Organ­ised by LEAF Open Farm Sun­day (LOFS), which will cel­e­brate its 15^th anniver­sary this June, the events are designed to encour­age and sup­port more farm­ers, small­hold­ers and crofters to take part in farming’s annu­al open day. They will bring togeth­er exist­ing and poten­tial LOFS host farm­ers to share ideas and top tips on plan­ning, activ­i­ties and offer­ing the pub­lic a safe and mem­o­rable farm visit.

The free net­work­ing and infor­ma­tion events will take place in March and April, fea­tur­ing pre­sen­ta­tions by expe­ri­enced host farm­ers. Led by a LEAF Open Farm Sun­day Co-ordi­na­tor, top­ics cov­ered include plan­ning and event pro­mo­tion, com­mu­ni­cat­ing your farm­ing sto­ry, man­ag­ing vis­i­tor num­bers, health and safe­ty and use­ful hints and tips to help the process run smoothly. 

Annabel Shack­le­ton, LEAF Open Farm Sun­day man­ag­er, explains: ​“This year is LEAF Open Farm Sunday’s 15^th anniver­sary and we’re keen to build on its suc­cess and see even more farms across the coun­try tak­ing part. These relaxed and infor­mal events are a great oppor­tu­ni­ty for get­ting ideas and net­work­ing with oth­er farm­ers tak­ing part. Whether organ­is­ing an event for the first time or an expe­ri­enced host — there is some­thing for every­one, how­ev­er large or small your event.” 

LEAF (Link­ing Envi­ron­ment And Farm­ing) offers LOFS host farm­ers a range of free sup­port which includes: 

• Online webi­na­rs and infor­ma­tion videos 
• A host farmer Infor­ma­tion Pack avail­able to down­load for farm­ers con­sid­er­ing host­ing their first LEAF Open Farm Sun­day event 
• A free resource pack con­tain­ing pub­lic­i­ty mate­r­i­al (posters, fly­ers, gate ban­ner, etc), sug­gest­ed activ­i­ties, health and safe­ty guid­ance, polo shirt and lots more! 
• Web­site (www​.farm​sun​day​.org) where farm­ers can find the full list of net­work­ing and infor­ma­tion events, reg­is­ter and pro­mote their LOFS event, order free resource packs, and find out more about LEAF Open Farm Sunday 
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Toolk­it to help farm­ers pre­pare for speak­ing with the pub­lic on the day. 

LEAF Open Farm Sun­day gives the pub­lic the oppor­tu­ni­ty to dis­cov­er where their food comes from and how farm­ers care for the coun­try­side. Over 400 farms across the coun­try, from Jer­sey to the Shet­land Isles, are expect­ed to open on Sun­day 7^th June 2020. As Annabel explains: ​“As well as show­ing the pub­lic what farm­ing deliv­ers and its role in cli­mate change mit­i­ga­tion, there are real busi­ness ben­e­fits too. Host­ing an event can help farm­ers boost sales, learn new mar­ket­ing skills, and build staff morale and sense of pride. You can gain new con­tacts, or sim­ply improve rela­tion­ships with your local community.” 

The events cur­rent­ly sched­uled to take place are: 

Book­ing is essen­tial via TryBooking. 

For more infor­ma­tion vis­it our web­page for these events: https://​farm​sun​day​.org/​o​p​e​n​-​m​y​-​f​a​r​m​/​i​n​f​o​r​m​a​t​i​o​n​-​e​vents

If you have any ques­tions please call LEAF on 024 7641 3911 or email: [email protected]