Speaker 1 (1)
So, Tim, we have to do a short summary of our work experience on a farm.
Speaker 2 (2)
Right. My farm was great, but arranging the work experience was hard.
Speaker 2 (3)
One problem was it was miles away and I don't drive.
Speaker 2 (4)
And also, I'd really wanted a placement for a month, but I could only get one for two weeks.
Speaker 1 (5)
I was lucky the farmer let me stay on the farm so I didn't have to travel.
Speaker 1 (6)
But finding the right sort of farm to apply to wasn't easy.
Speaker 2 (7)
No. They don't seem to have websites, do they?
Speaker 2 (8)
I found mine through a friend of my mother's, but it wasn't easy.
Speaker 2 (9)
My farm was mostly livestock, especially sheep.
Speaker 2 (10)
I really enjoyed helping out with them.
Speaker 2 (11)
I was up most of one night helping a sheep deliver a lamb.
Speaker 1 (12)
On your own?
Speaker 2 (13)
No, the farmer was there and he told me what to do.
Speaker 2 (14)
It wasn't a straightforward birth, but I managed.
Speaker 2 (15)
It was a great feeling to see the lamb stagger to its feet and start feeding almost straight away, and to know that it was okay.
Speaker 2 (16)
Then another time, a lamb had broken its leg and they got the vet in to set it.
Speaker 2 (17)
And, he talked me through what he was doing.. That was really useful.
Speaker 1 (18)
Yes, my farm had sheep, too.
Speaker 1 (19)
The farm was in a valley and they had a lowland breed called Suffolks, although the farmers said they'd had other breeds in the past.
Speaker 2 (20)
So were they bred for their meat?
Speaker 1 (21)
Mostly, yes, they're quite big and solid.
Speaker 2 (22)
My farm was up in the hills and they had a different breed of sheep. They were Cheviots.
Speaker 1 (23)
Oh, I heard their wools really sought after.
Speaker 2 (24)
Yes, it's very hard wearing and they use it for carpets.
Speaker 2 (26)
I was interested in the amount of supplements they add to animals feed nowadays.
Speaker 2 (27)
Like, even the chickens got extra vitamins and electrolytes in their feed.
Speaker 1 (28)
Yes, I found that too. And they're not cheap.
Speaker 1 (29)
But my farmer said some are overpriced for what they are.
Speaker 1 (30)
And he didn't give them as a matter of routine, just at times when the chickens seemed to particularly require them.
Speaker 2 (31)
Yes, mine said the same.
Speaker 2 (32)
He said certain breeds of chickens might need more supplements than the others, but the cheap and expensive ones are all basically the same.
Speaker 2 (33)
So did your farm have any other livestock, Diana?
Speaker 1 (34)
Yes, dairy cows. I made a really embarrassing mistake when I was working in the milk shed.
Speaker 1 (35)
Some cows had been treated with antibiotics, so their milk wasn't suitable for human consumption, and it had to be put in a separate container.
Speaker 1 (36)
But I got mixed up and I poured some milk from the wrong cow in with the milk for humans.
Speaker 1 (37)
So the whole lot had to be thrown away.
Speaker 1 (38)
The farmer wasn't too happy with me.
Speaker 2 (39)
I asked my farmer how much he depended on the vet to deal with health problems.
Speaker 2 (40)
I'd read reports that the livestock's health is being affected as farmers are under pressure to increase production.
Speaker 2 (41)
Well, he didn't agree with that, but he said that actually some of the stuff the vets do, like minor operations, he'd be quite capable of doing himself.
Speaker 1 (42)
Yeah, my farmer said the same, but he reckons vet skills are still needed.
Speaker 1 (43)
Now we've got to give a bit of feedback about last term's modules, just short comments, apparently. Shall we do that now?
Speaker 2 (44)
Okay, so, medical terminology.
Speaker 1 (45)
Well, my heart sank when I saw that, especially right at the beginning of the course.
Speaker 1 (46)
And I did struggle with it.
Speaker 2 (47)
I thought it'd be hard, but actually I found it all quite straightforward.
Speaker 2 (48)
What did you think about diet and nutrition?
Speaker 1 (49)
Okay, I suppose.
Speaker 2 (50)
Do you remember what they told us about pet food and the fact that there's such limited checking into whether or not it's contaminated?
Speaker 2 (51)
I mean, in comparison with the checks on food for humans - I thought that was terrible.
Speaker 1 (52)
Mm. I think the module that really impressed me was the animal disease one.
Speaker 1 (53)
When we looked at domesticated animals in different parts of the world, like camels and water buffalo and alpaca.
Speaker 1 (54)
The economies of so many countries depend on these. But scientists don't know much about the diseases that affect them.
Speaker 2 (55)
Yes, I thought they'd know a lot about ways of controlling and eradicating those diseases, but that's not the case at all.
Speaker 2 (56)
I loved the wildlife medication unit, things like helping birds that have been caught in oil spills.
Speaker 2 (57)
That's something I hadn't thought about before.
Speaker 1 (58)
Yeah, I thought I might write my dissertation on something connected with that.
Speaker 2 (59)
Right. So...
Total Correct Answers: 59 / 59