:00:37. > :00:39.Now, there aren't many schools that can boast
:00:40. > :00:46.has been running one for more than 100 years.
:00:47. > :00:48.So its pupils know all about preparing
:00:49. > :00:53.for one of the busiest seasons of the year - lambing.
:00:54. > :00:58.Ellie's helping to preserve one of Staffordshire's rarest birds...
:00:59. > :01:12...Tom's taking on a deadly disease...
:01:13. > :01:14.Ash dieback has been devastating trees
:01:15. > :01:20.since it first arrived on our shores a few years ago.
:01:21. > :01:23.But now, could this, a chance discovery,
:01:24. > :01:26.combined with this rather strange procedure,
:01:27. > :01:32...and Adam's discovering the importance
:01:33. > :01:35.of not putting all your eggs in one basket.
:01:36. > :01:56.and you've got this great big chicken enterprise!
:01:57. > :02:02.The gritstone hills of the Peak District.
:02:03. > :02:07.The outstanding beauty of Cannock Chase.
:02:08. > :02:15.It's a county of rural contrast that's steeped in farming heritage.
:02:16. > :02:18.We're bang on the border with Derbyshire,
:02:19. > :02:24.where wilderness gives way to farmland.
:02:25. > :02:34.sits a very special seat for learning.
:02:35. > :02:37.Abbotsholme School, founded in 1889,
:02:38. > :02:42.with agriculture at the heart of its curriculum.
:02:43. > :02:49.public-school education was strictly based on Classical teachings.
:02:50. > :02:51.But it was Abbotsholme's founder, Cecil Reddie,
:02:52. > :02:59.by introducing a working farm to the school.
:03:00. > :03:02.Former farmer Steve Fairclough is the current head teacher.
:03:03. > :03:05.So, Steve, tell me a little bit more about Cecil Reddie,
:03:06. > :03:08.because his philosophy of teaching was very different, wasn't it?
:03:09. > :03:13.Absolutely. And he came, you know, probably walked down this field
:03:14. > :03:15.and looked at that farm, about 125 years ago.
:03:16. > :03:19.He saw the farm as a way of educating the future leaders,
:03:20. > :03:23.the people that would go to be captains of industry
:03:24. > :03:27.Because he thought, if he could educate future leaders
:03:28. > :03:31.to understand the value of land and how to grow things,
:03:32. > :03:34.then they would be able to feed the masses,
:03:35. > :03:40.Reddie took his boys out of their traditional top hats and collars
:03:41. > :03:43.and put them to work on the land every day.
:03:44. > :03:53.Haymaking in those days took a month.
:03:54. > :03:57.the curriculum would be based around harvest.
:03:58. > :04:02.that was such a prestigious role in the school.
:04:03. > :04:07.And they used to pipe and drum the hay harvest in with horses,
:04:08. > :04:22.over the school and farm that still thrives today.
:04:23. > :04:26.And how does what he started fit into the ethos of the school?
:04:27. > :04:39.I want our pupils to understand their role
:04:40. > :04:52.and, indeed, their responsibility as custodians of this countryside.
:04:53. > :04:55.All the pupils spend time on the 72-acre farm,
:04:56. > :05:03.The sixth-formers studying for BTECs in agriculture
:05:04. > :05:08.are currently busy getting the farm ready for lambing time.
:05:09. > :05:11.Right, then, team, who's in charge here? Me, I think.
:05:12. > :05:15.Greg, you - nice to see, mate. What's your plan here, then?
:05:16. > :05:17.Do you want me to grab a...? Yeah, that would be helpful.
:05:18. > :05:20.Yes, I'll take that from you, my friend. How are you, all right?
:05:21. > :05:22.Very well, thank you, sir. Good stuff, good stuff.
:05:23. > :05:26.Right, OK, then. So, how many pens are you hoping to get in here?
:05:27. > :05:29.Hopefully about six, if we can manage it. OK.
:05:30. > :05:37.So when are you starting lambing, then?
:05:38. > :06:08.First week of March, we've got 50 ewes in lamb. OK.
:06:09. > :06:12.Last lambing, it was all right, apart from one night
:06:13. > :06:15.where my co-person managed to put a lamb in my bed to keep it warm.
:06:16. > :06:18.They didn't bother to tell me, so I just woke up with that. What?!
:06:19. > :06:21.You were in the bunks over there? Yeah, in the bunks over there.
:06:22. > :06:23.We had a power cut, so the radiators didn't work,
:06:24. > :06:25.so they decided I would be the warmest thing in there.
:06:26. > :06:28.Bottle-fed for about a week, get them strong. Excellent.
:06:29. > :06:32.I think they ended up in the school kitchens,
:06:33. > :06:34.Yeah, which is fantastic for the students,
:06:35. > :07:12.Local vet Robert Howard has turned up
:07:13. > :07:48.to help pass on a bit of protection to their lambs, yeah?
:07:49. > :07:50.So press this white piece against... Next to your thumb.
:07:51. > :07:56.And then depress this plunger whilst pressing down on the skin. Yeah.
