Much has been written about the growing disconnect between the increasingly urbanised population of the UK, where its food comes from and the wildlife in the countryside. For conservationists this is worrying. Wildlife may become less valued and the importance of protecting it may not be fully realised. Likewise the consequences of food production on wildlife may not be wholly appreciated.
The disconnect is worrying for farmers too. An increasing proportion of the population genuinely does not know where many items of food come from, or how they are grown. This may lead to the farming sector being underappreciated and undervalued as a crucial industry.
Image 1: The wheat harvest at Hope Farm in August 2012. Open Farm Sunday is a key opportunity to help the public re-connect with where their food comes from. (Andy Hay: rspb-images.com)
Open Farm Sunday on 7th June, which has been organized by LEAF since 2006, provides a great opportunity for farmers to open their gates and invite the public on to the farm, to see how crops are grown, how livestock are managed and how a farm is run.
Open Farm Sunday has developed into a major annual event with 207,000 people visiting 375 farms across the UK during the 2014 event. This varied from farms showing 10’s of people around, through to almost mini country shows attracting many thousands of visitors.
Here at Hope Farm in Knapwell, near Cambridge (CB23 4NR), we will also be taking part in Open farm Sunday. This is a fantastic chance to visit our farm, to see how we manage for wildlife alongside growing crops. There will be guided walks, bird ringing demonstration, small-scale sheep, pony and poultry demonstration, children’s activities including face painting, barbeque and generally a chance to see round a great wildlife friendly farm.
Image 2: Visitors to Hope Farm on Open Farm Sunday will be able to find out how the needs of farmland wildlife are combined with a profitable farm business (Andy Hay: rspb-images.com)
We will be open from 10:00 to 14:00, so please come along and visit us, or if you are too far away to do that consider visiting another farm on that weekend. Details of the other farms that are open on Open Farm Sunday can be found here, but do ask them what they are doing to protect and encourage wildlife on their farms!
By Ian Dillon (Hope Farm Manager)
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