ve already seen the incredible impact Farmer Time is having on educating, inspiring and engaging children with farming, how their food is grown and where it comes from.

“Not only do each and every one of our participating farmers enjoy this initiative, it is immensely rewarding in the impact it has on schoolchildren, and it has been specifically designed to take up as little time as possible from busy farm life.

“We encourage farmers across the country to sign up and help children to broaden their horizons after such a constrained time during the pandemic.”

The initiative enables pupils to regularly chat live with their matched farmer from their classrooms through a video call platform, such as FaceTime or Zoom. 

If you would like to take part in this free initiative, visit farmertime.org to register your interest.