{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Alanah Reid, Creative Content Producer, and Karl Franklin","standfirst":"Karl Franklin is a first-generation sheep farmer and Cub volunteer. Each year, he brings Cubs to his fields and lambing shed to teach them about life on the farm. He tells us all about their farm visits and how he farms sustainably.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18963/karl-franklin.jpeg","width":2673,"height":1963,"altText":"Karl Franklin, a farmer, is holding a lamb in his right hand and a black and white sheep dog in his left hand, and is looking at the camera smiling. He\u0027s wearing a flat cap and glasses and is stood in a lambing shed filled with hay.","caption":"After working as a chef, Karl Franklin is the first in his family to get into farming.","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ENice to meet you, Karl. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EHi, I\u2019m Karl Franklin and I\u2019m a farmer from Oxfordshire. I\u2019m a first-generation farmer, which means I don\u2019t come from a farming background.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI trained as a chef when I left school, but in 2016, I left my chef career to start running a gardening business. Now, I\u2019m working on the farm full time.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow did you get into farming?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI\u2019ve always helped on the fields while working as a chef and running my gardening business, but I realised how much I enjoyed farming, looking after animals and being outdoors. I bought my first twelve sheep in 2015, shortly after I came back from the \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/international-scouts-and-events/international-events/wsj/about-the-jamboree/jamborees-of-the-past/\u0022 title=\u0022Jamborees of the past\u0022\u003EWorld Scout Jamboree in Japan\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI didn\u2019t plan to become a farmer if I\u0027m honest, it just happened. If you\u2019d asked me when I was in school, or even when I was busy working as a chef, I\u2019d never have thought I\u2019d be a full-time farmer in six years. It was very gradual.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you fit volunteering around farming?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI love volunteering with \u003Ca href=\u0022/cubs/\u0022 title=\u0022Cubs\u0022\u003ECubs\u003C/a\u003E each week after spending a day on the farm, and it\u0027s very easy to fit into my schedule. I know I\u0027ve got to be done by 6pm on Monday and I look forward to helping at their sessions in the evening.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnfortunately, I can\u2019t volunteer at sessions through the month of lambing in April, as we\u2019re so busy looking after the new lambs. Instead, I bring the Cubs to the lambing shed. They come down to the shed at least once during the month to see the lambs, learn about what I do and where their food comes from. They absolutely love it!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EWhat do the Cubs learn about when they visit your farm?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMany of the Cubs live in towns and villages nearby, so being at the farm gives them a chance to get outdoors, learn about the countryside and find out about farming in their community.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis year, the Cubs hiked up to the farm in the middle of the lambing season and I explained all about how the lambing shed works.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Cubs visited again when the lambs were slightly older, too. They really enjoyed seeing how the lambs had grown and running around in the field together. The Cubs greatly enjoyed the experience, and they\u2019re keen to come back again next year. It\u2019s great to give them the opportunity to see what happens behind the farm gate and be immersed in the farming process.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s quite handy that my partner is a \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteer/volunteering-with-scouts/\u0022 title=\u0022Volunteering with Scouts\u0022\u003EScout volunteer\u003C/a\u003E as well, because we\u2019re both able to teach young people about the farm in different ways.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith my partner\u2019s Scout group this year, we taught them about the farm in one of their sessions. We showed them photos of each different season on the farm, such as spring and autumn, and explained the different jobs I do as a sheep farmer during each season.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18964/karl-franklin-2.jpeg","width":3016,"height":2345,"altText":"Karl Franklin is holding a lamb in his arms and is smiling at the camera. He\u0027s stood in a lambing shed filled with hay and is wearing glasses and a flat cap.","caption":"Karl loves being able to teach Cubs about life on the farm","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EHow were the Cubs able to visit the farm safely?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIt can be a lot of work to get the Cubs there safely, but it\u2019s worth it to see them enjoying themselves and learning about farming.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe make sure to keep the Cubs a safe distance from the sheep and remind them that they\u2019re on a working farm, not a petting zoo. At petting zoos, the animals are used to being approached and fed, but it\u2019s important to keep young people safely away from animals on a working farm.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe remind the Cubs to be quiet and sensible, respect the animals and remember the animals have an important job to do.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EDo the farm visits go towards any badges?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, we make sure their visit goes towards badges. Scouts work towards the \u003Ca href=\u0022/scouts/activity-badges/farming/\u0022 title=\u0022Farming\u0022\u003EFarming badge\u003C/a\u003E, and we\u2019re working towards the \u003Ca href=\u0022/cubs/activity-badges/animal-carer/\u0022 title=\u0022Animal Carer\u0022\u003EAnimal Carer badge\u003C/a\u003E with the Cubs.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re going to finish it next year, as we\u2019re going to track a ewe (a female sheep) in the spring. I\u2019m going to give weekly or monthly updates on where she is and what she\u2019s doing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHow do you farm sustainably?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most important thing for sustainability on a farm is soil. The more organic matter you can add to your soil, like waste from livestock and sheep, the more sustainable it is.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe do a few different things. Over the winter, we plant crops, like turnips. Rather than leaving the soil bare (which can wash away the good nutrients), we plant a crop in between our cereal crops (like wheat and barley), and I let the sheep graze there.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGrazing helps fatten the sheep and they leave natural fertiliser behind. The natural fertiliser helps the ground and stops us needing to use as much artificial fertiliser, which is worse for the environment.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESheep are very useful when it comes to sustainability. As I said before, they graze arable crops, and of course, they help with the grass! Grass is fantastic at capturing carbon (it\u2019s stored in the ground, instead of in our atmosphere), so the more grass the sheep eat, the more it grows, and the more carbon it captures.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs well as helping retain carbon within the ground, sheep also grow wool, which is one of the most sustainable and renewable products available.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EHas modern technology helped or changed farming to make it more sustainable?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe actual farming systems have stayed very much the same. If you talk to the older generation, they\u2019ll tell you that their fathers and grandfathers did the same thing, but modern technology has helped farming become more sustainable and efficient.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, when I view rams, I check a spreadsheet on their genetics, which helps us understand more about them and their family history.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe more technology we have, the more sustainable farming is. It helps us understand things we never could\u2019ve before.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003EIf you had to pick your favourite thing about farming, what would it be?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELambing is the hardest part of my job, but it\u2019s genuinely the most rewarding.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter being up at 3am with a ewe who\u2019s struggling to give birth, going back later in the morning to see her up and about with a beautiful set of twins is the best feeling. It\u0027s so rewarding.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKarl posts about all things farming on his Instagram page, \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://www.instagram.com/the_pretend_farmer/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E@the_pretend_farmer\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"07 November 2022","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Volunteer with Scouts","url":null,"newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Cubs Animal Carer badge","url":"/cubs/activity-badges/animal-carer/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Scouts Farming badge","url":"/scouts/activity-badges/farming/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Top of the crops activity","url":"/activities/visit-a-local-farm/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Put your pecks in order activity","url":"/activities/put-your-pecks-in-order/","newWindow":false}],"id":50895,"nodeName":"Meet Karl Franklin: The volunteer teaching Cubs about farming","title":"Meet Karl Franklin: The volunteer teaching Cubs about farming ","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/18963/karl-franklin.jpeg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd232f8430","caption":"Karl Franklin","type":"jpeg","size":2160365,"width":2673,"height":1963,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Meet Karl Franklin: The volunteer teaching Cubs about farming ","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"When he\u2019s not busy farming, Karl volunteers at Cubs and teaches them all about life on a working farm.  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