The Campus Stars campaign has been launched to showcase the colleagues still working on campus during the lockdown and highlight the crucial work they do.

The University of Nottingham Farm Team is based at Sutton Bonington Campus. The team includes:

• Arable Manager – Joe Greenfield
• Dairy Manager – Nigel Armstrong
• Assistant Dairy Manager – Joe Barton
• Head of Calf and Youngstock Rearing – Natalie Pummber
• Farm Administrator – Lucy Shaw
• Herdsmen – Krzystof Sek and Przemyslaw Czajka
• Dairy and Arable Farm Technician – Nacia Bonnick

Nigel has worked at the University for 25 years, Krzystof has worked with the cows for around 15 years and Lucy has worked at the University for nine years. The other team members have all joined within the last five years.

The University Farm staff continued to work throughout lockdown and saw little change due to the nature of their work. The cows still needed to be fed and milked and calving continued. Due to the time of year, the spring crops on the arable side of the farm needed to be sowed and the grass that is grown for silage for the dairy cows required tending to. In the farm’s office, paperwork such as government and Red Tractor legislation, cattle passports and invoices for feed and seed still needed processing.

The UoN Farm team do not only support staff and students, but the nation too. The milk produced is sold by Tesco and any leftover crop not used to feed the cows is sent to be used for products such as bread and biscuits.

The team are all from farming backgrounds and have a shared understanding that this work is a way of life that requires dedication. They work during national holidays such as Christmas and bank holidays, so continuing to work during lockdown came as no surprise.

The UoN Farm team’s message to the University community is to stay safe and they look forward to the time that everyone returns to campus.