Farm facts

Felix loves to discover new facts about farming. Look at all the things he’s been learning about.

Cows

cows are the most popular farm animal
cows change grass, which has little food value and is hard to digest, into milk which is rich in food value
some breeds of cattle are kept purely for beef, others for milk, and some for both
cows eat 70 kg of grass per day which means that in a week they eat their own weight in grass! When grass is scarce they are fed hay and silage too

pigs are kept mostly for their meat – they make pork, bacon or ham
a pig’s bristles, called hog’s hair, can be made into paintbrushes
the female pig, or ‘sow’, can have as many as 18 piglets in a litter. The record in the UK is 32 surviving piglets, although the ideal number is 12 as the sow only has 12 teats to feed her young
pigs suffer from sunburn, which is why they love to wallow in the mud in the hot summer months

there are two types of sheep - Lowland Sheep and Hill Sheep
lowland sheep live in rich pastures close to the farm and are used to being fenced in. They are large in size with thick, short fleece
hill sheep are hardier and can live on the hilltops where the grass is not as good. They are very good at climbing and jumping and do not like to be fenced in. They have a coarse, long fleece to protect them from the cold
as the weather gets warmer, sheep are sheared to remove their wool and this is spun to make yarn, which is made into clothes and carpets

there are two types of wheat crops – winter and spring
winter wheat is sown in September and harvested in July/August, almost a year later
spring wheat is sown in March and harvested a few months later in July/August
wheat is used to make straw and grain
the grain is milled into flour and is used to make breakfast cereal, pasta and biscuits