Farmers can now sign up for Open Farm Sunday 2018

Farmers can now register to be a part of one of the highlights in the farming calendar – Open Farm Sunday.

The countrywide event is due to be held on 10 June 2018 and aims to have a massive positive effect by helping people to better understand all that farming delivers.

Earlier this year Open Farm Sunday saw more than 350 farms across the UK open their gates to 273,000 visitors for a fun and educational day out.

See also: Open Farm Sunday – advice for farmers running small events

Run by charity Linking Environment and Farming (Leaf), the theme for 2018 is “The Great British Farm Day”.

Annabel Shackleton, Leaf Open Farm Sunday manager, said: “Open Farm Sunday unites the whole British farming industry and is a key date in the farming calendar, so we’re officially making it the Great British Farm Day.

“It offers farmers a fantastic opportunity to welcome people on to farms to discover real farming at first hand and see for themselves how their food, and much more besides, is produced.

“Our research shows that taking part in Leaf Open Farm Sunday is a very powerful way to build public trust and support at both a local and national level.”

Organisers want to increase both the number of first-time host farmers and the number of farms overall for 2018.

To help with this the website has been simplified and offers a resource ordering system, peer-to-peer support through a private Facebook group plus a revised host farmer handbook.

To find out more about Open Farm Sunday or to register an event, visit the Leaf website.