:07:57. > :08:05.Feel that skin. That's it. That's it, all the way in.
:08:06. > :08:26.That feel slightly weird, then? Yeah, slightly weird.
:08:27. > :08:33.Later, I'll be back with them for lessons of a more technical nature.
:08:34. > :08:37.Now, since 2012, an incurable disease called ash dieback
:08:38. > :08:40.has been killing trees right across Britain,
:08:41. > :08:44.but could an ancient soil treatment give us the chance to fight back?
:08:45. > :08:55.the UK has been coming to terms with a shocking diagnosis -
:08:56. > :09:04.that we could lose up to 90% of our 126 million ash trees.
:09:05. > :09:09.that's marched right across our countryside.
:09:10. > :09:17.You'll recognise the name - ash dieback.
:09:18. > :09:22.Once infected, scars appear on the bark,
:09:23. > :09:29.leaves fall off and, in most cases, the tree will die.
:09:30. > :09:33.The pathogen was first discovered in the UK in February 2012,
:09:34. > :09:36.and since then it has spread to ash trees
:09:37. > :09:43.in more than 700 woodlands, parks and gardens.
:09:44. > :09:48.but the truly devastating thing about ash dieback -
:09:49. > :09:56.or chalara, as it's also known - is the fact that there's no cure.
:09:57. > :09:58.Its arrival here was devastating news
:09:59. > :10:02.for plant-health experts like Professor Nicola Spence.
:10:03. > :10:05.She is now the government's chief plant-health officer.
:10:06. > :10:11.It's her job to lead the country's response to disease outbreaks.
:10:12. > :10:14.How did you react when you heard about ash dieback coming here?
:10:15. > :10:16.Well, I was very concerned to hear about it,
:10:17. > :10:21.Particularly, I've got some ash trees in my garden,
:10:22. > :10:25.rather similar to these ones here, so it really brings it home to you.
:10:26. > :10:29.where are you looking for the best candidates for a solution -
:10:30. > :10:33.Our primary candidate is genetic resistance,
:10:34. > :10:36.we know that that is a long-term solution,
:10:37. > :10:38.and that is looking very promising now.
:10:39. > :10:42.Is it? Yes. So last month, the first paper was published,
:10:43. > :10:46.it's a world-first, which has identified three genetic markers
:10:47. > :10:52.for a reduced susceptibility to ash dieback.
:10:53. > :10:57.will help scientists find disease-resistant ash trees.
:10:58. > :11:01.They'll then be used to replace the ones that die.
:11:02. > :11:04.But that won't save any infected trees,
:11:05. > :11:08.like many of the saplings in this young Essex woodland.
:11:09. > :11:11.On this tree, you can see typical evidence of ash dieback -
:11:12. > :11:15.it's like an open wound in the bark of the tree.
:11:16. > :11:21.And they've already had to destroy 800 saplings here.
:11:22. > :11:29.an unexpected glimmer of hope has appeared.
:11:30. > :11:33.There are about 3,500 ash trees on this site,
:11:34. > :11:35.and 20 of them, including these here,
:11:36. > :11:42.by one of the most contagious tree diseases
:11:43. > :11:51.Well, they were treated with a product
:11:52. > :11:54.that plant-health experts are calling
:11:55. > :11:57.the oldest new thing you've never heard of.
:11:58. > :12:02.But it's not quite the kind of charcoal
:12:03. > :12:08.and it was added to the soil around these ash trees
:12:09. > :12:12.and they're the ones that have remained healthy,
:12:13. > :12:22.that this could be part of the solution to ash dieback.
:12:23. > :12:25.The man who treated the saplings with biochar
:12:26. > :12:28.is Dr Glynn Percival, a plant physiologist
:12:29. > :12:33.at a tree-health research laboratory based at Reading University.
:12:34. > :12:38.Today, I'm helping him apply biochar to the soil using an air spade.
:12:39. > :12:44.Oh! Quite interesting - you can see the whole ground going whoof-whoof!
:12:45. > :12:49.It's a good way of getting the biochar into the ground,
:12:50. > :12:52.and it's also aerating the soil as well.
:12:53. > :12:59.Amazonian tribes added charcoal to their soils.
:13:00. > :13:04.and those nutrient-boosting, soil-improving properties
:13:05. > :13:08.are the reason why Glynn used it to help these saplings grow.
:13:09. > :13:12.But then came an accidental discovery.
:13:13. > :13:17.The site owner contacted me after a year and said, "Oh, by the way,
:13:18. > :13:20."but the trees you've treated with the biochar,
:13:21. > :13:24.Now, that was only kind of like year one,
:13:25. > :13:26.so I wasn't really getting too excited.
:13:27. > :13:29.I thought, "OK, maybe we've just got lucky here."
:13:30. > :13:32.And then he kind of contacted me after year two and said,
:13:33. > :13:35."Look, none of these trees have yet been infected," and I'm like, "OK."
:13:36. > :13:37.And now we've actually gone three years
:13:38. > :13:42.and none of the biochar-treated trees had become infected,
:13:43. > :13:47.and that's when we really decided to start actively investigating this.
