Farm Diaries (Video and worksheet)

This is a unit with five inquiry teaching sequences about exploring someone’s life on farms through the story of one day. 

This unit encourages students to examine mathematical concepts of time and days of the week by exploring the needs of animals on farms each day of the week. They explore things that farm families are doing to care for the animals and crops that are grown, raised and processed for food or fibre. 

Students are given an insight into ways farmers care for their animals and crops everyday with animal welfare standards and environmental stewardship principles in mind. Students are invited to plan a presentation about what happens on a farm each day of the week and how farm animals and crops are grown, raised and cared for on farms. As the unit progresses, the emphasis shifts to investigating products produced from farm animals or crops and how they meet our needs. 

Having explored what happens on the farm where food is grown, students then investigate foods grown on farms that they eat every day. They interview a family member or friend about Australian grown farm products they eat, wear or use and collect their favourite recipe or item that uses these products. 

At each stage in the investigations, the students are encouraged to share their findings about what happens on a farm each day of the week and how farm animals and crops are grown, raised and cared for on farms; the products produced from them; and recipes, clothes and household items made using Australian farm grown foods and fibres used by families. 

Provide your students with a copy of the questions below by downloading the Student worksheet.

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Questions:

1. How many sows in the Australian pig herd?
2. How many pigs are sold annually in Australia?
3. How many sows (approx.) are on site at Mount Boothby Pastoral Company?
4. How many growers does Mount Boothby have?
5. What is the gestation of a pig?
6. How many piglets are born at Mount Boothby?
7. What is the grain grown for pigs on Mount Boothby?
8. What do they need to add into the feed?
9. What makes a pig good for food production?
10. What are some of the risks for the pork industry?

Research:
What is a grower?

Video in review: Alastair Johnson works as a Pig Producer at Mount Boothby Pastoral Company in Tintinara SA. Mixed cropping farm (cattle, sheep and cropping), with cropping mainly to feed the pigs. The main discussion is around the breeding and gestation of pigs, average litter size, conditions of breeding and raring young, diet, feed conversion to meat, and most efficient use of carcass and diseases and biosecurity.

DOWNLOAD STUDENT WORKSHEET

DOWNLOAD TEACHER HANDBOOK

DOWNLOAD THE ANSWER SHEET

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