With lob­by groups becom­ing more vocal and spread­ing mis­in­for­ma­tion togeth­er with polit­i­cal uncer­tain­ty post Brex­it, it is more impor­tant than ever to show the pub­lic all that farm­ing delivers.

Farm­ing needs the sup­port of the pub­lic, but it must be earned. Trans­paren­cy is no longer option­al. Con­sumers want all the details so they can make informed food choic­es. We can­not assume that they know that farm­ers pri­ori­tise safe­ty and care about health, ani­mal well-being, and the envi­ron­ment, among oth­er things. We must be will­ing to engage in a dia­logue with the pub­lic, to edu­cate and inspire, to embrace and answer their ques­tions in an hon­est, open manner.

Tak­ing part in LEAF Open Farm Sun­day (10^th June) pro­vides the per­fect oppor­tu­ni­ty to show the pub­lic real farm­ing and the pride in what we do day in, day out, and the skill, care and pas­sion that goes into every­thing we do.

Our research shows the expe­ri­ence of vis­it­ing a farm on LEAF Open Farm Sun­day is a pow­er­ful force for change. 86% of last year’s vis­i­tors told us that they learned some­thing new on the day, and four months on, 91% were more appre­cia­tive of the work farm­ers do and 89% said they felt more con­nect­ed to the farm­ers that pro­duce their food.

Authen­tic trans­paren­cy can trans­form our rela­tion­ship with the pub­lic, reduc­ing fear and cre­at­ing a plat­form for build­ing trust. So we need to take time to show the pub­lic face to face what farm­ers do, explain why we do it, answer their ques­tions and bring to life the ben­e­fits of British farm­ing. Hun­dreds of farm­ers do this very suc­cess­ful­ly every year on LEAF Open Farn Sun­day, but to have greater impact we need more farm­ers to host an event for farm­ing’s annu­al open day. 

All farm­ers can take part. Whether your event is a sim­ple farm walk or a full open day; a pri­vate invi­ta­tion only event, or open to the wider com­mu­ni­ty: it is up to you the type of event you host. The impor­tant thing is tak­ing part. Togeth­er we can achieve so much and reach out to far more than the 2 mil­lion peo­ple who have vis­it­ed events since the first Open Farm Sun­day in 2006.

I am delight­ed that, to date, more first-time host farm­ers than ever before have reg­is­tered to open on 10^th June — to increase our impact fur­ther we need more… so please take a moment, vis­it www​.farm​sun​day​.org, read our case stud­ies of last year’s first-time host farm­ers, find out what is involved and the free sup­port available. 

Open­ing a farm does take time and plan­ning, but it is so worth it — not just for the indi­vid­ual farm but for the whole indus­try — because if we don’t take time to tell our sto­ry, who will? 

Yours sin­cere­ly,

Annabel Shack­le­ton

LEAF Open Farm Sun­day Manager

To read the full let­ter click here.