More than 100 farmers host Open Farm Sunday events

More than 100 farms around the country opened their gates on Sunday (27 June) for Leaf Open Farm Sunday (OFS).

Agriculture’s “national open day” gave thousands of members of the public the chance to visit a working farm, after the Covid pandemic forced the event online in 2020.

Smaller events were the order of the day for many, with the organisers encouraging hosts to “take 30” and stage small, socially distanced walks or tours, as the nation eases out of lockdown.

See also: Open Farm Sunday beefs up support for farm hosts

One in three farms hosted OFS events for the first time. Caroline Drummond, Leaf chief executive, said: “It has never been more important that we continue to raise awareness of all that British farmers deliver in supporting our health and wellbeing, producing nutritious food, managing our beautiful countryside and protecting and enhancing our environment through climate positive, regenerative farming.

“As an industry, we need to build deeper and stronger connections with consumers, to have conversations, answer questions and seize every opportunity to share what we are doing to address the climate and nature emergency.

“In doing so, this will help drive appreciation, trust and, ultimately, more informed food choices.

“Of the farms that opened, one in three did so for the first time, so it was wonderful to welcome some new farmers into the Leaf Open Farm Sunday family.”

Ministerial visit

Defra farm minister Victoria Prentis visited Rectory Farm at Stanton St John in Oxfordshire, where she heard from the Stanley family about Leaf Marque Standard sustainable farming methods and was shown environment-enhancing Integrated Farm Management work.

“British farmers do so much to not only produce the nutritious food we eat, but also to care for the environment,” she said.

“It is vital that people understand more about all that farmers do and the high standards of food production and animal welfare in Britain.”

Great to celebrate everything farming at Rectory Farm in #Oxfordshire this @OpenFarmSunday 🚜🌾 pic.twitter.com/QxBPfAZIPK

— Victoria Prentis (@VictoriaPrentis) June 27, 2021

At the Bromborough Estate near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, farm manager Andrew Mahon described the atmosphere as really positive, with visitors as interested as ever in learning about the countryside.

“People were asking about our farming system, the environment and how the wet winter and Brexit has affected us,” he said.

Clarkson’s Farm was also a topic sparking discussion at this estate near Wellingborough.

“People were asking if how he is portraying the situation is how it really is – whether we are that prone to the weather and if incomes really are that poor.”

Open Farm Sunday is definitely worth taking part in, added Mr Mahon.

“It’s a great way of getting messages across to the public in a nice, gentle way, and I’d probably rather take smaller groups around – it’s easier to manage and they find the experience more satisfying.”

First-time farmer

At Dendoldrum Farm in Angus, Faye Colquhoun – taking part for the first time – said: “We were incredibly hesitant around organising our first Open Farm Sunday event, especially during a worldwide pandemic. We soon realised that we had nothing to worry about.

Silage talk on Dendoldrum Farm © Leaf OFS

“We wish that we’d known how valuable an experience Open Farm Sunday would be for both our visitors and ourselves. If we had, we would have done this many years ago.

“It was an incredible opportunity to showcase what we do on a daily basis. It truly was the best explanation ever of farm to fork.”

https://twitter.com/LoveYourVeg/status/1409142334198108167

According to previous Leaf OFS research, 87% of visitors find the day changes the way they think about farm­ing – from the tech­nol­o­gy required to run a farm­ing busi­ness through to how more sustainable, regenerative farm­ing is helping to address the climate crisis through better soil and water management, reducing waste, using renewable energy and enhancing biodiversity.

The next Leaf OFS is on 12 June 2022.