:13:48. > :13:52.'that biochar is doing something to protect the saplings,
:13:53. > :13:57.'but he wants to know if it could benefit mature ash trees too.
:13:58. > :14:05.'if ash dieback claims majestic giants like this.'
:14:06. > :14:09.Well, this is a very fine specimen. Yeah, this one must be, what?
:14:10. > :14:15.And how would your biochar work on a tree like this?
:14:16. > :14:17.First, simply by adding biochar to the soil,
:14:18. > :14:20.you're actually going to improve the soil environment,
:14:21. > :14:23.you're going to get improved drainage, aeration.
:14:24. > :14:25.And that, by default, is going to result
:14:26. > :14:29.So the tree is going to become healthier
:14:30. > :14:32.and, therefore, more resilient to ash dieback.
:14:33. > :14:35.It also actually enhances the defence systems
:14:36. > :14:38.that naturally occur within the tree.
:14:39. > :14:40.In terms of being scientifically proven,
:14:41. > :14:43.in terms of published papers, we're not there yet, are we? No.
:14:44. > :14:48.This is the reason why we're actually funding a PhD student
:14:49. > :14:52.who will be investigating this for the next six years of their life.
:14:53. > :14:58.by a tree health and research company, Bartlett Tree Experts,
:14:59. > :15:02.so he's also interested in the commercial potential.
:15:03. > :15:06.because they're made from different products.
:15:07. > :15:08.Some are made from wood chips, some can be made from grass clippings.
:15:09. > :15:11.What we're trying to do is evaluate different types of biochar.
:15:12. > :15:16.if there's a super biochar out there.
:15:17. > :15:20.We don't know. That's why we're doing the further studies.
:15:21. > :15:24.And so what does Defra's chief plant-health officer make of it?
:15:25. > :15:28.She's been focused on long-term solutions to ash dieback,
:15:29. > :15:34.that biochar can offer something in the more immediate future?
:15:35. > :15:37.This is Glynn, who's going to give you a demo of how it all works,
:15:38. > :15:39.so you can see a bit of biochar in action.
:15:40. > :15:50.I'm going to leave them to talk it over,
:15:51. > :15:52.because there are still plenty of unknowns
:15:53. > :15:57.Even defining what it is can be tricky.
:15:58. > :16:00.Some people believe it's, well, just a fancy name for charcoal,
:16:01. > :16:04.while Glynn thinks it's a very purified form,
:16:05. > :16:13.that biochar does do something for soil and plant health,
:16:14. > :16:20.Nicola, from what you've seen today, has it changed your view?
:16:21. > :16:26.I think my view before was I didn't really understand what biochar was
:16:27. > :16:30.It will be really interesting to see the science
:16:31. > :16:38.so it's important that we've got really good evidence for what works
:16:39. > :16:41.so that we can actually have an integrated approach
:16:42. > :16:44.And, Glynn, what do you make of that judgment?
:16:45. > :16:46.People are always looking for a magic bullet,
:16:47. > :16:52.Treating these really devastating outbreaks of these diseases,
:16:53. > :16:54.it really is like a holistic package.
:16:55. > :16:58.everything Defra are doing, looking at all the genetic side.
:16:59. > :17:01.You know, I'm kind of approaching it from a different angle,
:17:02. > :17:08.but they really complement each other extremely well.
:17:09. > :17:12.There is certainly a lot of bars around biochar.
:17:13. > :17:18.to actually prove it works to fight against ash dieback
:17:19. > :17:25.this fancy charcoal could help tackle this terrible disease,
:17:26. > :17:42.The barn owl - one of our most recognisable
:17:43. > :17:49.Populations are stable, but numbers are lower
:17:50. > :17:56.Habitat destruction, intensification of farming,
:17:57. > :18:02.have all taken a toll on the barn owl.
:18:03. > :18:12.Having them in your hand like this gives us a greater opportunity
:18:13. > :18:15.to have a look round the features of this incredible barn owl.
:18:16. > :18:21.collecting the sound and drawing it into its ears,
:18:22. > :18:24.which are just on either side of the facial disc.
:18:25. > :18:30.If you look down at these long toes and incredibly strong talons,
:18:31. > :18:33.there's an interesting feature on this second toe,
:18:34. > :18:37.a kind of comb, which it uses to groom.
:18:38. > :18:40.It's also got an incredibly dense plumage -
:18:41. > :18:43.more feathers than a bird of a similar size.
:18:44. > :18:46.That helps absorb the sound it makes when flying,
:18:47. > :18:58.I'm off to meet one Staffordshire couple
:18:59. > :19:07.taking barn-owl conservation to the next level.
:19:08. > :19:12.Alan and Sylvia Williams retired in 2002.
:19:13. > :19:20.they decided to build their very own nature reserve and barn-owl habitat.
:19:21. > :19:23.So, popping along to your local nature reserve
:19:24. > :19:25.wasn't going to cut it for you two, is that right?
:19:26. > :19:30.Oh, no, no, we like to be individuals. We do. Yes, indeed.
