Bryony and Archie Graham - Lodge Farm
The farm is a 300 hectare arable farm on the Essex/ Hertfordshire border just outside London; it has been in the family for four generations and is a mixture of owned and tenanted land. We diversified into weddings and events in 2018, and this now also forms a core part of the business, alongside an increased area of energy crops (willow). We are also a part of the Resilient and Ready Programme, which Corteva Agriscience and LEAF run to support four farmers in becoming industry leaders in sustainable agriculture.
First time host farmers in 2023, 300 hectare arable farm
Open Farm Sunday is so important as there is such a disconnect between where the public thinks their food comes from and how it is produced; the farmers are the best people to tell this story. With growing societal awareness of environmental concerns, farmers have a role in showing how we care for the land we manage and how important it is that the public/consumers know what lengths British farmers go to meet these standards. We believe that the public should know what power the retailers have in the food supply chain, how passionate farmers are about producing good quality food, and the public’s role in supporting farmers by choosing which food they buy and from where.
We started doing Open Farm Sunday in June 2023 with 175 visitors. We believe others should host an Open Farm Sunday because of the positive experience you get from speaking to people who are genuinely interested in what we do. They see actual value and are often shocked at some of the realities faced by farmers in the UK. It left us feeling proud of what we do, which is needed at a time when there are so many challenges in UK agriculture across the board.
Our standout moment from the event was bringing together local farmers to work together. Throughout the day we have machinery displays, tractors and trailer rides, hands on activities for children and food and drink. Next year we will plan to make changes possible having a focus on machinery and more guided walks.
Overall, we have 17 people volunteering on the day, we could have done it with fewer, but we wanted to be prepared. We had a lot of support from LEAF, and we used their brilliant resource available and advice on risk assessments and health and safety.
If you’ve ever felt like nobody understand the world we work in as farmers and the challenges we face, then this is your opportunity to change that, you will be amazed at how much people listen.
Top Tips ! – Keep it small to begin with and manage visitor numbers with tickets so you can plan for numbers and be well prepared, rather than being anxious about how many people might turn up.
Keen to take part and host an event this year? Register your event here.
Questions? Contact the Open Farm Sunday team: [email protected] or phone 07912 463151
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