Sheepdogs and Tractors Down on the Farm

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and field to barn

# So much to do down on a farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #

Hi, I'm JB. And welcome to Down On The Farm.

Spring is here, and that's great news for us farmers.

It's a busy time. So, while I get on with some spring-cleaning,

let's find out what Storm is up to.

Well, today we're in the beautiful Welsh countryside,

and I'm going to attempt something I've always wanted to do.

I'm going to try to work with sheepdogs.

A bit like this.

Farmers use sheepdogs to herd their sheep through the fields.

This is Anna-Lou and her dog, Spud.

Anna-Lou is a very experienced sheepdog trainer.

She knows all the commands and whistles to tell her dogs

to guide the flock of sheep to the right place.

It's like a sheepdog language.

And today I'm going to take my first steps at learning this

special language.

-Hi, Anna-Lou.

-Hello.

-Who have we got here?

-This is Spud.

Hi, Spud. So, I saw you working with Spud earlier.

How did you manage to round up all those sheep?

Well, I couldn't without him.

But he's a cracking good dog, so he does the work.

And what do you use sheepdogs for in the spring?

Mainly to bring the in-lamb ewes inside, out of the bad weather.

So, where do we start?

In the classroom. We'll go indoors

and we'll go through the basics there.

I have to say, that sounds fantastic to get inside, out of this wind.

Yes, that would be a good idea.

OK, Anna-Lou, before we go outside

to work with the sheepdogs, the first thing

is to start here. What are the main commands when you're working

-with sheepdogs?

-Well, you've got five basic commands.

-"Come by" - clockwise.

-This way.

-Very good.

-And the dog will

-come round here.

-You have "Lie down"

between every command, because then the dog knows something different is

going to happen.

The next command is "Away" - anti-clockwise.

-The dog would move here? And then you'd say "Lie Down".

-Yes.

Now, your next command is "Walk on".

-"Walk on" will move the dog and the sheep forward.

-Yeah.

And then we're out.

Your last command is to call the dog off and reward him with a big pat.

-So, will I be using sheep when I go outside?

-Not today.

We're using little pygmy goats.

The pygmy goats don't get stressed like sheep.

And with beginner handlers,

I get a lot of people with quite naughty dogs.

The sheep get very upset.

-So, do you think I'm ready to go out and try it outside?

-I think you are.

Today, Ken the sheepdog is going to help me herd the goats.

-No. Come by.

-Walk on.

Good boy.

Walk on, Ken. Good boy.

Come by. Come by, come by.

ANNA-LOU WHISTLES

Come by. Lie down, Ken.

It's tough. It is really, really tough.

Last one in.

Good boy.

That'll do, Ken. Good boy.

Well, I think I'll probably need a few more

lessons before I become a professional trainer.

But this is Smart and he's six months old, and he's sure to be

a star sheepdog for the future. One to watch.

And while I get a few more cuddles, why don't you find out

what else happens down on the farm in spring?

CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK

Spring is the season of new life.

Lots of baby animals are born at this time of year,

as the days grow longer and warmer, and food becomes easier to find.

Some of spring's new arrivals live in fields or woodlands.

Others are at home in ponds, on rivers,

or in the sea around our coasts.

All these different places are called habitats.

And in spring, farmers can help create one of our

most important wild habitats - hedgerows.

They soon grow thick with leaves, wild flowers, and, later, berries,

providing food and shelter for lots of creatures in the months to come.

After spending the winter in cowsheds,

lots of cows are turned out into the fields to munch fresh

green grass, which grows quickly in spring.

QUACK QUACK QUACK

I'm here to meet a little girl and her mummy who are having

a spring planting party in their garden.

-Hi, Rebecca. Hi, Rea.

-Hi.

-Thank you very much for inviting me

to help out in your garden today. But are you sure we're in

-the right place?

-No, it's over there.

-Oh, the garden's over there.

-So it's right behind your house.

-Yeah!

-Do you think I could help out?

-Mm-hmm.

-And I brought some decorations because I heard we were

having a bit of a party to make the place really colourful. Shall we

-go put some of them up?

-Yeah!

So, is it just up here?

This community garden is looked after by the local

people in the area. They grow vegetables, fruit and flowers.

And today we're having a planting party to mark the start of spring.

So, Rea, we've got this bag filled with compost.

But what are we going to plant in it?

-We're going to plant potatoes.

-What do you like to eat potatoes with?

-Carrots, potatoes and chicken.

-You like to eat potatoes with...

Spicy chicken.

They grow potatoes in these big, deep sacks.

So, first, we need to dig a hole.

