Over 250,000 people are expected to visit a farm on Sunday 10th June as over 350 farms across the UK prepare to open their gates to the public for the industry’s annual open day.
With public access to the natural environment on the government agenda, Open Farm Sunday, taking place on 10 June, aims to unite the UK food and farming industry to demonstrate to the public all that British farmers deliver.
But the industry needs more farmers to share the story of farming with the public, according to the organisers of this weekend’s Open Farm Sunday.
LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) are calling on farmers who have not hosted before to visit an open farm to see how it can be done, with a view to opening their own farm next year.
A recent survey shows that 91% of people are more appreciative of the work farmers do after attending an Open Farm event.
89% said they felt more connected to the farmers that produce British food.
Critically, for farmers, 73% said they now actively look for British produce to buy since visiting an Open Farm Sunday event.
'Unbeatable way'
Annabel Shackleton, LEAF Open Farm Sunday Manager said the initiative has proved an "unbeatable way" to engage with the public and share important messages.
“At a time when we particularly need the public to understand and value all that farmers deliver, we are urging farmers who haven’t yet hosted an event to visit a farm this Sunday, to see what it’s all about and get inspired to take part next year,” Ms Shackleton said.
Open Farm Sunday is making a big impact in driving forwarding public awareness and support of for the UK agricultural industry.
Since the campaign first started in 2006, more than 1600 farms have opened their gates welcoming in total over two million visitors.
Colin Dawes, a regular LEAF Open Farm Sunday host and one of the first farmers to take part in 2006, said it is a great way to pick up ideas and inspiration.
“The feedback from visitors is always positive and it’s such an effective way to market our industry,” he said.