:19:31. > :19:32.Why did you decide to create your own?
:19:33. > :19:35.We really always wanted to buy a wood,
:19:36. > :19:37.but we couldn't find one close enough to us.
:19:38. > :19:41.of why don't we buy the land and grow our own?
:19:42. > :19:44.So that's how it started. So all of these trees here...? Absolutely.
:19:45. > :19:50.Yes, 5,000 trees of 24 different varieties
:19:51. > :19:56.and now, as you can see, are well established.
:19:57. > :19:58.And how did the owl connection come about?
:19:59. > :20:00.We didn't cut the grass between the trees,
:20:01. > :20:02.so we got all this wonderful seven acres
:20:03. > :20:05.of long, tusky grass ideal for the voles.
:20:06. > :20:08.You provide the habitat and food and a species will come in.
:20:09. > :20:12.We knew that barn owls were around because we saw their splashings,
:20:13. > :20:22.of putting a camera inside one of the barn-owl boxes.
:20:23. > :20:37.paint a remarkably intimate portrait of owl life.
:20:38. > :20:48.that there haven't been any unwanted occupants move in over the winter.
:20:49. > :20:51.All right, we'll see what's in here, then, Ellie.
:20:52. > :20:58.I looks a relatively fresh one to me, so...
:20:59. > :21:01.There's a barn owl been in here in the last couple of days.
:21:02. > :21:06.No. There's no need to empty anything out of that box.
:21:07. > :21:08.There's no squirrel been in there over the winter
:21:09. > :21:11.or anything like that, so that'll be OK for another breeding season.
:21:12. > :21:14.that you can't approach them when they're nesting
:21:15. > :21:17.and you've got a special licence to be able to ring them, is that right?
:21:18. > :21:21.for ringing barn owls throughout Staffordshire,
:21:22. > :21:24.and it is illegal to approach a barn-owl box
:21:25. > :21:35.and see what it's eaten in the last few nights, take it up to Sylvia.
:21:36. > :21:41.I'll see you in a bit. I'll be interested to know. All right.
:21:42. > :21:44.Owls regurgitate any foods that they can't digest
:21:45. > :21:49.in the form of pellets, so we can see what they've eaten.
:21:50. > :21:54.It's not just owls, is it, that produce these pellets?
:21:55. > :21:57.and other birds too, like kingfishers and things.
:21:58. > :22:01.And they can tell us so much about what they've been eating.
:22:02. > :22:04.That's the main thing - to find out what they've been eating.
:22:05. > :22:07.The reason that we like to do this pellet dissection of the barn owls
:22:08. > :22:11.is to find out what they're finding on our nature reserve.
:22:12. > :22:17.that it is field voles or bank voles that they're finding.
:22:18. > :22:20.This girl here is clearly a rodent of some sort.
:22:21. > :22:25.We've found, when we've dissected pellets in the past,
:22:26. > :22:30.That's amazing. Have you got much in yours?
:22:31. > :22:32.That's a good one, again that's a vole.
:22:33. > :22:37.Mice tend to have teeth more like ours, like molars -
:22:38. > :22:41.they look more like molars when you pull them out. Yeah.
:22:42. > :22:43.If it's got several mammals in one pellet,
:22:44. > :22:48.you know your barn owl is being well fed.
:22:49. > :22:52.Well-fed owls mean a thriving population.
:22:53. > :23:04.Let's hope they continue to flourish here.
:23:05. > :23:10.Hello, Alan. Hi, Adam, how's it going?
:23:11. > :23:23.he was one of the most expensive Texel rams ever sold in the UK.
:23:24. > :23:27.And now he's shorn, you can really see the meat and the muscle on him.
:23:28. > :23:31.The muscle is just rippling across him. He's just really muscly.
:23:32. > :23:39.12 months later, Adam's returned to Scotland.
:23:40. > :23:42.I'm back in Ayrshire, to catch up with Alan Blackwood,
:23:43. > :23:48.and find out if he's had success with Vicious Sid's pedigree genes.
:23:49. > :23:52.Hi, Alan, good to see you. Hi, how's it going? I won't shake your hand.
:23:53. > :23:54.THEY LAUGH So you're hard at it?
:23:55. > :23:57.Yeah, we're just lambing this year's crop of lambs,
:23:58. > :24:00.and this one's just ready to lamb right now.
:24:01. > :24:03.And are the lambs in there related to Sid?
:24:04. > :24:07.This lamb here is going to be a granddaughter or a grandson
:24:08. > :24:12.So his genetics still coming through on the farm.
:24:13. > :24:14.Yeah, so this has got a different dad.
:24:15. > :24:17.Oh, it's a tight one. It's quite tight.
:24:18. > :24:20.It's coming in the right position. Two front feet and legs.
:24:21. > :24:21.Only one direction it can come, though.
:24:22. > :24:24.Look at that - what a huge lamb. There you go.
:24:25. > :24:27.Goodness me, he certainly puts some size into his lambs, doesn't he?
:24:28. > :24:31.Absolutely. Look at that. That wee guy's OK. Healthy.
