East Brackenridge Farm Trip

As part of their Farming topic, S3 Geography pupils attended a field trip to East Brackenridge Dairy Farm for a hands-on learning experience outside the classroom.

In partnership with the Royal Highland Education Trust, pupils had the opportunity to see how a modern dairy farm operates and to speak with farmer, Andrew Neilson.

Pupils thoroughly enjoyed the insight into a working farm — as well as witnessing a newborn calf take its first steps. S3’s Anya and Amy shared their experience:

“Our day began by taking a coach to East Brackenridge Farm in Strathaven. On arrival, we changed into and disinfected our wellies. Afterwards, we headed into the barn with older calves and pregnant cows in their ‘holiday period.’

Once we had been introduced to Andrew Neilson, a fourth-generation farmer, and his partner, Meghan, he told us some key facts about his 350-acre farm, then we were quickly hurried out of the barn to give peace to a cow in labour.

Andrew’s herd is comprised of a total of 350 Holstein Friesian cows. On our way to the food storage barn, we walked past the massive container that held the fresh milk, ready to be collected later that day. Each day, Brackenridge Farm produces 12,000 litres of milk.

In the food storage barn, we learned all about the cows’ diet. This consists of a mix of corn, hay, soya, silage, sugar wheat, and vitamins; most of which, we learned, are by-products of our food production.

Visiting the silage pit, which is a storage and fermentation area, we learned that silage is cut grass from the previous season which is then stored under pressure to prevent bacteria. The grass decomposes and is full of nutrients for the cows.

During the visit, we went to the milking barn and were taught about the different forms of identification that each cow has. Every farm in the UK has a separate ID which is on one of the ear tags; on the other is the cow’s name, along with their own individual identification number. These tags allow all the cows to be tracked and help prevent the spread of disease. They also have trackers around their necks which helps Andrew and other farmers detect any early signs of illness, for example if the cow is producing less milk than usual, or if they are eating less.

Heading back to the barn where we started our tour, we found that the cow had given birth to a cute calf. We had the pleasure of witnessing the miracle of new life as we watched it trying to stand for the first time.

To finish our trip, we walked to the ‘nursery’ barn with the younger calves, where we got to pet some of them and take some adorable photos. This experience was an amazing end to an amazing trip!”

Despite the typical wet Scottish weather, it was a successful field trip and another valuable learning experience. Thank you to The Royal Highland Education Trust and Andrew Neilson for welcoming us once again to East Brackenridge Farm.