What are farms for?

A schoolchild was asked during a lesson on agriculture, where fillet steak came from. 'The supermarket miss' he replied. Similarly, one of the top England football players was in New Zealand not so long ago, and he was informed by a waiter that bacon was not on the breakfast menu. He commented that he was unable to understand why given the enormous population of sheep.

Ignorance of the origin of our food is now greater than at any other time. More than half or England's teenagers were unable to complete a questionnaire, asking them for example, to identify the main ingredient of cheese, what wheat is used for, and whether potatoes where grown underground or in a tree.

Is the fault of our education system, bad parenting, or simply a modern day lack of interest toward things that are piled high in market stalls and shops in every main street?

In fairness to our schools, most children are taken on a farm visit at least once during their education.Indeed, even in the centres of our cities, children are never far away from a working farm which is open to the public. But it seems the message is not getting across.

Perhaps it doesn't matter. After all, how many people understand how their computer works or how a plane actually gets off the ground!

With the imports of cheap food from Europe, farms are going out of business at an alarming rate. Farmers are having to diversify and find new uses for their empty barns and cottages, with many being converted into holiday accommodation.

But I for one, enjoyed growing up in a farming community. I enjoyed chasing pigs around and shovelling cow poo! I was never in doubt where my dinner came from!