Farmers to open 250 working farms as thousands of Britons given first-hand taste of how food is made

Farmers across Britain are set to open the gates to their farms, allowing thousands of families to learn more about how British food is made.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of "Open Farm Sunday", an annual event dedicated to helping people see, first-hand, what sustainable farming looks like beyond the supermarket shelf.

Families will be able to attend Sunday June 7 at more than 250 participating farms.

New polling from Linking Environment and Farming (Leaf) has revealed 93 per cent of the 2,000 respondents surveyed believe it is important for the UK to maintain a strong level of food security, especially given recent geo-political events which have impacted the nation’s ability to procure food and other crucial resources from abroad.

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Some 89 per cent of those polled agreed protecting nature on farms, including healthy soils, flood defences and biodiversity, is essential for long-term food production.

A further 71 per cent said farmers should focus on producing food while also protecting nature.

Annabel Shackleton, Open Farm Sunday Event Manager, said: "Open Farm Sunday is a wonderful day of discovery. Families can immerse themselves in a world they don’t usually see.

"It’s an opportunity to see sustainable farming in action, not as an idea on a label, but as something real, practical and happening every day."

She continued: "This research shows people care deeply about food security and about nature, and farmers are working hard to deliver both.

"For 20 years, Open Farm Sunday has helped build trust and connection between the public and farming.

"This anniversary year is a wonderful opportunity for children and adults alike to engage with farming in an interactive, fun and inspiring way while seeing how their everyday food choices can help support a more sustainable future."

British farmers have faced months of setbacks following Labour's inheritance tax raid on family farms but have reaffirmed the message they need support more than ever.

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Lucy Raby, a partner at Fernhill Farm in Lancashire, said education is key to helping people understand the importance of food security.

Speaking to GB News, she explained the farm had started accepting visits from schools back in 2024 after one child asked her ‘where bread is grown.’

Since then, she and her other partners have made it their mission to teach people where their food comes from, whether that’s crops, dairy, eggs, meats or any other produce homegrown here in Britain.

She said: "It’s so important that people know where their food comes from, because there’s so many people out there who just think their food comes from a shop. But there’s a lot goes on behind getting it from the shop: there’s the growing, the producing the packaging."

In terms of support for British farmers, Lucy added: "Without backing farmers, there would be no food. “We import a lot of food, but with everything that’s been going on in the world, food shortages could occur.

"Well, if we back our farmers, and back British farmers, there shouldn’t be a shortage!

"But when land gets snatched out of farming production for things like housing development, that has a knock-on effect further down the line."

You can find local farms to you participating in Open Farm Sunday by visiting their website.

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