Department:
Citizenship
Year Group:
University
Venue Region:
England
Town:
Basingstoke, Hants
Summary:
WINCHESTER UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE QUESTER 4 GROUP
Over the years our Group has had many memorable outings around Hampshire and its recent visit to the Laverstoke Park organic livestock farm was certainly one to remember.Set in beauttiful Hampshire countryside the farm is unusual in that much of the livestock are buffalo. We started off by visiting the poultry and then the pigs, all of whom were out in the open with plenty of space to roam around, which is an essential characterisitic of an organic farm. The next item on the itinerary was the mozzarella cheese production facility. This exclusively employs the very rich milk from the buffalo herd and the process is highly mechanised in a strictly controlled hygenic environment, so we wore protective clothing. Also produced in the same facility were other dairy products, including a coffee icecream, which for some of us was a life altering experience during the subsequent tasting session. At the end of the day we finally got to see the buffaloes being milked and some of the calves in their shed. The memory one carries away was the sheer beauty of these wonderful animals and the respect with which they were held in by all the farm staff.
Over the years our Group has had many memorable outings around Hampshire and its recent visit to the Laverstoke Park organic livestock farm was certainly one to remember.Set in beauttiful Hampshire countryside the farm is unusual in that much of the livestock are buffalo. We started off by visiting the poultry and then the pigs, all of whom were out in the open with plenty of space to roam around, which is an essential characterisitic of an organic farm. The next item on the itinerary was the mozzarella cheese production facility. This exclusively employs the very rich milk from the buffalo herd and the process is highly mechanised in a strictly controlled hygenic environment, so we wore protective clothing. Also produced in the same facility were other dairy products, including a coffee icecream, which for some of us was a life altering experience during the subsequent tasting session. At the end of the day we finally got to see the buffaloes being milked and some of the calves in their shed. The memory one carries away was the sheer beauty of these wonderful animals and the respect with which they were held in by all the farm staff.
Venue:
Laverstoke Farm
A working farm with a great education facility
Benefit:
See below
Plus points:
Our guide for the day was Emma. She was very enthusiastic and was able to answer our questions without difficulty and with humour.
Overall:
Comments