We are a class of year 3 and 4 children at Vardon School in Hamilton. The purpose of this blog is to share what we are learning with others. Click into our individual blogs to see samples of our work and reflections of what we did well and what we can improve on.
If dairy farmers are busy milking cows should they have to worry about our environment. Listen to our ideas on why we think farmers should or shouldn't have to care for our environment.
Mark's class has been busy with Halloween and Mark has been out for a few days... We will have lots to say. We are very involved with our local farms and believe, farmers and the people who by their goods have lots responsibility to the environment and keeping the earth clean.
I think, yes, because if you don't have a good environment then the cows might get diseases. If the grass is not healthy for the cows, then the milk they produce would not be good for us. Also, all of the manure is not healthy for the land. Some manure is good because it provides nutrients to plants to help them grow. ~Kaila and Poppy
To Kaila and Poppy, Yes some of the animals poo is good for the grass and helps it grow. In New Zealand farmers have to be responsible for using a pressure hose to hose down the milking shed so it is nice and clean for the next lot of cows. The poo is washed away into the effluent pond and then it is squirted over the paddocks with an irrigation machine that looks a little bit like a giant sprinkle. To help make the grass grow for the cows to eat and the more grass they eat the more milk they produce. From Room 11
Yes they should, because if they don't keep the grass healthy then the cows could catch diseases. If the cows get diseases from an unhealthy environment then the milk would get bad and the people who drink it could get very sick. ~Amani and Jordan
To Amani and Jordan, When we went to the dairy farm we learnt that if they see a cow that looks sick they put it into another paddock on its own. So that the sick cows milk doesn't spoil the milk of the rest of the herd. From Room 11
Yes they should, because if they don't have a clean field they can't feed the cows appropriately and the cows' milk would be poisoned. If they are in an enclosed grazing area than someone could be hired to pick up the manure. The manure can be used as a fertilizer for the fields to make the grass nice and green and healthy. It is pretty stinky though. ~John and Autumn
To John and Autumn, Thanks for your comment. You had an interesting point about cows grazing in an enclosed area. In New Zealand our cows are lucky because they all get to be out in the fresh air and can munch on fresh grass all day long. Where do most of the cows in your country live? Are they in enclosed spaces or are they outside? How are the cows in your country milked? We have milking sheds that have special machines that suck the milk out. From Room 11
Yes they should. If the cows don't have a good environment, then they could get ill and they could die and that would put the farmers out of business. The manure needs to be picked up and taken care of because it can start to smell pretty terrible. Also, if it rains a lot and all of that manure runs into the streams then the water can get contaminated. ~Milan and Gabe
To Milan and Gabe, We hadn't thought about the water getting contaminated yet. But it is a very interesting point because we wouldn't be able to drink it anymore. We wouldn't be able to play/swim in it. The streams might overflow with all the pollution. And the fish and other life (eg: tadpoles) in the waterways would die. Are you streams and waterways around farms nice and clean or are some of them polluted. We are lucky that in New Zealand most of our water is still really clean but we do still have some areas that are getting dirty and we have to think of ways to keep them clean. From Room 11
Mark's class has been busy with Halloween and Mark has been out for a few days... We will have lots to say. We are very involved with our local farms and believe, farmers and the people who by their goods have lots responsibility to the environment and keeping the earth clean.
ReplyDeleteI think, yes, because if you don't have a good environment then the cows might get diseases. If the grass is not healthy for the cows, then the milk they produce would not be good for us. Also, all of the manure is not healthy for the land. Some manure is good because it provides nutrients to plants to help them grow.
ReplyDelete~Kaila and Poppy
To Kaila and Poppy,
DeleteYes some of the animals poo is good for the grass and helps it grow. In New Zealand farmers have to be responsible for using a pressure hose to hose down the milking shed so it is nice and clean for the next lot of cows. The poo is washed away into the effluent pond and then it is squirted over the paddocks with an irrigation machine that looks a little bit like a giant sprinkle. To help make the grass grow for the cows to eat and the more grass they eat the more milk they produce.
From Room 11
Yes they should, because if they don't keep the grass healthy then the cows could catch diseases. If the cows get diseases from an unhealthy environment then the milk would get bad and the people who drink it could get very sick.
ReplyDelete~Amani and Jordan
To Amani and Jordan,
DeleteWhen we went to the dairy farm we learnt that if they see a cow that looks sick they put it into another paddock on its own. So that the sick cows milk doesn't spoil the milk of the rest of the herd.
From Room 11
Yes they should, because if they don't have a clean field they can't feed the cows appropriately and the cows' milk would be poisoned. If they are in an enclosed grazing area than someone could be hired to pick up the manure. The manure can be used as a fertilizer for the fields to make the grass nice and green and healthy. It is pretty stinky though.
ReplyDelete~John and Autumn
To John and Autumn,
DeleteThanks for your comment. You had an interesting point about cows grazing in an enclosed area. In New Zealand our cows are lucky because they all get to be out in the fresh air and can munch on fresh grass all day long. Where do most of the cows in your country live? Are they in enclosed spaces or are they outside? How are the cows in your country milked? We have milking sheds that have special machines that suck the milk out.
From Room 11
Yes they should. If the cows don't have a good environment, then they could get ill and they could die and that would put the farmers out of business. The manure needs to be picked up and taken care of because it can start to smell pretty terrible. Also, if it rains a lot and all of that manure runs into the streams then the water can get contaminated.
ReplyDelete~Milan and Gabe
To Milan and Gabe,
DeleteWe hadn't thought about the water getting contaminated yet. But it is a very interesting point because we wouldn't be able to drink it anymore. We wouldn't be able to play/swim in it. The streams might overflow with all the pollution. And the fish and other life (eg: tadpoles) in the waterways would die.
Are you streams and waterways around farms nice and clean or are some of them polluted. We are lucky that in New Zealand most of our water is still really clean but we do still have some areas that are getting dirty and we have to think of ways to keep them clean.
From Room 11