They drop the seed potatoes into the sack and cover it all with compost.

Once it's completely covered, they water it and leave it to grow into

lots of delicious potatoes.

That's us done with the potatoes. They're nice and planted.

-What are we going to plant next?

-We're going to plant

the cabbages over there.

-Was that hard work?

-Yeah.

That's it planted.

Now some final watering.

And we've made a little sign so we know which crops are where.

Don't they look great?

Well, I think the garden looks absolutely fantastic with all

those vegetables ready to spring to life and the decorations we put up.

-Thanks for helping.

-You are more than welcome.

Now, a party wouldn't be a party if we didn't have some cake.

And while we tuck in, why don't you check out our spring poem?

OWL HOOTS

The night-time will be over soon.

The sun is rising. Bye-bye, moon.

It's early, but the sky is bright.

It's hard to sleep when it's so light.

Songbirds were the first to wake.

What a lovely noise they make.

They stir us from our dreamy sleep

With their whistles, trills and cheeps.

A new day dawns with the sound of spring.

"Wake up! Get up!" they seem to sing.

It's far too early for us to worry

While nature seems in such a hurry.

OINK OINK! SPLAT!

I just love seeing animals down on the farm.

Did you know that animals used to do some of the jobs that

machines do today?

Well, I'm here at this farm in Dorset to find out more.

NEIGH

-Hi, Taya.

-Hi. Welcome to the Heavy Horse Centre.

Heavy horses are incredible, aren't they?

Yes, we've got over 20 heavy horses here at the farm.

What exactly does a heavy horse do?

Horses took the role of the tractors today. They would do

farming on fields and harvesting, ready for crops to grow.

-What's this one called?

-This is Iona. She is a percheron,

-which is a French breed of heavy horse.

-What's she pulling behind her?

This is a manual plough. You can see she's pulling the plough,

which is churning up the land, ready for farming.

-And you guys also have tractors here, don't you?

-We certainly do.

-Can we go and check some of them out?

-Yes, let's go and have a look.

Horses like Iona used to do jobs like tractors do now.

Tractors were invented to make the jobs quicker and easier,

and this farm has lots of tractors for special jobs.

There are old ones

and new ones,

big ones

and small ones.

You should never play on a tractor,

but Taya has given me special permission to have a look.

This old red tractor is small and doesn't have a windscreen or a roof.

Beep beep!

This big new tractor has a special arm which is used for lifting

heavy loads like hay bales.

And look at the wheels. They're enormous!

Well, Taya, I love your horses, but this is so cool.

This is a great tractor. It's really old. It's from 1972, and

it's 40 horsepower, so it can do the work of 40 horses.

So does that mean it can pull a plough like Iona did earlier?

-It definitely can, and it can work a lot faster than the horses did.

-Cool. Can I have a go?

-Yeah, jump aboard. Just watch out for the muddy puddles.

-Hahaha.

Good luck, JB.

Tractors like this one have two small wheels at the front

and two big wheels at the back with massive tyres.

All the power comes from the big back wheels, and the small

front ones steer the tractor while I move the steering wheel.

This way I don't get stuck in all the muddy puddles.

While I get a few more laps on my new favourite tractor, why don't you

find out what else happens in spring?

CLUCK CLUCK BEEP BEEP

We're on a Scottish island called Skye to meet these farmers

who harvest scallops from the bottom of the sea loch.

Scallops are a type of shellfish that live at the bottom of seas

and lochs.

They grow fan-shaped shells around their bodies to protect them.

They open the shells to feed on tiny plants

and animals that live in the water.

This is Ben and his dad, David.

They collect the scallops from this loch which is full of

salty seawater.

They use some very unusual equipment to farm with.

We use these special suits to keep warm and dry while we swim.

We breathe under the water using this, which is

connected to a tank of air.

Time to go find some scallops.

There are lots of creatures living in the loch.

Starfish like this like to eat scallops, so David moves them away.

They collect the scallops in a big net.

Some are quite tricky to catch.

That's all they need for today.

That was a great dive.

We'll just take these suits off and we'll go take a look.

Now they're nice and dry, they unload their fresh catch.

You can tell the age of a scallop by counting its rings.

Just like a tree.

This is a baby scallop. We take scallops like this

from the deep water to the shallow water where there's more

food for them to eat.

We're going to put him back on the seabed until he's bigger.

All these big scallops are ready to be delivered.

BZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Storm and I have had an excellent time down on the farm,

and we hope you've enjoyed it too.

There are more fantastic things from Down On The Farm

on the CBeebies website. So check it out. We'll see you next time. Bye.

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops and field to barn

# So much to do down on a farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #