On Tuesday this week we entertained a group of final year students from Hartpury College. It was a double act between Alex Milne, the Overbury Estate Manager and me. The group consisted of Equine, Countryside Manager and Agrics, so a great mix of different interests, right up our street. After a quick introduction it was all aboard our trailer and off to the Overbury Grasshoppers nursery school. Alex spoke about the village residential and business portfolio and how the farm and estate interact on different projects. Then we met Kathrine for an introduction to the Overbury Stud and how a stud farm works. It's such a scientific business, I always end up learning something myself!
We then headed up the hill and stopped overlooking the Vale of Evesham, see above, where we spoke about the arable unit, irrigation, rotations, Integrated Farm Management, Woodland, Management, varieties of wheat and how the machinery fits into the system, it was a long stop that provoked much discussion. Following on we headed to one of the many conservation areas where our Higher Level Stewardship Scheme is starting to deliver real benefits to our local bird populations, not to mention how our flora is developing in both the grassland systems and in the arable crops.
By now we were running late so we popped into the sheep unit to talk about how they integrate into our farming systems and our relationship with Sainsbury's, before heading down the hill and away.
I hope we managed to generate some interesting thoughts and ideas for the next generation heading through the college ranks, we certainly enjoyed the trip and await next years group!
No comments:
Post a Comment