1. Modern Day Farm Yard Farming in the 21 st century @homeed101

2. Introduction The role of a farm has been the same for thousands of years, the only change is how we farm it. The prominent role of a farm is to produce the raw ingredients for food making. This will never change. Not all farms produce the same things. Some only produce Milk, some only produce meat and some only produce grain. Farms produce different items all around the world as the climate is different. We will take a look into all aspects of the modern farm in much more detail as we go along. We will talk about farm machines, animals and storage. @homeed101

3. Grain Bread is made from flour, and flour comes from wheat. Wheat is a type of cereal crop. Cereal crops are grasses that produce grains that we can eat. Farmers grow wheat so that we can make bread, cakes, biscuits and many other things. Other cereal crops, like barley, are used to feed animals such as pigs, cows and chickens. The cereals we eat at breakfast are often made from maize, wheat or oats. Foods made from the grains of cereal crops are good for you. They give you energy so, if you eat some toast or a cereal at breakfast, it gives you a great start to the day. @homeed101

4. Types Of Grain Most wheat grown in the UK is winter wheat. This is planted in the autumn, generally between September and November. Winter wheat accounts for more than 95% of the UK grain used by millers. Grain planted in January-March is generally spring wheat. This tends to yield less, but can suit some farms well. Wheat imported from North America, which accounts for 600-700 thousand tonnes each year, is spring wheat used to make bread making flour. nabim categorises UK wheat varieties into one of four groups in order to give farmers an indication of the likely use of the grain and how much it is likely to be worth. This information is released each year in the nabim wheat guide. Farmers also receive advice on varieties from other sources such as the HGCA, which produces a Recommended List each year. Millers work closely with plant breeders to assess new varieties before they are available on a commercial scale, so that growers have a clear indication of the likely market for the grain. @homeed101

5. Planting Planting grain can be done at several times a year but it will yield different quantities of grain. Lots of factors can effect the growth of grain from climate to soil. No two harvests will ever yield the same each time. Not even if they are planted at the same time in the same soil. Before planting the soil has to be ploughed ready for the new crops. Then a machine attached to a tractor plants the grain. Next its time to be patients and watch them grow. There are special chemicals called pesticides that can be sprayed on the growing plants to stop bugs and disease but they can be very harmful to other wildlife so farmers have to be careful if they use them. Many chose not to use them at all. @homeed101

6. Harvest Harvest is a very worrying time for farmers and there is a very short time the grain can be harvested. The plant has to be fully grown, the grain must have developed, the moister in the plant must be low and the weather must be dry. Wet grain will block the machines. Harvest used to be done by hand. Someone would use a sickle to cut the plant down then the grain was separated by hand. The plant is used as straw once dried as bedding and feed for some animals. @homeed101

7. Final Farm Product The final product is the grain it self. The farmer keeps this in massive silos and grain storage barns where the wheat is kept dry. The farmer sells the grain to large factories who use it to make thousands of different types of food. The main grain we use in the UK is wheat. Wheat is used to make the flour we use in many types of cakes, bread and cereal. The price a farmer can charge for the grain is dependent on the quantity grown throughout the country, a good year for grain can mean the price is reduced for the farmer and they could end up being unable to sell all there grain. A bad year can mean the price can be much higher but there is much less grain to sell. The life of a grain farmer can be difficult as their income is dependent on the weather. @homeed101

8. Grain Task Research – Find five products that are made with grain Art – Design your own combine harvester for collecting wheat Video – Use YouTube.com to watch videos of a harvester at work @homeed101