Learn about wheat with George the Farmer

Summary

In this educational video, Simone and friends explore wheat farming at Farmer Lachie's 'Boonderoo' farm in South Australia. They learn about the Trojan wheat variety, its transformation into flour, and the process from sowing to harvesting. The video showcases modern farming techniques like auto-steer tractors and GPS-guided harvesters. It concludes with a delightful homemade pizza-making session using freshly milled flour, emphasizing the journey from farm to table.

Takeaways

• 🌾 The video introduces Simone, George, and Ben who visit Farmer Lachie's farm 'Boonderoo' in South Australia to learn about wheat cultivation.
• 🐏 Lachie's farm grows various crops and animals, including sheep, cattle, and wheat, with the wheat variety being Trojan.
• 🍞 Trojan wheat is used for making flour, which is essential for bread, biscuits, and pizza dough.
• 🚜 The wheat sowing process involves cultivating the land, sowing with an air-seeder, and using auto-steer tractors for precision.
• 🌱 Post-sowing, the farm employs a sprayer to control weeds, ensuring a clean crop.
• 🌞 Wheat requires ample sunshine and rainfall from May or June planting to December or January harvesting.
• 🌾 Harvesting is indicated by the bending of wheat heads and the dryness of the grains when rubbed between hands.
• 🚜 The combine harvester, equipped with GPS technology, cuts the crop and separates the grain from the plant, leaving the stalks behind.
• 🍕 The harvested wheat is stored in silos before being sent to flour mills or packaging plants, eventually ending up in kitchens for food preparation.
• 🍕 The video concludes with the group making homemade pizza using freshly milled flour, showcasing the full cycle from farm to table.

Q & A

What is the name of the farm where the wheat is grown?

The name of the farm is 'Boonderoo'.

What types of crops and animals are raised on Boonderoo farm?

On Boonderoo farm, they grow sheep, cattle, and crops, including wheat.

What variety of wheat is grown on the farm?

The variety of wheat grown on the farm is Trojan.

What is the end product of the wheat grown on Boonderoo farm?

The wheat is used to make flour, which can be used to make bread, biscuits, or pizza dough.

How is the wheat sown on the farm?

The wheat is sown using an air-seeder, which blows the seeds down air hoses about three centimeters into the soil.

What technology is used by the tractor for sowing the wheat?

The tractor uses auto-steer technology, which allows it to drive itself in long straight rows without the need for manual steering.

What is the role of the sprayer in the wheat cultivation process?

The sprayer is used to control weeds that grow after sowing, ensuring the crop remains clean.

When is the wheat typically sown and harvested on the farm?

The wheat is sown in May or June and is typically harvested around December or January.

How do farmers determine if the wheat is ready for harvest?

The wheat is considered ready for harvest when the heads bend over and the grains are dry when rubbed between the hands.

What is the role of the combine harvester in the harvesting process?

The combine harvester cuts the crop with a cutter bar and separates the grain from the plant using a large sifter, storing the grain in its tank while leaving the stalks behind.

How does the harvester navigate the fields during the harvesting process?

The harvester uses GPS technology for steering, allowing it to navigate the fields autonomously and maintain straight rows.

What happens to the harvested grain after it is collected by the harvester?

The harvested grain is emptied from the harvester into a field bin, truck, or chaser bin, and then poured into silos for delivery to a flour mill or packaging plant.

What is the final destination of the wheat after it leaves the farm?

The final destination of the wheat is the kitchen, where it can be used to make various food products like bread, biscuits, and pizza.

What is the significance of the homemade pizza made at the end of the script?

The homemade pizza made with freshly milled flour represents the end product of the wheat cultivation and harvesting process, showcasing the journey from farm to table.

Outlines

00:00

🌾 Exploring Wheat Farming at 'Boonderoo'

Simone and her friends visit Farmer Lachie's farm 'Boonderoo' in South Australia to learn about wheat farming. Lachie explains that they grow the Trojan variety of wheat, which is used to make flour for bread, biscuits, and pizza dough. The process of growing wheat involves cultivating the paddocks, sowing seeds with an air-seeder, and using a tractor with auto-steer technology. After sowing, weeds are sprayed to keep the crop clean. The wheat is sown in May or June and requires ample sunshine and rainfall for growth over the next eight months. Harvesting occurs around December or January when the wheat heads bend over and the grains are dry. The combine harvester, equipped with GPS technology, cuts the crop and separates the grain from the plant, leaving the stalks behind.

