Open Farm Sunday aiming to go virtual

Farmers encouraged to share pictures and film clips of their work online to highlight sector’s crucial role

Hopes are still high that Open Farm Sunday will take place in the autumn, but to fill the gap in the meantime the annual event’s organisers have planned an online version early next month.

To help connect the public with food production and the countryside, Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) have issued an appeal to farmers, crofters and landowners across the UK to share their farming pictures across social media on June 7 using the hashtag #LOFS20.

LEAF Open Farm Sunday (LOFS) manager Annabel Shackleton said the organisation wanted to harness and celebrate the support for the event from across the farming industry and the public – albeit in a different way.

“It is sad that the on-farm events cannot run as usual, but this will be a great opportunity for even more farmers to get involved online,” she said.

“Also, families will be able to get an insight into a whole range of farming enterprises across Britain in one day, in a very accessible way.”

The plan is that on June 7, from 8am to 8pm, producers from all farming sectors will take over the LOFS Facebook channel and host virtual tours highlighting what is involved in producing food, looking after the environment, and showcasing some of the science and technology involved on modern farms.

The virtual format will allow for live interaction and questions from the general public.

Mrs Shackleton added: “We have an amazing fan base of visitors who support LEAF Open Farm Sunday each year who are keen to keep in touch with what’s happening on farms.

“We would love the farming community across the UK to post short film clips and images throughout the day on their own channels using the hashtag #LOFS20, and like and share posts to show the fabulous work that they are doing on their farms to keep the nation fed whilst managing our beautiful countryside.

“This will create a powerful, colourful kaleidoscope filled with the personalities and work of our agricultural industry.”

Mrs Shackleton said the organisers are keeping a watching brief on holding the physical OFS event but hope farmers will be able to open their gates and share their farm with the public on Sunday September 20.

“The more farms that do this, the more we can share the crucial role farming plays in our society and economy,” she said.

“We recommend that farmers who organise an event use the LOFS free ticketing service, so they can manage numbers and communicate any event changes to visitors.”

Meanwhile, Farming Fortnight, a twoweek celebration of farming, will run from June 1-12 .

Each day of this campaign has a farming theme and accompanying social media hashtag – from arable farming’s #TractorTuesday to sheep’s #WoollyWednesday and #FutureFarming.

Topic sheets, case studies and videos exploring different farming sectors will help home teachers with sessions around food and farming.

More information can be found at countrysideclassroom.org.uk/ farmingfortnight and farmsunday.org

Social media channels are Facebook: @LEAFopenfarmsunday and Twitter: @OpenFarmSunday

Annabel Shackleton, LEAF Open Farm Sunday manager, wants the public to get an insight into farming.