Make up
your own mind

1 How big was the farm?

The farm was 900 acres of Wiltshire countryside with a beautiful old house. It was just a 30 minute drive for us to go from being town folk to country dwellers. We were introduced to the farmer, George and his family, his dogs and the goats - a fantastic welcome!

The family has lived on this farm and in this house for three generations. George began farming when he was in his late teens and despite farming being a difficult profession - especially recently - we could see how much he enjoyed his work.

Back to top

2 Why were the cows indoors?

The farmer took us to see the fields first, where he grew his wheat and barley. The cows were not in the fields as they move in to the sheds in October when the fields become wet. This is because they cannot get the nutrition they need from the land and they would mulch up the fields. Some of the wheat George grows (a type called Claire) is sold to make flour for pizzas and pasta. He explained that groups of farmers join a confederation whereby they have better selling power and negotiation power as a group rather than as an individual. We walked round the fields some more but the children were eager to see some cows.

Back to top

3 What were the cow sheds like?

The noise of mooing was quite loud as we rounded the corner and came upon the cow sheds. I was amazed at how clean the cows looked and I have to say that they all looked very well cared for. I was pretty worried prior to arriving that the children would see these sad creatures and then realise their fate. As it turned out, the cows looked very content. George also explained that they were cleaned out every couple of days and you could see that this was the truth. Everyone had the opportunity to feed the cows some silage and they gratefully accepted it once they got over their nerves - we scared them!

Back to top

4 How old were the cows?

We didn’t see any calves so I asked why. George explained that he buys his cows when they are calves and rears them until they are about two years old. Then he sells them on for their meat and replaces them with a new group of calves.

Each cow has its own passport which shows its life history; a bit like a car registration document! This way the farmer can prove that all of his animals are healthy and come from legitimate places.

Back to top

5 What do the cows eat?

From the cow shed we went on to see his combine harvester - the children were thrilled! We were shown the drying machine that dries the wheat and Hollie dived into the massive pile of wheat and it almost swallowed her up! George showed us that some of the wheat is mixed up with molasses to create the food for the cows. I tasted the molasses - just like treacle! Mixing the molasses with the dry mix ensures that the cows do not choke on their food, because without the molasses the food would be very dry. It was reassuring to see for ourselves, as well as hear the farmer confirm, that no chemicals are added.

Back to top

6 Were any questions not answered?

George was very open and happy to answer any of our questions on any subject. He explained how much he actually makes from selling each cow and considering the amount of work and the strict guidelines he must adhere to, he actually doesn’t make a huge profit. He said that he would make more money breeding horses than keeping cows, but cattle farming is his passion.

Back to top

7 Has it changed my views?

The family gave us lunch and made us feel very welcome. We had a fantastic day and were very surprised at what we saw. If McDonald’s uses farmers like George then I would say that there is no doubt in my mind that the quality of the meat is very good. I have never met a man so passionate about his work and it was a real pleasure to meet him and have a snapshot into his life.

Back to top