Radishes and Farmers' Market Down on the Farm

# Come join us down on the farm today

# Learn about nature along the way

# From seas to crops and field to barn

# So much to do down on the 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.

In spring, there are lots of new things to see on the farm.

Baby animals are being born and crops and vegetables

are beginning to grow.

So, while I help out on this farm,

let's find out what Storm is up to.

Today, I've come to this farm in Norfolk

to learn all about a small vegetable

that's harvested at this time of year.

Radishes.

Radishes are a root vegetable, which means they grow under the ground.

They come in many shapes and sizes.

The ones that are being harvested today are small, red and round.

They taste a bit like the pepper you might put on your food.

Lots of people eat them in salads.

-Hi, Scott.

-Hi, Storm.

-Welcome to the radish harvesting field.

-Thank you.

I know a lot of vegetables take a long time to grow,

so when did you plant the radish seeds?

These radish were planted just over three weeks ago

-from these tiny little seeds.

-Three weeks! That's no time at all.

How do you get the radishes to grow that quickly?

At this time of year, you've got the April showers

that keep the soil wet and radishes don't need much sun.

It's quite cold today - what can we do to keep warm?

-We could do a bit of harvesting.

-Fantastic.

-Let's go.

This harvester has a big blade, which digs into the soil and lifts

the radishes out of the ground.

Lots of soil is shaken off the radishes before they are transferred

into the trailer by a conveyor belt.

The tractor that's driving in front of the harvester is called a topper.

It cuts the leaves off the radish plant,

which are then ploughed back into the soil.

Look at how many radishes we've harvested!

And they're such a beautiful colour.

So, which part of the radish do we eat?

Well, we eat this nice red bit,

which is lovely and crispy and crunchy.

And what happens to this white root?

-That's taken off in the process of washing.

-Let's go.

The radishes are flushed off the trailer by a big jet of water.

In the factory, they're given another wash to remove any small

pieces of soil or dirt.

The workers then inspect the radishes

and remove any damaged ones,

which get ploughed back into the soil.

The radishes are then kept in cold storage before they are sent to

other factories for packing and then off to the shops.

Scott, I've had a great day helping out and learning about radishes.

Well, you did a fantastic job, Storm.

Would you like to try some?

Of course I would. That's the best part of the day!

I like mine with just a little bit of oil and a little bit of salt.

OK, let's have a little taste of this.

Mmm, really peppery and absolutely delicious.

Now, while we tuck into these,

let's find out how birds look after their eggs in the spring.

Spring is a very popular time for birds to lay eggs.

Birds sit on their eggs to help keep them warm and dry.

The warmth from the parent helps the chicks inside the egg to grow.

Birds have to sit on their eggs in all weathers.

And this sitting on the eggs is called incubation.

In some breeds, like this eider duck, only one parent

cares for the eggs.

Whilst others, like these oyster catchers, take it in turns

to look after the eggs.

Different birds sit on their eggs for different lengths of time.

Blue tits only need to incubate for two weeks

before hungry chicks appear,

whereas sparrowhawks have to sit on their eggs for up to five weeks.

But when the eggs start to hatch and their chicks arrive safely,

all that sitting around will have been worthwhile.

In spring, farmers are really busy looking after their animals.

We're going to help the farmer at this farm in London.

This is Tom and it's his job to keep all the animals healthy.

-Hi, everyone.

-Hello, Tom!

We're going to go see some animals

and they've got curly tails and trotters for feet.

-What do you think they are?

-Pigs!

Right, guys, so we've got some food for the pigs here.

What do you think's in this bucket?

Spinach.

It's like spinach. It's called chard.

-What about this bucket?

-Seeds.

Yeah, it's a type of grain.

Now, what about this one?

Err... Porridge and potato.

Not quite. So, this is called whey.

It's really smelly!

These pigs look quite big but are actually babies.

They're just four months old.

They're greedy!

A baby pig is called a piglet.

They really like the whey.

Now we've fed the baby pigs, we're off to check the sheep.

This sheep's got two babies in her tummy.

Mummy sheep are called ewes.

-Does anyone know what a baby sheep's called?

-Lambs!

Yeah, that's right.

And here are some goats.

There's the baby animals!

-Would you guys like to give her a stroke?

-Yeah.

How old do we think she is?

Three weeks.

Three weeks? She's only two weeks old.

What do you think a baby goat's called?

Kids!

For our next job, we need to give the goats some nice, clean bedding.

-Do you think you guys can help?

-Yeah!

