THE head of a world-renowned dairy firm visited Wigfield Farm last week to meet two Jersey cows which were donated by the firm.

The pair of calves were born last month and were donated to Barnsley College by Longley Farm.

Owner of the farm, Jimmy Dickinson, and Paul Robson, the manager of Tyers Hall Farm in Ardsley and operated by Longley, were able to check on the progress of the calves last week.

Paul said the donation came about following conversations with the farm on how best to ‘bridge the gap’ between college and employment on a large-scale dairy farm.

“The original idea was just to lend them for a while, thinking the smaller cows would be ideal for the public to come and see, as well as for the students working with them,” Paul added.

“Then we started talking about them keeping the pair, so I asked Jimmy if we could donate them as it would be a good thing for us to get out into the community.

“We want to encourage people to come into farming which is a good industry, if you’re the right sort of person.

“There’s a real gap between education and the reality of working on a farm.

“By doing this, we’re hoping to bridge the gap in a way.

“It’s good to talk to young people who are interested and come forward and say to us, ‘I want to be a farmer’.”