SCHOOLS ARE being encouraged to sign up for RHET's virtual Farm Visit Week to give pupils an insight into farming life from the comfort of their own classrooms.

Farm visit week is running between Monday October 4 and 8, and there are already  60 farms signed up to share with pupils a variety of practices from across the country - over 400 schools have already signed up.

Pupils will have the chance during the week to meet Belted Galloway cattle in Dumfries, watch berries being harvested in Angus and discover how sheep are sheared. They will even be able to visit a pumpkin farm and learn about preparing livestock for shows. RHET is hoping the week will become an annual occurrence, with plans for it to be a physical event in the future, urging as many schools as possible to visit a real, working farm during the week.

The event coincides with the 'Year of Beef' which launched this September and will be running through to June 2022, encouraging teachers to share the story of beef production in Scotland with their pupils.

Read more: RHET launch 'Year of Beef' nationwide campaign to celebrate Scottish beef production

RHET has developed a range of resources for use in school which can be downloaded weekly, starting with the cow and calf story and covering sustainability, grass, careers, butchery, technology and much more over the duration of the academic year. Already 250 schools have signed up and the important facts around beef production will be reaching around 6000 children.

RHET Scottish Borders Coordinator, Lesley Mason, explained why the charity was keen to promote the Year of Beef: "This pioneering project will allow RHET to help the beef industry to share their message about sustainable meat production in Scotland. RHET aims to teach all young people where their food comes from to allow them to make informed choices about the food they eat."

Commenting on the upcoming Farm Visit Week, she added: “We have over 50 farms signed up and our volunteers have rallied to record virtual visits to their farms and produce videos covering a variety of different farming practices.”

Read more: Hundreds of schools sign up for RHET's virtual Royal Highland Showcase

RHET Fife Coordinator, Carole Brunton, added her enthusiasm for the event:“Teachers and pupils will be able to visit farms throughout Scotland. There will be additional beef farm visits, to tie in with RHET’s Year of Beef. It is so important to get young people back thinking about farming and food production, something they have missed out on since the beginning of the pandemic.”

RHET is working in partnership with QMS and RNCI, to share the story of beef production in Scotland

RNCI Project Manager, Alison Johnston, commented:" This is an incredible project to work on, Scottish beef production is crucial to the wider Scottish economy. Sharing the facts around the sustainable production in Scotland with schools has never been more important.’

QMS Health & Education Manager, Jennifer Robertson, concluded:“We have a great relationship and long history of working together with RHET, so accepting the invitation to collaborate on the 'Year of Beef' project was an easy decision. Scotch Beef is an iconic Scottish product, and educators frequently request information about farming and its production, so the planned resources and activities will be an excellent place to direct them.

All resources are free for schools to access, including the Farm Visit Week and teachers can sign up to receive updates and links to the new resources that will be shared throughout the year on the RHET website at www.rhet.org.uk