05:07

🍕 Homemade Pizza with Freshly Milled Flour

After a day of learning about wheat farming, the group decides to make homemade pizza using freshly milled flour. They blend wheat in a blender, then add water, yeast, salt, and olive oil to create the pizza dough. The dough is left to rest and rise before applying tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, salty ham, and bocconcini. The pizza is then baked for 15 minutes. The group is excited to share their delicious and nutritious homemade pizza with the farm workers, showcasing the end product of the wheat they learned about earlier.

Keywords

💡Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain that is a staple food used to make flour for various food products like bread, biscuits, and pizza dough. In the video, wheat is the primary crop being grown on Farmer Lachie's farm 'Boonderoo' in South Australia. The variety mentioned is Trojan, which is cultivated and eventually harvested to be turned into flour, highlighting the importance of wheat in the food production process.

💡Flour

Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. In the context of the video, flour is produced from wheat and is essential for making bread, biscuits, and pizza dough. The script mentions that the wheat grown on the farm will be used to make flour, illustrating the transformation of the crop into a key ingredient for various food items.

💡Air-seeder

An air-seeder is a type of agricultural equipment used for sowing seeds. It uses air hoses to blow the seeds into the soil. In the video, the air-seeder is used to sow wheat seeds about three centimeters deep into the soil, showcasing a modern method of seed planting that ensures even distribution and depth for optimal growth.

💡Auto-steer

Auto-steer is a technology used in agricultural machinery that allows the vehicle to steer itself, typically using GPS guidance. In the script, the tractor on Lachie's farm uses auto-steer to drive in straight rows for sowing, which increases efficiency and precision in farming operations.

💡Harvest

Harvest refers to the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. The video describes the wheat harvest, which occurs around December or January when the heads of the wheat bend over and the grains are dry. This is a critical time for farmers as it marks the culmination of months of growth and care for the crop.

💡Combine Harvester

A combine harvester is a large machine used to efficiently harvest grain crops. It cuts the crop and separates the grain from the plant material. In the video, the combine harvester is depicted as a crucial tool on the farm, using a cutter bar and a sifter to collect the wheat grain while leaving the stalks behind, demonstrating the automation and efficiency of modern harvesting methods.

💡GPS Technology

GPS technology refers to the use of the Global Positioning System for navigation and guidance. In the context of the video, GPS is used in the combine harvester to steer itself, ensuring straight rows during the harvest. This technology allows for precise and efficient operation, reducing the need for manual steering and enhancing the overall productivity of the farming process.

💡Silo

A silo is a large storage structure used to store bulk materials, often agricultural products like grain. In the script, the harvested wheat grain is poured into silos after being collected from the field. Silos are crucial for protecting the grain from the elements and pests while awaiting transportation to flour mills or packaging plants.

💡Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizza refers to a pizza that is prepared from scratch at home, often using fresh ingredients. In the video, the characters decide to make homemade pizza after harvesting wheat, emphasizing the connection between the farm's produce and the final food product. The process of making pizza dough from flour, water, yeast, salt, and olive oil is described, illustrating how the wheat crop is transformed into a delicious meal.

💡Mozzarella Cheese

Mozzarella cheese is a soft, white, pull-apart cheese traditionally used on pizzas. The video script mentions the use of mozzarella cheese on the homemade pizza, highlighting it as a key ingredient that contributes to the pizza's characteristic stretchy texture and flavor. It also serves as an example of a dairy product that complements the agricultural produce from the farm.

Highlights

Introduction to Simone, George, and Ben exploring wheat farming.

Farmer Lachie introduces 'Boonderoo' farm in South Australia.

Diversity of farming activities including sheep, cattle, and crops.

Cultivation of the wheat variety Trojan for flour production.

Wheat's transformation into flour for bread, biscuits, and pizza dough.

Description of the wheat cultivation process using an air-seeder.

Use of auto-steer technology for precise tractor navigation.

Weed control practices to maintain crop quality.

Optimal sowing time in May or June for wheat.

Importance of sunshine and rainfall for wheat growth over eight months.

Harvesting period in December or January when heads bend over.

Harvesting method involving checking wheat dryness by hand.

Introduction of the combine harvester and its role in wheat harvesting.

Mechanism of the harvester separating grain from plant stalks.

Use of GPS technology for autonomous steering of the harvester.

Storing harvested grain in silos for delivery to mills or packaging plants.

Lucy's suggestion to cook homemade pizza using freshly milled flour.

Recipe for making pizza dough using a blender.

Instructions for preparing and baking the pizza.

Final product presentation: a delicious homemade pizza.

Conclusion and invitation to watch the wheat story.

Transcripts

G'day my name's Simone and these are my mates George and Ben.

Today, we're investigating what it takes to grow wheat. Let's find Farmer Lachie and see what we can discover.

