Deer and Leeks Down on the Farm

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops, 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. #

Cock-a-doodle-doo!

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

In winter, farm animals like these chicks

need to be looked after every day.

CHICKS CHIRP

Storm's in Scotland to find out about

an unusual farm animal. Let's find out more.

Oink, oink!

This is Tolly, Jamie and Skyler.

I've come to find out how they look after

the deer on their farm in winter.

-Hi, there.

-Hi there.

-Hello.

-Hello.

These deer are absolutely beautiful. Can I help look after them today?

You can help us feed the mummy deer. They're called hinds.

That sounds fantastic.

First, we put silage down for the hinds to eat later.

-This is hard work, isn't it?

-No, it's fun.

-What species of deer do you have on this farm?

-Red deer.

Well, I bet they're going to enjoy this.

The hinds get deer nuts, too.

-Come on, girls.

-Dinner time!

They're definitely enjoying those nuts, aren't they?

And their coats look really thick and cosy.

Their coats help keep them warm in the winter.

Your deer look very well looked after.

They've got shelter and food,

but what was happens to wild deer in the winter?

Daddy's going to count some wild deer tonight.

-Would you like to come and help me?

-I certainly would.

-Shall we warm up first?

-Yeah, let's go and get warm.

Yes, let's go!

Part of Jamie's job is to count the deer

so people know how many live in each area.

David has come to help.

Well, this is an amazing viewing platform,

but it's getting really dark now, so how will we see the deer?

Deer are mainly nocturnal, so come out at dawn and dusk,

and they'll come out of the forest to feed,

so we should see them.

David's got a thermal imaging camera. It shows different

temperatures in different colours.

-We see that image on the screen here.

-Oh, I'm glowing white!

That's because you're warm, which shows as white on the screen,

and the air around you is cold, so it shows as black.

-So the deer are warm, like us?

-Yes, so we'll pick them up as

white shapes through the camera, and that'll be shown on the screen.

-Is that some deer there?

-Yes, that's a little group behind the trees.

Your deer had a nice barn to shelter in.

How do wild deer find some shelter?

They still have the same thick warm coat that keeps them warm,

but they'll also look for shelter behind trees, behind rocks.

-Let's see what else we can see.

-OK.

There's a bird...

..some cows...

..and a fox!

We haven't spotted any wild deer close up,

but Jamie showed us what they would've looked like on his camera.

It's been an amazing evening.

Now let's find out what else happens during the dark winter nights.

Beep-beep!

JB: In winter, we don't see many insects around.

This is because there isn't enough food for them to eat

when fewer plants and flowers are growing.

Some butterflies can survive for months in a sheltered place

without food or water.

Even when it is freezing cold.

They become dormant,

staying perfectly still to use as little energy as possible.

They can still sense danger, though,

and will flash open their wings to frighten an intruder away.

Hidden in a cosy log pile, a queen wasp lies dormant, too.

She can't afford to waste any energy.

With no food to eat in winter, only the strongest queens will survive.

Honeybees don't have to go without food, though.

They made honey earlier in the year and stored it in honeycomb.

With such a good supply of food to share, honeybees can survive

until spring in much greater numbers inside their hive or nest.

DEER CALLS

STORM: This is Ann. She helps to look after the vegetables

and plants at this community garden in Belfast.

Today we'll pick something that is purple, has long leaves

and is sweet tasting. Can you guess what it is?

-ALL:

-Beetroot!

Ann and her helpers are going to prepare the beetroot

so it can be stored all winter.

So, grab the leaves and pull it out. That's it. Well done.

-This is a small one.

-It is a small one.

This one's gigantic.

-That's it. Well done, George.

-This is a wee tiny one.

-This one was easy to pull out.

-I think that might be them all.

We'll go back inside, out of the cold?

Now we've finished picking, it's time to wash our hands

and prepare the beetroot.

First, Ann trims the roots and the leaves.

-We have to wash all the beetroots.

-To get all the mud off.

-Then we cover them in oil.

-There we go.

Them we rub some salt in.

Then we wrap them up.

The beetroot is roasted in the oven until it's soft.

While they are roasting,

Ann and her helpers make a special mixture to pickle them.

First, they put spices into a pan.

