#519: Beanz meanz

This BBC News story from 2023 talks about a successful haricot bean harvest in Lincolnshire.

Baked Beans from companies such as Heinz are generally imported as the beans haven't traditionally done well in the UK.

In 2025 we also had rice successfully grown...

In the future we may see a very different English countryside to the one we have become used to seeing.

#386: Meeting Wales' needs

Food and farming have an impact on biodiversity and the importance of farmers as stewards of, and creators of, the British landscape is something that any GCSE in Natural History would have to tackle. The approaches are different in the different UK countries. This item from WWF Cymru from 2022 is a reminder of the impact of farming in other countries... to meet the demand from the UK...

Wales & Global Responsibility - @WWFCymru

An area equivalent to 40% of the @sizeofwales is used overseas to grow commodities imported into Wales, having a catastrophic effect on the world’s forests & critical habitats! #DeforestationFreeNationhttps://t.co/wcEDYwZ2mu pic.twitter.com/DE4QzX8mKM

— Nigel Pugh (@nspugh) January 21, 2022

#286: Invertebrates: Earthworms

Lumbricus terrestris, the common earthworm

Patrick Barkham explains the importance of earthworms to our food supply and soil health. 

Part of a feature in this weekend's Guardian newspaper. There's a range of stories every Saturday which always connect with the likely contents of the specification when it (eventually) appears.

Update

Earthworms won the vote for the best invertebrate...

#157: World Soil Day - 5th December

World Soil Day is on the 5th of December

This is a day designated by the United Nations.

Soils are where food begins.

#112: 'A Year in Farming' Calendar

A resource from the Countryside Classroom - a resource site which I have blogged about previously.

It goes through a typical Farming year and sets it out as a circular calendar. I've seen similar diagrams before in geography textbooks. A free account is needed to download the diagram and the related teacher notes.

Having identified the typical farming year, one activity would be to consider the possible changes that will be required in the coming decade(s) to account for changes to the natural order of things...