THE smells, sounds, feel, taste and sights of the countryside were brought to life for more than 3,000 Essex schoolchildren at a popular event near Chelmsford.
See below for our picture slideshow from the event The youngsters, aged from eight to 10, had all five senses engaged as they learnt how their food goes from the field to their fork when they visited the annual Food and Farming Day at Writtle College.Watching enormous state-of-the-art combine harvesters cut corn in a field, sampling freshly cooked pancakes; handling turkey eggs, stroking alpacas and sniffing fresh herbs were just some of the activities on offer to youngsters at the show staged by Essex Agricultural Society.
Led by farm worker escorts, the children, who came from 43 schools, move round five zones: machinery, crops, livestock, food, and countryside and environment, each of which tells a part of the food and farming story.
In the Livestock tent Writtle College part-time lecturer and PhD student Stephanie Collingbourne is being kept busy looking after 12 one-month-old piglets and their mother, while youngsters huddle round eager to stroke them.
Stephanie said: "The children are all very excited and are asking lots of questions. Some do not realise that the ham in their sandwiches and the bacon they had for breakfast started out as piglets like these."
Over in the crops tent Amy Middle, nine, from Lawford Mead Junior School in Chelmsford is sniffing oils and seeds.
She said: "It's really interesting here. I've learnt a lot such as how certain flowers can make oil which is used in animal feed.
"I liked handling the turkey eggs, which were big. There were also chicken eggs of different sizes and I was told that the bigger ones have two yolks and could produce two chicks."
Enjoying putting their hands in big bowls of flour to feel the difference between white and wholemeal are pupils from Holy Family Catholic Primary in Witham.
Daisy Hastings, 10, said: "I've learnt how different parts of the wheat are used in different types of flours. That's useful to know as I make a lot of bread with my mum at home."
Overseeing the samples were Graham Loveday and Russell Hume from Marriage's flour millers in Chelmsford.
Russell said: "We've been coming along to this show since it began as we see it as a very worthwhile day out for youngsters. They're very eager to learn and I'm quite surprised by how much knowledge some children have."
A huge outdoor stage gives pupils the chance to view sheep-shearing demonstrations and learn about the various breeds.
Oxsana Bateman, 10, from Holy Family Catholic Primary in Witham, said: "We've found out there are lots of different breeds of sheep in Europe and their coats can be quite different and make different types of clothes."
The food tent with cookery demonstrations is a very popular location as here youngsters are able to sample goodies such as pancakes, smoothies and cake.
Enjoying smelling and tasting a variety of herbs are a group of pupils from St Peter's C of E School in South Hanningfield.
Georgette Payne, 10, said: "Some of these are surprisingly tasty. We have just learnt how sausages are made which was good."
Classmate Isabelle Partridge, 10, said: "I've learnt how to dry herbs and how bees make honey. I think this is my favourite area of all."
Another hands-on display has been set up by members of the Writtle Evening Women's Institute.
President Enid Roberts said: "We come here every year and members make cakes, gingerbread, scones and quiches which we display alongside their raw ingredients.
"The aim is to show children at a glance what goes into the food they eat every day."
All primary schools in Essex are invited to the event, which is always vastly oversubscribed. Organisers try to give priority to those schools who have not been before. This year 40 per cent of the schools were visiting for the first time.
Guy Smith, Essex farmer and chairman of the event's steering group, said: "The most encouraging thing about being involved in putting this day together is the fact so many schools want to come. Within weeks of us announcing the event in the autumn we are over-subscribed.
"As a farmer I think it's great that I work in an industry where schools and schoolchildren have such an appetite to learn more about what I do. Not many other industries are so lucky."
