College Farm Opens its Door to the Public
UK - Walford and North Shropshire College will be opening its doors to the public on Sunday 22 September, with visitors able to view the farm’s new milking and cow housing facilities from midday until 5pm.
17 September 2013
2 minute read
The open day, which is being hosted at the College’s farm in Walford, is being organised in association with Fullwood Ltd which has installed two modern milking parlours at the college’s new RD Park Dairy Centre.
The new facilities, which were officially opened by the Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP, Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in July, mark the completion of the first phase of an ambitious £3.2m development plan for the Walford Campus, which includes a new Rural Skills Centre and Enterprise Hub due for completion by the end of the year.
Ellesmere based Fullwood Limited has supplied the technology for a state-of-the-art robotic milking parlour and a new herringbone parlour which will milk the farm’s 300 dairy cows.
Neil Ridgway, Farm Manager at Walford College looks forward to opening the farm’s gates to the public. “Everyone at the College is immensely proud of the new RD Park Dairy Centre and we are looking forward to opening our doors to the public. The viewing gallery will be open from midday to 5pm for visitors to watch the cows being milked through two fantastic examples of the very latest milking parlours, and to learn a little more about the hard work that goes into producing fresh milk.”
The College’s equine centre, animal care and engineering departments will also be open to the public, with refreshments available throughout the day.
All proceeds and donations from the open day will go to the RD Park Trust which provides support to the College’s agricultural students
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