:24:32. > :24:32.You can see, by the colour of the lamb,
:24:33. > :24:34.that means it's been needing to be lambed.
:24:35. > :24:37.They go that dark-yellow colour. A little bit late.
:24:38. > :24:42.I'll give it a wee swing, it just gets it to breathe.
:24:43. > :24:48.No idea why, but it works really well. Yup. Doesn't do it any harm.
:24:49. > :24:53.Just clears the mucus away from its lungs. Look, it's breathing now.
:24:54. > :25:00.This could be a champion tup of the future.
:25:01. > :25:04.We'll have to see how it goes. Oh, lovely.
:25:05. > :25:13.He's doing really well. Shall we put him back with his mum? Yup.
:25:14. > :25:21.She's already got one at the front, so that's twins. That's lovely.
:25:22. > :25:25.Alan's investment looks to have been a wise one.
:25:26. > :25:27.Rearing sheep for meat in upland areas like this
:25:28. > :25:37.But, by cleverly using a system called embryo transfer,
:25:38. > :25:40.Alan has combined Sid's genes with pedigree Texel ewes
:25:41. > :25:43.and implanted them into surrogate mothers.
:25:44. > :25:47.This way, Sid has been able to quickly father and grandfather
:25:48. > :25:50.hundreds of highly valuable pedigree lambs,
:25:51. > :26:02.'that Alan's also using on other breeds,
:26:03. > :26:08.'such as the native Scottish blackface.'
:26:09. > :26:12.They look lovely. Are these valuable animals?
:26:13. > :26:15.Yeah, 50,000, 25,000, 90,000, 65,000.
:26:16. > :26:19.And how do you justify spending that kind of money on these sheep?
:26:20. > :26:21.On this farm, you couldn't really make a lot of money
:26:22. > :26:24.if you were just working with a commercial flock.
:26:25. > :26:27.Because of the farm, we have to look towards specialist breeding
:26:28. > :26:30.and, really, looking at trying to produce stock sires,
:26:31. > :26:35.There's more risk, yes, but there's also possibility of more return.
:26:36. > :26:37.It gives you the chance to make money.
:26:38. > :26:41.but we've worked at this our whole lives.
:26:42. > :26:43.It's not as if we've just suddenly come in with a lot of money.
:26:44. > :26:46.It's been built up and built up. And is it a passion? Do you enjoy it?
:26:47. > :26:48.Oh, I love it. This is what I've been brought up on.
:26:49. > :26:53.And I understand there's a lot more than just sheep
:26:54. > :26:57.Yeah, so sheep industry - even this is a hit or miss.
:26:58. > :26:59.You might be good, you might not be good from year to year,
:27:00. > :27:04.to try and give us a really steady income that we can rely on.
:27:05. > :27:10.Let's go and take a look at those. Yeah, OK.
:27:11. > :27:15.especially in the uplands, in today's financial climate,
:27:16. > :27:20.So, like anyone who's prepared to invest in the future,
:27:21. > :27:23.Alan hasn't put all his eggs in one basket.
:27:24. > :27:29.he's become one of Scotland's biggest free-range egg producers.
:27:30. > :27:32.Here we are, walking from the Scottish hills,
:27:33. > :27:35.and you've got this great big chicken enterprise!
:27:36. > :27:39.It is, it's a lot more feathery. It certainly is.
:27:40. > :27:44.and I've got another 32,000 hens on.
:27:45. > :27:47.We now have 100,000 free-range layers.
:27:48. > :27:51.This shed here's got 16,000 in it, this part here.
:27:52. > :27:53.And they've got the freedom to roam up into the field?
:27:54. > :27:55.Yeah, they do, they do. Today's very windy,
:27:56. > :27:57.very cold wind, and hens don't like a really cold wind
:27:58. > :28:02.So they like to stay nice and cosy near the shed and in the shed.
:28:03. > :28:05.But they have the choice. During the summer, they go everywhere
:28:06. > :28:07.and they love a good root around, so they do.
:28:08. > :28:09.Well, despite it being sunny, I'm freezing. It is very cold!
:28:10. > :28:12.I don't blame the hens for being indoors. Can we go and see them?
:28:13. > :28:20.Just like with his sheep-breeding programme, Alan's done his research.
:28:21. > :28:23.To farm this volume of free-range chickens,
:28:24. > :28:28.you need a state-of-the-art chicken shed.
:28:29. > :28:30.So, tell me how the system works, then.
:28:31. > :28:33.So this is a really modern way of keeping hens.
:28:34. > :28:39.but each bird can move around the system anywhere it wants.
:28:40. > :28:42.Food, water, a place to lay their egg, onto the floor,
:28:43. > :28:49.The idea of it, this tiered idea, is to give this hierarchy.
:28:50. > :28:51.So, up there you can get really dominant hens
:28:52. > :28:52.and things that are feeling really strong.
:28:53. > :28:55.But if anybody's wanting a wee bit of peace and quiet,
:28:56. > :28:57.they can come down here and scratch about
:28:58. > :29:02.and they've got a wee bit more space, or they can go outside.
