Open Farm Sunday - 1 June 2008
This years event has been described by LEAF as "the best yet!". Over 400 farmers across the country opened up and early reports indicate that nearly 150,000 members of the public visited a local farm on 1st June. A full report will be issued by LEAF later in the year but in the meantime here is our very own Produce World report.
As proud sponsors of the 2008 Open Farm Sunday event I would like to share with everyone the day's successes, and give a great BIG thank you to everyone who took part - THANK YOU!
9 Produce World growers took part in the day.....
- Mark Means ~ The Laurels, Terrington St Clements
- Roger Hunt-Payne ~ Bridge Farm, Whittlesey
- James Brown ~ Pollybell Farm, Epworth
- Ian Grant ~ Bishop Farm Partners, Boston
- Stafford Proctor ~ Lighthouse Farm, Sutton Bridge
- Andrew Nottage ~ Russell Smith Farms, Duxford
- Brian Kaye ~ Culfargie Estates, Perthshire
- Mhairi Smeeton from IFP ~ Village Farm, Isleham
- Carolyn Coxe ~ Marshalls, Butterwick
..and across these growers' farms, there were over 4760 visitors that walked through the gates. Typically, the British weather was less than reliable, with bursts of sunny and drizzly spells, but this did not stop the farms having a successful day.
All the growers played a huge part in bringing consumers and farming together and giving people the chance to experience first hand the sights, sounds and smells of their farm. Marshalls did a fantastic job in the making this happen, and our Marshalls Open Farm Sunday representative explains why:
"As a result of the open day, it has enabled us to bridge the gap between us and the local community and has raised the issue even more so now that there is a gap in knowledge of where our food comes from, but also the fact that people do want to find out. We gave them that opportunity but I believe there is still a lot more work to do and therefore Open Farm Sunday has provided us with the drive to do more with the community and start to build stronger relationships".
There was a huge range of fantastic activities taking place throughout the day, these included tractor & trailer rides, wellie throwing, nature trails, farm tours and machinery displays. But that's not all; each farm had some very individual attractions, which were great, these included:
- Pollybell Farms - hands on plant your own sunflower & bird box making activities.
- Bishop Farm - Lincoln red cows & calves, sheep & calves, goats, a small donkey & even some ducklings, and a bio-fuel racing car.
- Culfargie Estates - stands for the Bee Conservation Trust and a Red Squirrel display.
- Marshalls -plant your own pumpkin, RSPB badge making and owl pellet dissection.
Produce World was not satisfied with just providing sponsorship funds to support Open Farm Sunday, we wanted to get even more involved and personal with our growers, to help make their day even more special, and I am delighted to say that we had over 20 very willing volunteers, from Solanum, RBOrganic, Marshalls, Rustler and IFP, that assisted our growers on the 1st June. Everyone took a hands on approach and really got stuck in, our growers were overjoyed with all the help and support, so a HUGE thank you to all of the OFS volunteers.
Bishops Farm had an extra exciting day, with some special guests, including Mark Simmonds, the local MP & his family, Alan Stennett from Lincolnshire Radio and they even had Fiona Leggates' racing car, which was a big hit.
Produce World were pleased to find that Waitrose, another main sponsor of the Open Farm Sunday, made that extra effort and Paul Yarrow and Richard Bickerton visited some of our growers on the day.
Well, as if the day's events and activities had not been hectic enough, over £1,100 was raised for both local and national charities, including Air Ambulance and Boston Butterfly Hospice.
Finally, we have had some fantastic feedback, and here are just a few things that the visitors themselves had to say about their Open Farm Sunday experience.
"Your displays of machinery & produce were excellent and we all enjoyed our visit". ~ Marshalls
"Very interesting & enjoyable", plus lots of enquiries into next years event and one lady even sent a card. ~ Bishop Farms
"Good presentation in plain language", "A very interesting & enjoyable way to spend the afternoon". ~ Proctor Brothers
So, as you can see some great successes have arisen from Open Farm Sunday and Produce World are very proud to have been a part of the 2008 event. Planning has already started for next years Open Farm Sunday – 7th June 2009, so get the date in your diary!
Once again, a massive thank you to everyone who has helped and supported both in organising the event and taking part on the day. See you next year!
Catriona Mowbray – Marketing Manager
Charlotte Bowles – Commercial Assistant
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