Farmer Focus: Danish student’s visit proves to be an education
© Tim Scrivener Back in 2022 I was given the opportunity by the Welsh government’s Farming Connect initiative to produce a 15-minute video about outdoor pig keeping. It’s one of a series titled “Zoom around the world”.
The initial excitement of a potential new career as a globetrotting agricultural reporter was snuffed out by the reality that I wasn’t zooming anywhere.
I would in fact be presenting my episode from the Norfolk fields where I spend every working day.
See also: Video: Norfolk pig farmers showcase creep-feeder inventions
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The planning, shooting and editing was a lengthy affair, but the final product was surprisingly successful at getting across many of the messages I think are important about what we do and the progress we have made as an industry in recent years.
The film is available to watch online, and I’m told it is highly visible in an “outdoor pigs” Google search. Failing that, include “Zoom around the world” in the search and it’s sure to appear.
I’ve heard several reports of it being used to give ag students and overseas visitors a background understanding.
Emil, an agri-business student from Denmark and the son of an organic pig keeper, took things a step further. He made direct contact with me and asked if he could come and spend a week with us on farm.
Once we had drilled down a few details and made sure we were being biosecure, a visit was arranged.
Having him on farm was a delight and the whole team benefited from sharing in the experience. Knowledge transfer is a bit of a buzz phrase these days, but we managed it in bucketloads that week.
The experience wasn’t just confined to daytime activities either, it was an after work team activity as well.
Regulations in Denmark and the UK are quite different. Learning what the Danish outdoor producers must achieve gave an insight into how things might turn out here.
Compulsory green cover, lighter stocking rates and some interesting regulations on shade provision all rang true with me and my approach to progress.
A reciprocal visit to Denmark is now much anticipated and I have a feeling some of my younger team members will be jumping the queue ahead of me. Which is fine, providing they come back home!