Farmers who invite the public onto their farms are having a lasting positive impact, with nearly 90% of visitors in 2018 saying it has changed the way they think about farming.
This is 12% up on last year, according to a survey of visitors to LEAF Open Farm Sunday (LOFS) events in 2018, collected by LEAF, the charity which promotes sustainable farming and manages the campaign.
Ninety-two percent of people said they appreciated more the work farmers do, after visiting a farm.
Eighty-six percent said they felt more connected to the farmers who produced their food, and 78% said they were now more proactively looking to buy British food.
In 2018, 26% of farmers who took part in LOFS did so for the first time – the highest number to date.
“These figures show just how powerful it is when farmers open their farms to the public,” said Annabel Shackleton, LEAF Open Farm Sunday Manager.
“There is a high level of interest in food production but unfortunately we have seen a lot of misinformation about farming in the media.
“When farmers engage with the public, people can see for themselves the care and attention to detail that goes into growing quality, nutritious crops and the high levels of animal welfare.”
She added: “That is why we are calling on more farmers to come together in 2019; to open their farms on the 9th of June - together we can show people across the UK what our industry achieves and why British farming is so important.
“This is going to be increasingly important if we leave the EU – British farming will need the full support of the public,” she said.
'Getting closer to farming'
The theme for Open Farm Sunday 2019 is 'get closer to farming' focusing on the people involved – the farming families, the teams of technical experts across the UK involved in producing food, managing the countryside and natural resources.
Farming is more at the forefront of people’s minds after visiting a farm, according to the survey feedback.
One visitor in 2018 said: “It has opened up many conversations with the younger people in our family, who now appreciate where their food and drinks come from.”
Another said: “We now look for standards of meat produced and where meat in sandwiches has come from - we buy more free range and from farmers and markets where there is no ‘middleman’. We support local farmers by buying local milk.”
While another said: “I often talk to my young girls about our day at the farm and whilst driving through the countryside we are able to understand more about wildlife corridors, and the work that the farmers do within the fields.”
Since OFS started 13 years ago, almost 2,000 farmers have hosted events and welcomed more than 2.2 million onto their farms - with 293,650 visiting in 2018.