:29:03. > :29:04.I have to say, you know, I know my chickens.
:29:05. > :29:07.And, you know, when they're like this -
:29:08. > :29:09.fully feathered, nice bright-red comb...
:29:10. > :29:14.These are healthy birds, aren't they?
:29:15. > :29:18.That bird would normally lay about 280 eggs in its life,
:29:19. > :29:22.but we are managing to get up to 330, even 340 eggs,
:29:23. > :29:29.And the reason that we're managing to do that
:29:30. > :29:31.is because we look after them so well
:29:32. > :29:33.and, really, the hen is really happy.
:29:34. > :29:38.If the hen's happy, it will keep laying you eggs. Very good. Yeah.
:29:39. > :29:42.So where do all the eggs go? So the eggs are laid in their nest boxes.
:29:43. > :29:48.and then roll out of the shed into a central packing area
:29:49. > :29:57.which puts them into trays ready to go.
:29:58. > :30:00.Goodness me, Alan, there's some serious automation here.
:30:01. > :30:04.Yes, it is really geared towards simplicity and getting the job
:30:05. > :30:08.Some people would be amazed by this and think about you
:30:09. > :30:11.walking around with a wicker basket, picking up the eggs.
:30:12. > :30:17.This sheds down 30,000 eggs a day, so it is a lot of eggs.
:30:18. > :30:20.There's 32 million eggs a day eaten in the UK.
:30:21. > :30:25.So this farm is only 0.3% of the UK demand.
:30:26. > :30:28.You know, it is very small-scale, but it is a big thing to us.
:30:29. > :30:33.I wonder what you'll be doing in another 12 months if I come back.
:30:34. > :30:49.Staffordshire can boast high moors and gritstone crags.
:30:50. > :30:55.But it has another feather in its countryside cap.
:30:56. > :31:00.This is Cannock Chase, a haven from urban life
:31:01. > :31:11.and an inspiration for artistic locals.
:31:12. > :31:15.Jane Winstanley lives on the edge of Cannock Chase, and gives a new
:31:16. > :31:24.lease of life to feathers that the birds leave behind.
:31:25. > :31:29.Well, I use them in hair adornments, headpieces,
:31:30. > :31:35.And does it matter to you where you get these feathers from?
:31:36. > :31:41.I think it's really important that we source everything responsibly.
:31:42. > :31:44.There's a local game butcher in Penkridge and
:31:45. > :31:50.I take the wings and tail feathers and...
:31:51. > :31:53.and just, like, recycle it, really.
:31:54. > :31:56.People need to eat, people like to eat meat and there's waste from
:31:57. > :32:00.so rather than the feathers end up in landfill,
:32:01. > :32:04.I like to clean them up, dye them into a myriad of colours
:32:05. > :32:08.and then put them into my headpieces and clothes and
:32:09. > :32:13.feathered jewellery, all that kind of stuff.
:32:14. > :32:17.Prized by native cultures, feathers have long had sacred
:32:18. > :32:26.They were the height of fashion in the salons of 18th-century
:32:27. > :32:29.Europe and the workshops of the feather artists,
:32:30. > :32:44.this plume boom saw the slaughter of 200 million birds every year.
:32:45. > :32:47.Enlightened Victorians started the Plumage League,
:32:48. > :32:52.later to become the RSPB, to fight the trade.
:32:53. > :32:56.Eventually, in 1921, imported plumage was banned
:32:57. > :33:03.and the fad for feathers began to fade.
:33:04. > :33:06.Back in her workshop, Jane is putting a modern
:33:07. > :33:12.twist on plumasserie, the lost art of the feather artist.
:33:13. > :33:15.Jane, I'm so excited about this. Oh, good, I'm glad about that.
:33:16. > :33:17.Nature meets fashion. It is the perfect marriage.
:33:18. > :33:20.Although there are some incredible colours here,
:33:21. > :33:22.I'm quite drawn in to the kind of natural browns
:33:23. > :33:26.and the bright colours, the undyed ones here. Grab whatever you like.
:33:27. > :33:30.That piece there looks pretty incredible. Let me pick one.
:33:31. > :33:35.Right, so what we want to do is we want to cut
:33:36. > :33:38.it as close as we can to the bottom there.
:33:39. > :33:46.Thanks to the glory of the internet, you can learn anything,
:33:47. > :33:50.so I learnt how to skim the birds, taxidermy, the wings,
:33:51. > :33:53.all through videos on the internet, really. Amazing. So...
:33:54. > :33:56.What were you doing before, then, to have got you into this?
:33:57. > :33:59.I was entertainments manager at Keele University students' union.
:34:00. > :34:03.Very different to what you're doing now. Yes, completely different.
:34:04. > :34:07.I had quite a serious spinal injury a few years ago
:34:08. > :34:10.and I was a little lost as to what I was going to do.
:34:11. > :34:13.But because I've always been creative, because I'm always
:34:14. > :34:15.dressing my friends, they were like, you know,
:34:16. > :34:23.It's been wonderful to understand birds' feathers more
:34:24. > :34:26.and they've been a joy, really, so...
