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It is extremely rewarding hosting visits and being able to spread the story of dairy farming in a positive way


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longside running the Scottish Rural College (SRUC) Dairy Research and Innovation Centre at the Crichton Royal Farm, research farm manager Hugh McClymont also helps promote positive messages in the local community through talks and visits.


As a director of the Dumfries and Galloway Countryside Initiative for the Royal Highland Educational Trust (RHET), Hugh has welcomed many school visits over the past eight years. And, as the popularity and demand for school visits has grown, Hugh now concentrates on children eight years and older, infant pupils are taken to a growing network of other farms across the region.


The Curriculum for Excellence in Scottish schools has focussed more on food and farming and driven demand for on-farm visits. Hugh has accommodated visits as much as possible and now prefers to focus on the upper primary school and secondary school visits. “Although the farm is run by the SRUC it is still run commercially and there is a cost to hosting visits when you take in to account time involved. The older children are able to take away more


information from Crichton farm visits and I like to be able to highlight other career opportunities that are available in the industry.”


PUPILS VISIT


ANNUALLY


Each year there can be about 350 pupils visiting The Crichton Royal Farm with Fiona Jamieson, project coordinator for RHET Dumfries and Galloway Countryside Initiative, overseeing the risk assessments with the teachers.


Fiona spends time with the teacher planning and walking the route, focussing on making sure the route is as clean and as risk free as possible. In order to make the most of school visits RHET tries to arrange a class talk in school ahead of any on farm visits. “This allows the farmer to get to know the level of knowledge of each class. The children then get to know the


ABOVE LEFT It is important to disinfect wellies before and after the visit to minimise any spread of disease.


ABOVE RIGHT The


popularity and demand for school visits has grown.


OPPOSITE LEFT The Crichton Farm was fortunate to get funding from a local trust to buy a mobile classroom which is a safe and effective way to handle farm tours.


LEFT Emma Boyes, Hugh McClymont and Fiona Jamieson are the team at Crichton that work together to host RHET visits from schools.


THE JOURNAL AUGUST 2015 23


PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOOANDBAA.COM


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