A sustainable workforce?
Dr Gillian Rose, Associate Professor at the University of Reading, discusses the barriers which are causing fewer young people to follow farming related careers. Disconnect as to how food is …
Course: Explore How Farmers Produce Food Sustainably
Egg production
Eggs are produced by laying hens. Laying hens are specialised breeds of chicken that have been selected for their high rates of egg production and are different to the breeds …
Milk and dairy production
Dairy cows produce milk which is in high demand from consumers as fresh milk, or processed dairy products such as cheese, butter and yoghurt. There were an estimated 274 million …
Beef and lamb production
The first category of livestock that we will investigate is the ruminants. Cattle, sheep and goats are called ‘ruminant’ animals because they have adapted stomachs for digesting fibrous feed – …
Preventing food loss and food waste
In this video, Dr. Paola Tosi, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Reading, explains the differences between food loss and food waste, and provides an overview of the initiatives …
Summary of Week 2
This Week you have discovered the different types of arable crops and how they are grown, investigating and sharing which crops are grown in your area. You also explored the …
Sustainability in crop management
In both arable and horticultural crops, ‘yield defining factors’ are inputs that increase the size of the harvest as long as other uncontrollable factors don’t intervene. The expected yield, which …
Case study: wheat
So far you have looked at the big picture of arable farming. In this Step, the focus will be narrowed down to wheat, looking at the processes involved in planting, …
What are arable crops?
Arable crop production refers to the systematic use of land to grow crops. To have a consistent supply of their precious produce, farmers monitor how fertile their land is and …
Our challenges
You can access the alternative text for this video at the bottom of this Step under the ‘Downloads’ heading. This video from Koppert Biological Systems asks how the global food …
Horticulture: Top 5 Technologies for Sustainable Crops
Horticultural crops require more direct attention and monitoring per plant than arable crops, to ensure any emerging pests and diseases are limited to an acceptable threshold. The establishment of this …
A farmer’s perspective of technology
In this video blackberry farmer, Wouter van den Bosch, discusses some of the diverse challenges of a natural approach to growing soft fruits, such as the use of bumblebees for …
Sustainability and the three pillars of sustainable agriculture
Sustainability is a concept that emerged towards the end of the 20th century due to a growing awareness of the environmental impact of human activity, and the recognition that natural …
Getting started
We want you to get the most out of this course. For discussions or questions about the course content, try using the comments section where you can help each other …
The team
In this course you’ll hear from a range of experts from the University of Reading, the University of Hohenheim, Koppert Biological Systems and John Deere. Your Educators Meet the Educators …