People love to see what farmers do every day

Leaf’s top tips for a first time host farmer:

1 Start small – with something like a farm walk. The public love to see what we do on a daily basis so there is no need to add anything extra to your farm – a visit to see the hens and pick up the eggs, a chance to watch you feed the sheep or milk the cows, a walk through the crops looking at the soil and plants or a chance to pick some fruit are all opportunities visitors may have never experienced.

2 Offer pre-booking – that way you can manage numbers. Leaf Open Farm Sunday is currently working on a pre-booking form that can be added to your profile on the website but there are also lots of alternatives online or you can just use your email address.

This gives you some added control and confidence in the day.

3 Keep it short – you don’t need to run the event for a whole day, a few hours is sufficient – just make sure you clearly advertise this on all your promotional materials.

4 Register your event – as soon as you have decided to take part, even before all the planning is in place, register your event at farmsunday.org

Once registered you will be sent a host handbook that will provide lots of tips and recommendations to help you plan your day including activity ideas, promotion, how to order your free resources – gateside banners, leaflets, posters, information sheets, freebie giveaways, etc – risk assessment templates and health and safety guidance.

5 Start the planning – give yourself enough time to plan the day, and invite other local farmers and friends to support you. Even if you are hosting a farm walk, writing down some short notes will help ensure you don’t miss anything. Open Farm Sunday is all about giving the public an opportunity to see for themselves the great work farmers do – they don’t get many opportunities to tell their story direct to the consumer – so let’s make the most of it.