March update from Jamie’s Farm Hereford

This month, we welcomed familiar faces from long standing partnerships such as London Academy, Great Academy Ashton and Co Op Academy Failsworth. We also welcomed two new partners; AIM North London and Greenwood Academy. It is always a joy to work alongside schools with an ethos and approach that aligns with ours so well that it feels like we’ve been working together for years. 

March has also brought a lovely range of follow-up visits and discussions with schools, ranging from cookie baking, celebration evenings with parents, and even a classroom picnic or two! One headteacher rang and said that the change in one young person was so great, that they had taken to the school open mic night and floored their peers with their singing; a serious indication of how their self-confidence had grown! 

Out on the farm, it has been lovely and wet! Cattle are coming to the end of bale grazing and doing well – the Lowline cattle have started calving, with the Hereford cattle soon to follow. We are halfway through lambing, and the ewes have done well on their winter grazing to produce lovely size lambs. We are starting to build chicken tractors for both meat birds and laying birds – an exciting addition to our practice, and a great example for the young people of how all elements on the farm can support each other. 

We’ve also been hugely grateful for support from two of our fantastic residential volunteers, Sam and Polly, who came and stayed for the week and got involved with everything from cooking, to gardening, to hiking. It is always such a joy to welcome new faces to the farm – if you or anyone you know has an interest in experiencing a week on Jamie’s Farm, please visit our volunteer page here!