Now they have a clean pen, the baby goats can get cosy.

-Can we feed the baby goats?

-I'm afraid not.

They get all the milk that they'll need from their mum.

Well, we've fed the piglets,

we've checked on the sheep and we've looked after some baby goats.

-Who's had a good day?

-Me!

Whilst they get cleaned up, you can enjoy our spring poem.

Little lambs, just born

A bed of straw

A lick from mum

Look! I can stand, I can walk!

Oops, it's harder than I thought!

Playful lambs in a pen

Jump and leap and jump again

See me now, I'm climbing high,

I can balance, if I try

Springy lambs in the sun

Learning how to chase and run

What's this green stuff?

It's called grass

I think I might try munching that!

Did you know that farmers sometimes

sell animals to other farms or buy new ones?

This happens at a special place like this.

It's called a market.

Today, I'm in Stirling to meet a family

who want to buy some new animals for their farm.

Hi, Elena. Hi, Ava. Hi, Alan

Hi, JB!

-Hi, JB!

-Why have you guys come to the market today?

We're going to buy some sheep!

The girls just really like sheep

and they've got grass at home, so they want to come and buy some.

-Do you want to come with us?

-Shall we go?

-Yay!

-Yeah!

Come on, then!

'There are lots of animals here for sale.'

Can you see any that you like?

Oh, look, baby lambs!

Yeah, do you want to buy them?

-And the mummies.

-And the mummies?

I think that's a good idea.

Now that Elena and Ava

have found the animals they want, what happens next?

-Hi, Richard.

-Hi, JB.

How do farmers buy animals?

In a place like this, an auction.

They bid on the animals they want

-and the farmer that bids the most, gets the animal.

-What's your job?

I'm an auctioneer - I lead the auction.

I use this, which is a gavel, at the end

and that signifies that farmer has got the sheep.

-Thank you so much, Richard.

-Thank you, JB.

OK, welcome along...

During the auction, each set of animals to be sold

is brought into the saleroom and then the bidding begins.

60, 62...

If a farmer sees an animal they want to buy,

they raise their hand to place a bid.

Then the farmer with the highest bid takes them home.

Now it's our turn.

-Can you see them?

-Lambs!

-Yeah!

34.6 kilos away.

51, 2, 52, 3, 54, 55, 56.

At 158, find your way over to the left. 155 to 8.

-Yay! Well done, girls.

-We won!

-We won.

And here are Elena and Ava with their new sheep.

There you go!

Well, guys, that was so exciting.

-Did you have fun?

-Yeah!

I've had a great time at market today.

And now it's time for you to hear some useful tips on how

to be kind to the countryside.

-GIRL:

-In spring, the weather is warmer

and it's lovely to get outside and go for a walk.

On farms, there are animals in the fields that need to be looked after.

You can help by reminding the grown-up you're with to keep your

dog on its lead so it doesn't frighten any animals.

Be kind when you're out and about!

This is Stuart.

He works in a country park near Glasgow.

He and his helpers are going to build something that you can make

out of different things you find in the garden or in a park - a shelter.

Hi, guys. We're making shelters for fun.

But some animals in the woodland have to build shelters to protect

themselves against predators.

Can you think what animals in the woodland might have to do this?

-Foxes.

-Mice.

-Rabbits.

-Birds.

That's right. But first of all,

they have to find the right place to build their shelter

and that's what we're going to do.

We're looking for somewhere flat and dry that faces the sun

to help keep us warm.

If you want to build a shelter,

remember to tell a grown-up where you're going.

OK, so do you think this would be a good place for our shelter?

-Yeah!

-Why?

You can make a roof.

It has lots of space.

Yeah, that's right. And it's flat and it's dry.

Now that we've found a spot to build our shelter,

we need to find something to build it with.

-But what do we need?

-Sticks!

Yes, that's right, sticks.

We also need leaves and dead plants but we have to be careful not

to pick anything living, like the moss from the trees

or living branches.

Come on, let's go.

Now it's time to build our shelter.

We start by putting the bigger branches down first.

Next, we've got to put smaller sticks on close together

to help keep our shelter warm.

Finally, we need to put the ferns we've collected on the top

-to help stop the rain getting in.

-Hooray!

You can make one too.

Bye!

Storm and I have had an amazing time on the farm today.

Did you enjoy it too?

Remember there's even 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 seas to crops and field to barn

# So much to do down on the farm

# Summer, autumn, winter, spring

# Ploughing, planting, harvesting

# With JB and Storm to lead the way

# Come join us down on the farm today. #