There was once a time when all young children would have a farm set of one type or another. Some were elaborate sets with buildings and barns, fences and countryside furniture, others were simply a big box of wooden or plastic animals, with the box becoming the farm house and the patterns on the carpet representing the fields and paths. Although farm sets and the animals that go with them are still widely available today, how relevant are they for today's child, when you consider in particular the fact that very few children have even seen a farm, let alone expressed any interest in leaving the city when they grow up and becoming a farmer?

Whilst many children, perhaps the majority these days, have no personal experience of farms or farming, it is unlikely that they will escape the concept since farms and the animals within feature frequently in stories and tales that they will be familiar with. Even many nursery rhymes cover the concepts, such as 'Old Macdonald' and 'Little Boy Blue'. The fairy tales such as Jack And The Beanstalk feature farms and farmers at the centre and children may be familiar with seeing them from a distance as they race by on long journeys.

But why do these farms still hold an interest for young children? Perhaps we should be asking this differently, and rather than wondering whether children are interested them, instead we should question why we should encourage such an interest.

Today, farming is big news, and rarely do we find a paper or a television bulletin not raising an issue that concerns farming. Whether it is to do with organic products, animal welfare or illnesses, genetically modified products or just simply crop cost and availability, we cannot ignore the fact that farms are a very important part of our society. Additionally, it is important that we all realise where our food comes from, and take an interest in this for our own sake, and that of the animals, the workers and the environment.

It is valuable for children to have an understanding from an early age of where their food comes from. Children are fascinated to see cows in a field and know that their milk comes from them, and to see chickens strutting about and know that they are the animals that lay the eggs. It is important for children to appreciate that the food we buy in the shops is not simply manufactured from nowhere, or in big factories, but that it all starts in those fields, with real animals that we need to care about and think of.

An early understanding and appreciation of this can only help to strengthen the long term understanding and support we need to foster as a society to ensure the long term welfare of us all.

Of course, an understanding of the way farms work also provides a chance to begin to understand the life cycle, and seeing new born lambs skipping about gives you an ideal way of introducing the idea of birth and parenting from a different point of view. Children love the idea of seeing animals and babies younger than themselves of course!