Hi guys! My name is Lachie. This is my farm 'Boonderoo' in South Australia.

On our farm we grow sheep, cattle and crops. One of the crops we grow is

wheat, which you can see behind me here. The variety of wheat here is Trojan.

It'll be used to make flour which we can make bread, biscuits or pizza dough.

Hang on, Simone. Did you hear that? Bread, biscuits or pizza dough!

So wheat is turned into flour and flour is used to make pizza dough. I wonder how long it takes to

get this crop from the paddock to the plate?

We'll cultivate our paddocks and then after we've cultivated, we'll sow them with an air-seeder.

The little seeds are blown down air hoses and our sown about three centimetres into the soil

The tractor drives in long straight rows up and down our paddock using auto-steer

which means that tractor drives itself and we don't have to use our hands to steer it.

After sowing we'll actually get our sprayer out and we'll spray the

weeds that grow as well to make that crop nice and clean.

The wheat is sown in May or June and Lachie says lots of sunshine and rainfall is needed to help

it grow over the next eight months. Around December or January it's harvest time!

We know the crop is ready to harvest when the heads bend over.

And we grab a handful of wheat and rub it in our hands and it's nice and dry.

Song When the summer sun starts beating down it's time to take a good

song look around feel that grain between your hands

song let's start harvesting this land

song do the harvest hop! yeah no time to stop! we gotta get this crop off before it drops!

song The harvester has a big wide comb the knife cuts the grain to give a new home

song way up in that big full box crikey, mate! watch out for that fox!

song do the harvest hop!

Luckily Lachie doesn't have to pick it all by hand. That's the combine harvester's job. A cutter bar inside the header cuts the

crop and then it's fed into a large sifter that separates the grain from the

plant. The grain is fed into the harvesters storage tank and the stalks

are all left behind. It's amazing to think that the harvester is steering

itself using GPS technology. There's no farmer holding the steering wheel.

Just look how straight all of those rows are!

song Cereal crops are great to eat barley, oats and all that yummy wheat mill 'em, crack 'em or eat them whole you know it's all wheat in your big bread roll

song you know it's all wheat in your big bread roll do the harvest hop yeah know time to stop

song gotta get this crop off before it drops

song the farmer calls out on his noisey 2-way mate how's the crop yielding today?

song about six tonnes to the hectare I think keep the trucks up we'll be full in a blink

song do the harvest hop yeah no time to stop

song we gotta get this crop off before it drops

song do the harvest hop yeah no time to stop

song gotta get this crop off before it drops

When the harvester is full the grain is emptied out into a field bin, a truck or a chaser bin

like Lachie has. Then it's poured into even bigger bins called silos ready for

delivery to a flour mill or packaging plant. The final stop is the kitchen.

Well George that was certainly hot and

dusty work on Lachie's farm harvesting all that delicious wheat and I don't know

about you mate but I am starving. Lucy what do you suggest that we cook?

Well Ben and George after a busy day my favourite thing to make is homemade pizza

homemade pizza with freshly milled flour is going to be delicious.

Lucy you do not know how much George and I love pizza. We are so pumped!

So in goes the wheat. Our blender on high for one minute. How awesome is that George?

So our next step is to add our ingredients. We already have flour in our blender so we're going

to add water, yeast, salt and olive oil. Wow George it is so easy to make pizza

dough we just know those ingredients and we've got it and if we haven't got a

blender at home we can knead it by hand.

Okie Dokie George, now our dough is finished. We need to put this aside.

Let it rest for the next 20 minutes until it doubles in size. Make sure you add loads

of veggies to your tomato sauce base. Ok George we now have our beautifully risen dough.

So when applying your tomato sauce be careful to keep your edges clear we

want that nice crispy crust that we all love. That's fantastic hey George? I

reckon you can pass Lucy that mozzarella cheese there. Thank you, George.

So our mozzarella cheese is that nice stretchy cheese that you see when you

have a pizza. It's awesome. It's also a great dairy food. Alrighty so now we have

some salty ham and Ben would you mind getting the bocconcini for me?

I reckon I can do that Lucy. We're just going to apply this and then it's time

to go in the oven for a further 15 minutes.

That looks fantastic! I tell you what the guys on Lachie's farm are gonna love this! Awesome! Let's pop it in!

Oh, George my mouth is watering! Well here we go guys... my gift to you! Hey Presto Pizza!

That looks fantastic Lucy! Nutritious and delicious! George we better get back to

Lachie's farm. I bet everyone's starving by now!

song do the harvest hop yeah no time to stop

song we got to get this crop off before it drops

Thanks for watching our wheat story. Catch you later!