:34:27. > :34:28.I like to watch them fly in the sky.
:34:29. > :34:42.I think they are amazing. Lovely. Well done. We've got a natural here.
:34:43. > :34:44.Do you... All of your bling, is that charity shop?
:34:45. > :35:00.Yeah, I don't buy anything new, if I can help it.
:35:01. > :35:04.My simple design only took a few minutes, but once
:35:05. > :35:19.you're an expert like Jane, you can be as extravagant as you like.
:35:20. > :35:22.There we go. Let's try them on. Here we go.
:35:23. > :35:26.Oh, look at your beautiful blonde hair. There we go.
:35:27. > :35:32.How fabulous is that?! I absolutely love it. Oh, brilliant.
:35:33. > :35:35.It looks good. We're ready for the festival. Yay!
:35:36. > :35:38.And if you fancy going out searching for a few feathers this week,
:35:39. > :35:40.you'll want to know what the weather has got in store.
:35:41. > :36:05.Heathery hats and coats needed this week to stay warm, it's been so
:36:06. > :36:09.mild, this week will be a shock to the system, we reached the mid-teens
:36:10. > :36:16.again today, to the north much code in the North of Scotland, a sting in
:36:17. > :36:20.the tale of winter this week, it will turn cold, frosty by day but
:36:21. > :36:25.some sunshine to enjoy this week. Yes, you will notice the week and
:36:26. > :36:30.next few days. Enjoy the sunshine, plenty of it, with wintry showers
:36:31. > :36:36.thrown in. Some already across Scotland, mostly over high ground,
:36:37. > :36:39.watch out for ice, forming after the earlier rain across Northern Ireland
:36:40. > :36:43.and northern England as the rain moves south towards Southern
:36:44. > :37:20.counties of England and Wales. One more mild night in the south
:37:21. > :37:24.before the cold air comes. It will be damp tomorrow across southern
:37:25. > :37:26.counties of England and the rain will linger all day, especially
:37:27. > :37:28.towards the south coast. Most other places drier and brighter, the
:37:29. > :37:31.further north you go, further wintry showers, low levels by the north of
:37:32. > :37:34.Scotland by the afternoon, a lot of dry weather in between. Not as mild
:37:35. > :37:37.as this weekend for many of us, 8 degrees will be typical. As we go
:37:38. > :37:40.through to evening the rain again lingers close to th e south coast,
:37:41. > :37:42.we will have to keep an eye on that, some uncertainty in how far north it
:37:43. > :37:45.gets, southern damp on Tuesday before it clears. Wintry showers on
:37:46. > :37:48.the north of Scotland, summed it used coast, many of us on Tuesday
:37:49. > :37:50.will have a fine day with crib sunshine. You will need to wear
:37:51. > :37:52.layers, that is rather damp on Tuesday before it clears. Wintry
:37:53. > :37:55.showers on the north of Scotland, Sunderland used coast, many of us on
:37:56. > :37:58.Tuesday will have a fine day with crib sunshine. You will need to wear
:37:59. > :38:00.layers, that is on Wednesday and the band of wintry showers moving down
:38:01. > :38:03.across the country. Either side, fine weather, and the breeze in the
:38:04. > :38:05.sunshine. Not feeling too the middle of the week overnight we will see
:38:06. > :38:08.widespread frost, look how the map turns blue under clear skies, hard
:38:09. > :38:10.through the middle of the week overnight we will see widespread
:38:11. > :38:12.frost, look how the map turns blue under clear skies, fall to -10
:38:13. > :38:15.degrees. Then we start to look to the west, the weather front pushing
:38:16. > :38:17.in of the Atlantic, slow progress, for the most part on Thursday
:38:18. > :38:19.another dry day with brisk winds down the North Sea carrying further
:38:20. > :38:23.wintry expected midweek and where there is snow cover and there could
:38:24. > :38:25.be a lot in the north of Scotland temperatures could fall to -10
:38:26. > :38:27.degrees. Then we start to look to the West, the weather front pushing
:38:28. > :38:30.in of the Atlantic, slow progress, for the most part on Thursday
:38:31. > :38:32.another dry day with brisk winds down the North Sea carrying further
:38:33. > :38:35.wintry showers, cover up over high ground, the vast majority will have
:38:36. > :38:37.another dry day, albeit cold. Those fronts trying to push on from the
:38:38. > :38:40.West, probably cladding things up across the west of the cover up over
:38:41. > :38:42.high ground, the vast majority will have another dry day, albeit cold.
:38:43. > :38:45.Those fronts trying to push on from the West, probably cladding things
:38:46. > :38:47.up across the west of the further east you will week on a dry cold
:38:48. > :38:50.note. Fronts usually move west to east across the country. Not always!
:38:51. > :38:53.On this occasion we've for the week on a dry cold note. Fronts usually
:38:54. > :38:55.move west to east across the country. Not always! On this
:38:56. > :38:57.occasion we've got making a Spain and Portugal,down towards Spain and
:38:58. > :39:02.of energy with it. Low pressure within the vortex, one to watch.
