Thin end of the veg as public in dark on farming

Farming charity Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) has conducted research which shows a total of 14 per cent of adults in the region did not know that a dairy cow is female.

It also showed more than half to be unaware that robins live in the UK all year round and that one in five did not know that acorns come from oak trees.

The Yorkshire and the Humber public seems to have little idea of farmers’ roles as guardians of the countryside, as 95 per cent did not know that farmers manage over three-quarters of the UK land mass and more than half did not know that farmers are responsible for looking after most of the hedgerows, walls and fences outside towns.

The research is revealed on the weekend that LEAF organises its annual Open Farm Sunday in which hundreds of farms open their gates to the public to let people see how food is produced.

Elsewhere two thirds of those surveyed in Yorkshire and the Humber thought that bees made honey from pollen, not nectar while a third did not know that a deciduous tree was one that loses its leaves in autumn.

Farmer and TV presenter Adam Henson expressed concern about the findings. “As a farmer I am passionate about the great British countryside, and like most farmers I spend a considerable amount of my time in looking after it, along with all the wildlife that live there too,” he said.

“I’m disappointed to see that so many people seem to be confused about the countryside and the role that farmers like me play in nurturing wildlife and tending the land.”

LEAF chief executive Caroline Drummond said: “Farmers play a vital role in caring for the countryside.

“They are responsible for nurturing the soil, the plants and the trees and protecting and caring for all the animals, insects and birds that live there. Open Farm Sunday is a great opportunity for all the family to get out onto a farm to discover more about the link between food, farming and nature.”