OK, that is almost done. What do we do next, Lara?

-We pour in the vinegar.

-That's right.

And now it's time to stir the ingredients

until all of the sugar has dissolved.

Pickling vegetables in vinegar makes them last longer.

Now the beetroot is cooled, it can be peeled and washed.

-John, what's happened to the water?

-The beetroot's turned it purple.

It has. Some are pink and some are orange and some are red.

This one has stripes.

Just do rough slices, or you can do squares,

you can do any shape you want.

-Are we ready to put the beetroot into the jars?

-ALL:

-Yeah!

You're doing a great job. You're nearly at the top.

So, what do we need to do now?

We cover the beetroots with pickle juice.

That's it. Make sure those lids are on nice and tight.

The pickled beetroot will be ready to eat in a couple of weeks.

-ALL:

-Finished!

A blanket of white, a dream come true

Let's go! We know just what to do

Forget the chores, cancel our plans

It's the perfect day to build a snowman

We start with the body, roll a big ball

Sits another on top

Please don't let it fall!

The head is next

And he'll need a face

A carrot-y nose will look just ace

A hat, some arms, and then he's done

Smiling at us, having fun

Who can resist, young or old

Building snowmen in the cold?

Oink, oink, oink.

Today, I'm helping farmer Alex harvest his leeks.

Leeks are part of the onion family

and can be used in all sorts of cooking.

Why are leeks so good as a winter vegetable?

Leeks survive really well during the frost

and the snow and over the winter months,

and also it naturally grows at this time of the year,

so this is the best time to harvest them.

How does the harvester work?

At the front, there's a spade that lifts the leeks up,

then there's a blade that cuts the tops.

Then the leeks come up.

And there's a shaker that shakes the soil off the roots.

Then the boys at the back lift the leeks into nice handfuls

and build them into the crates.

Once the crates are full, we set them off.

Then we'll lift them later and bring them back to the pack house.

In the pack house, the leeks are processed.

So the first thing we have to do is cut off the roots

and take off these rough outer leaves.

So these are the bits that we don't eat? What happens to them?

These bits are taken back into the field

and mixed into the soil as fertiliser.

That's great, cos that helps keep the goodness in the soil.

Once they're trimmed, the leeks are washed and cut

into a standard length so they are all the same size for packing.

Now we're sorting the leeks into different levels of quality,

what happens to them?

The best leeks are put into these green crates

and taken to be packaged for the supermarkets.

The leeks are weighed.

Then put onto a conveyor belt to be bagged.

Then they're ready to go.

So what happens to be wonky ones, like these?

They're taken away and made into soups.

Why don't you take some to try yourself?

That sounds like a great idea.

Hot soup is a lovely warming thing to make on a cold day.

And why don't you find out what else you can do in winter?

Baa!

Can you spot any birds when you're out and about this winter?

You might see...

..great tits...

..blackbirds...

..and robins.

Enjoy being out and about.

Baa!

STORM: In autumn, we saw potatoes being harvested.

Now it's winter, these potatoes have come to a factory in Scotland,

ready to be made into one of our most popular snacks.

To make this snack, we need sunflower oil, seasoning,

and lots and lots of potatoes!

What could this factory be making?

That's right - crisps!

Hi, I'm George, and my job is to turn potatoes into crisps.

And here are my helpers for today.

Fergus and Jolie.

It just takes 15 minutes to turn one of these...

..into lots of these.

When the potatoes first come into the factory,

they're split into different sizes. This is called grading.

Some potatoes are too tiny, so they get taken out.

And used to feed animals.

Look how small this one is!

The potatoes are cut into thick slices in the slicing machine,

boiled, and then rinsed.

So now the crisps are gently cooked in sunflower oil - for how long?

BOTH: Six minutes!

We add the flavour to the crisps while they're still warm.

Today we are making cheese and onion flavour.

These flavour cups add the seasoning

and measure out the right number of crisps for each bag.

The crisps go into bags

and are ready to be sent all around the world.

Next time you eat a potato crisp...

..remember it was once a potato in the ground.

Storm and I have had a brilliant time on the farm today.

Did you enjoy it too?

Remember, there's lots more from Down On The Farm

on the CBeebies website. See you next time. Bye.

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seeds to crops, 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. #