|
Sue and Jeremy Padfield, from Church Farm, Stratton on the Fosse, near Bath, who is soon to be launched as a Demonstration Farm with neighbouring farmer - Rob Addicott said:
"Our Farm Sunday event was a huge success, we were all left feeling shattered but team work made the dream work! We all had such a great time, members of the public really enjoyed what we had on offer, trailer rides were fantastically appreciated, the children were kept busy with lots of craft ideas, everyone adored the animals, we sold out of ice cream (a local new brand of course) and people really did taste the difference between their usual standard supermarket BBQ meats and our 100% beef burgers and vowed to use a local butcher in future. All in all, it was a huge success and we are already planning next year's event."
|
  |
|
Christine Duff from West Town Farm - an organic beef, arable and vegetable farm at Ide, near Exeter, was equally enthusiastic about the response she received:
|
|
"We had a lovely relaxed day which was really appreciated by visitors. As well as a farm walk, we had a number of other activities including stream dipping, clay puddling and a 'sound' walk. We wanted to be part of Farm Sunday and felt a real feeling of solidarity with other farmers taking part across the country. It's essential that people know what's happening on smaller farms and what we're doing to protect the environment. We would definitely get involved again and it was nice that for about half the people that came along, it was their first time on a farm."
Barbara Bennett who farms a 60 hectare mixed farm in Callington, Cornwall with her husband, Richard and son, Ben explained that visitors were genuinely interested to find out about farming and how their food is produced:
"We had all kinds of machinery on display and explained what each was used for and their advantages and disadvantages. People were fascinated with the sheep - we explained all about electronic identification and why we kept particular breeds. We gave out information from the Wool Board on shearing, cleaning and the differences between upland and lowland flocks.
|
|
|
We put all the food we use for the livestock into different buckets and explained why we used a particular feed and the importance of minerals in an animal's diet. People were really interested in why we keep the calves in pens and asked a lot of questions. The children really enjoyed themselves with the two quizzes we devised and the day ended with a farm walk and sheep dog demonstrations.
|
  |
|
We think it was really important for us to get involved in Farm Sunday - if farmers don't take the time to explain honestly what they do and why then we can't grumble about the public not supporting us - the majority of people want to have a rapport with farmers and when you explain why you do things, they are generally very supportive. We'll start thinking about next year's event - once we've recovered!"
|
|
One father and daughter - Gary and Hannah Joynt – who attended their local Farm Sunday event at Nottinghamshire LEAF Demonstration Farm – Thorney Abbey Farm said:
"This was the first LEAF Farm Sunday event we had attended and certainly not the last. We were greeted with a warm welcome by Sue and Andy Guy and treated to a three hour tour of the farm. As a family, we are very interested in all aspects of wildlife and countryside conservation and found the information provided on the day to be first class and very interesting.
|
|
|
I judge the success of an event by asking my daughter if she enjoyed it and she replied with an enthusiastic 'yes'. She stated she had not become bored, which in itself indicates the excellent presentation skills of Sue Guy. Sue's willingness to answer questions with enthusiasm and a passion was evident even though she has probably been asked the same questions many times before. Anything which can hold a child's attention for more than 15 minutes has to be good!
|
  |
|
So thanks again for LEAF's involvement in bringing the public's attention to the farming world and the next time I pour milk on my cereal, I will have a better understanding of the dairy process and the efforts some of our farmers are making to protect our countryside."
|
|
Hertfordshire LEAF Demonstration Farmer, Ian Pigott who was the brainchild behind Farm Sunday, said he was delighted with the way farmers have taken it up and made it their own.
"I have been bowled over by the amazing response to Farm Sunday. To have so many farmers opening their doors on 11th June was a great reflection on the farming industry. I hope that next year more and more farmers, large and small, will recognize the importance and significance of reconnecting with the consumer and will open their gates on Farm Sunday."
|
|
|
The key lessons learnt from the day were about people and publicity. To generate awareness publicity is key - posters, local media and word of mouth all need to be used together. The other important point to note is that the host farmers enthusiasm and honesty makes the greatest impact and lasting impression on the visitors.
|
  |
|
Roly Puzey, LEAF Farms Liaison Manager commented:
"Next year's Farm Sunday will take place on the 10th June and we will start publicising it NOW.. This year was really a pilot run to see what response we received. Our priority now is to take the time to access what went right this year and what we could have done better - we'll be meeting and talking to farmers over the coming months, hearing their views and looking at ways we can move Farm Sunday forward in 2007. Thanks to everyone who took the time to open up their farms and show all that is positive about UK farming. "
|
  |