“Once in your life you may need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman …. but everyday, three times a day, you need a farmer." Nadia Lim quoted in an interview recently. But are our tamariki aware of where the food they eat at each meal originates from, who grows it and the journey of kai from paddock to plate? Farmer Time is an exciting educational programme connecting students directly with their own farmer or grower to learn more about food production.

FARMERS are returning to the classroom in a new educational programme – but not as the students. This year farmers from around the country began beaming into primary school classrooms for video calls once a fortnight as part of the Beef + Lamb New Zealand-driven Farmer Time initiative.

An educational programme aiming to connect farmers with city schools is looking for more people in the Nelson Tasman region to sign up. Farmer Time links farmers with primary and intermediate school children through virtual classroom sessions.