:39:03. > :39:07.Because of that low pressure moves north-east it will start to bump
:39:08. > :39:11.into the cold air established across the heart of Britain. If that
:39:12. > :39:15.happens there is a risk of snowfall. That is of interest to fill farmers
:39:16. > :39:28.with lambing coming on. At this stage it looks
:39:29. > :39:31.I'm on the Staffordshire, Derbyshire border, at a school that
:39:32. > :39:37.unusually has a 72-acre farm as an extension to the classroom.
:39:38. > :39:40.Well, earlier on, I was helping set up all of the lambing pens.
:39:41. > :39:43.Now, we are moving onto lessons of a more technical nature.
:39:44. > :39:47.Tractor driving. I better get out of the way.
:39:48. > :39:49.Head of the farm and in charge of tractor lessons
:39:50. > :39:56.And now just try straight forward, and push it up so they can reach it.
:39:57. > :39:58.Christina, that was wonderful. It was.
:39:59. > :40:00.Is it a good teacher or an expert student?
:40:01. > :40:03.I think it's an expert student, isn't it? Good work, my friend.
:40:04. > :40:07.This, as an opportunity, to be driving tractors like this...
:40:08. > :40:10.We give them all the basics. The clutch control, forwards,
:40:11. > :40:13.backwards, a bit of a three-point turn with the trailer.
:40:14. > :40:16.And then we start to work with using implements out in the field. OK.
:40:17. > :40:21.And what kind of implements... Muck spreading. Topping, rolling.
:40:22. > :40:24.What a lesson to have on your timetable.
:40:25. > :40:30.Next up is Tara and this is only her second lesson behind the wheel.
:40:31. > :40:33.We are going to aim for the middle of that bale.
:40:34. > :40:35.You need to have quite good clutch control here.
:40:36. > :40:37.We don't want to come to the bale too quickly,
:40:38. > :40:40.because you need to make sure both spikes are going to
:40:41. > :40:49.because the bales are only just a little bit wider than
:40:50. > :40:54.the spikes here, so she's got to get it absolutely right going in.
:40:55. > :40:57.Very good. That'll do. Straight in in one.
:40:58. > :40:59.All we're going to do now is lift up the bucket to lift
:41:00. > :41:10.It's always very easy when you are reversing a tractor and
:41:11. > :41:13.a loader with a bale on the front to forget about what's
:41:14. > :41:16.happening at the front-end, if you're looking backwards.
:41:17. > :41:19.It doesn't half swing, the front. You can see there, look.
:41:20. > :41:24.Is she going to miss the bale? It is going to be close. Ooo!
:41:25. > :41:32.Steady. Right, so now you're going to go forward.
:41:33. > :41:36.It is going to be slower. Keep lifting up.
:41:37. > :41:39.Got to be really gentle with that front loader,
:41:40. > :41:41.because you can see with the hydraulics,
:41:42. > :41:48.if you are just a little bit too heavy-handed, you'll start bouncing.
:41:49. > :41:54.The patient cows are rewarded. Good effort, Tara.
:41:55. > :41:58.Miss Harrison, late for class. Sorry.
:41:59. > :42:01.I'm here now. You have been busy, though. I have, I have, I have.
:42:02. > :42:03.Would you like a little go at this? A little lesson.
:42:04. > :42:07.I've been lugging bales with my hand all week for the cows,
:42:08. > :42:11.so this is going to be... OK. Good. This is Christina.
:42:12. > :42:13.Hello, how are you?! Nice to meet you. You, too.
:42:14. > :42:16.Yeah, don't worry, we'll be watching from a distance.
:42:17. > :42:20.Don't start it until we are well away. Yes, stand back.
:42:21. > :42:26.Getting her revs up there. Go on, Ellie.
:42:27. > :42:30.I've driven a monster truck and that is way easier than this!
:42:31. > :42:37.Fingers are in the right place, which look pretty good. Oh.
:42:38. > :42:39.Almost stalled it. That's fine, don't worry.
:42:40. > :42:43.And stop, stick your brake on. To you? Yes. To me?
:42:44. > :42:57.It's good, it's perfect. Come on, keep it coming!
:42:58. > :43:07.Brilliant. Well done. Well done. I don't know about that.
:43:08. > :43:09.I think I prefer lugging them around by hand.
:43:10. > :43:11.I'm just creating a little seat for us.
:43:12. > :43:13.Grab that, grab that, pull it forward.
:43:14. > :43:16.We've got our own studio here. Sit on top and say goodbye.
:43:17. > :43:18.That's it, because that is all we have time for from Staffordshire.
:43:19. > :43:20.Next week, we are going to be in Essex, where
:43:21. > :43:24.I will be helping to harvest the famous Colchester oysters.
:43:25. > :43:26.And we'll also be meeting the world's first
:43:27. > :44:00.Wow. Hope you can join us then. See you then. Bye-bye. Bye.
:44:01. > :44:05.Oh, you're making your teddy bear. Were you not frightened?