This is the day each year when hun­dreds of farm­ers open their gates to offer the pub­lic a fan­tas­tic and infor­ma­tive day out. Vis­i­tors are able to dis­cov­er at first-hand how farm­ers sup­port our well­be­ing – through their care of the envi­ron­ment, the sus­tain­able pro­duc­tion of our food and the man­age­ment of the countryside.

LEAF Open Farm Sun­day is a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty to meet our farm­ers, and to see and hear about what goes into pro­duc­ing sus­tain­able, cli­mate pos­i­tive, nutri­tious food. The pub­lic can find out about how sea­son­al sum­mer crops like pota­toes, aspara­gus, rasp­ber­ries, sal­ad, veg­eta­bles and bras­si­cas are grown, how farm­ers are man­ag­ing resources like soil and water and learn how sta­ples like meat and dairy pro­duce get from field to plate. Farms of all types and sizes will be open­ing their gates, with a host of activ­i­ties planned such as guid­ed farm walks and nature trails, trac­tor and trail­er rides, and dis­plays of mod­ern, high tech farm machinery.

As well as pro­duc­ing the food we eat, farm­ers are also the cus­to­di­ans of our coun­try­side; from foot­paths and hedgerows to wood­land and mead­ows, it is the farm­ers we have to thank for main­tain­ing Britain’s’ won­der­ful land­scape. Vis­i­tors to a LEAF Open Farm Sun­day event will be able to learn more about this work, direct from the farmer themselves. 

Annabel Shack­le­ton, Man­ag­er for LEAF Open Farm Sun­day said: ​“After such a chal­leng­ing year, we hope that peo­ple will once again be able to vis­it a farm on the 27^th June for LEAF Open Farm Sun­day. One last­ing impact of the pan­dem­ic is people’s increased inter­est in the prove­nance and sus­tain­abil­i­ty of their food, as well as a grow­ing con­cern around cli­mate change. Farm­ers play a vital role in sup­port­ing the health and well­be­ing of our soci­ety with the nutri­tious food they pro­duce, the coun­try­side they man­age and the steps they take to enhance and pro­tect the envi­ron­ment, through cli­mate pos­i­tive, regen­er­a­tive farm­ing. LEAF Open Farm Sun­day pro­vides a won­der­ful insight into all that farm­ers do. We are real­ly look­ing for­ward to wel­com­ing the pub­lic and shar­ing the amaz­ing sto­ry that is British farming.” 

LEAF Open Farm Sun­day takes place on 27^th June 2021 — vis­it www​.farm​sun​day​.org near­er the date to find a list of farms tak­ing part. To avoid over­crowd­ing, this year vis­i­tors will be asked to book to attend events before­hand. If on-farm events can­not go ahead, LEAF will organ­ise a day of vir­tu­al farm tours online. Please check the web­site for details and fol­low LEAF Open Farm Sun­day on social media to keep up to date with what is hap­pen­ing on farms across Britain through­out the year.

Read the full press release here.