Lambing weekend attracted thousands of visitors
2 March 2015
Thousands of visitors came to find out more about farming during the sixth anniversary of a college’s lambing weekend. The event took place at the Easton campus of Easton and Otley College in Norfolk.
Farm Manager, Mark Robertson, said, “I’ve been involved in this event for a few years now and this was by far the busiest. It was a great couple of days out for all the family. Visitors got to see a host of attractions. We had lambs being born on our farm and turkeys were hatched at the campus thanks to a link up with Bernard Matthews. BQP attended and got to see how investment in their new pig unit was coming along – and overall the occasion was all about making agriculture seem real, diverse and most importantly fun.”
Highland cattle and sheepdog trials joined arts and craft stands on both days. Also, an information event (on the Saturday) attracted hundreds of students who got the chance to find out about the range of college courses on offer including non-land based options such as sport and construction.
Head of land-based studies, Marty Davey, (who thought about changing his job title temporarily to head of lamb-based studies for the weekend), said, “Visitors showed a lot of interest in Jimmy and Frank – a Suffolk Ram and a Norfolk Horn breed who had been sprayed in the colours of Ipswich and Norwich in the run up to local Derby on Sunday.” “Yet in addition to this, it was a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the college and our courses.”
Former student Kathryn Mortimer who now works for one of the exhibitors BQP, said, “It was a great event and we were delighted to be involved. When I left Easton and Otley I went straight into work (with BQP) and I love my job as a field’s person. It was also great to attend as I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of the college.”
Attendee, Christine Lorne brought her two sons along. She said, “We came along to see the lambs. Both my boys (George and James) are budding farmers so the day was great for them.”
A selection of photos from the weekend can be seen using the links below:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.896948063690009.1073741844.104…https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/easton_college_lambing_weekend_1_397…