Why Open Farm Sunday matters to the farming industry

It has never been more critical for the farming industry to keep politicians and the public onside.

Farmers are facing a new era, with the government planning to move away from the types of direct payments farmers have received under the Common Agricultural Policy, to a new system of paying farmers public money for public goods.

One of the aims of the recent consultation paper on the future of food, farming and the environment once the UK leaves the EU was to gain a greater understanding of the type of public goods people consider to be the most important – and more than 44,000 people responded.

The government has suggested that improved environmental outcomes should be a priority, but has also sought views on how areas such as greater public access and improved animal welfare should feature.

The debate continues, however, so it is more vital than ever that people understand and value what farmers can – and already do – deliver in terms of delivering safe, affordable supplies of food and enhancing the environment.

Public support

One of the organisations that has done the most in terms of promoting agriculture and driving a connection between the wider public and farming is LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming).

More than a decade has now passed since LEAF launched Open Farm Sunday as a mechanism to allow consumers to find out first-hand about the work of farmers and the role they play in producing safe, high-quality food, while also managing the environment.

Since its launch in 2006, it is estimated that more than two million people have taken part, with 91% of those surveyed after visiting a LEAF Open Farm Sunday event last year saying they were more appreciative of the work farmers do and 89% reporting they felt more connected to farmers as a result.

In June 2017, LEAF went a step further in this line of its work, taking the decision to merge with FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) to strengthen its public engagement activities.

FACE, which has now been rebranded as LEAF Education, is an organisation that helps teachers use farming as part of the curriculum and, through the provision of resources, helps engage children with where their food comes from.

The merger is allowing the two groups to “turn up the volume” in educating people – young and old – about food production and the countryside.

Open Farm Sunday

June will be a critical month as part of these public engagement activities.

On 10 June, hundreds of farmers will once again open their gates as part of the Open Farm Sunday event.

Many of those same farms will also welcome groups of schoolchildren taking part in the Open Farm School Days initiative, which runs across the month.

It’s a fantastic way to shine a light on what farming already delivers in terms of public goods and to help get across the message that continued public support for the industry matters.

David Canty is a farming consultant in the St Albans office who also sits on LEAF’s Education and Public Engagement Committee.