Interview your local farmers as they prepare for Open Farm Sunday 2010 – 13 June

Thursday 13 May 2010

Care about your food? We do! That's the message from farmers across the country, as they prepare to open their farm gates on Open Farm Sunday (13 June 2010). This annual event organised by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) is a must for anyone interested in food, farming or the countryside.

A visit to a local farm on Open Farm Sunday is a great way to meet the farmers who grow your food and see how they care for the countryside. It could include a tractor and trailer ride, an opportunity to see sheep being sheared, cows being milked or even chicks hatching!  There will be plenty of farm walks and nature trails organised, which are ideal ways to enjoy the peace and beauty of the countryside.

If you would like to visit a farm, or interview a local farmer who is taking part, then we can arrange this for you. You could follow a local farmer as they make their preparations for Open Farm Sunday or perhaps you would like to try your hand at being a farmer? A typical day for a farmer might include repairing a dry stone wall, milking a herd of cows or tending to a hedgerow, so there is plenty for you to see and to get involved with.

Call Amanda Wadlow at the Open Farm Sunday Press Office on 01189 475 956 to arrange interviews with:

• Local farmers taking part in Open Farm Sunday
• LEAF CEO Caroline Drummond and Open Farm Sunday Manager Tom Allen-Stevens
• Food Writer Jennifer John

To find out which farms in your area are opening on 13 June, visit www.farmsunday.org.  For up-to-date campaign information, follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/openfarmsunday.  

- Ends -

For further information and images, or to arrange an interview with a local farmer contact:

Amanda Wadlow
Open Farm Sunday Press Office
T: 01189 475956 / ISDN: 01189 187 581
E: amanda.wadlow@ceres-pr.co.uk

Notes to editors:

• LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) www.leafuk.org is a national charity that helps farmers produce food with care for the environment, while working with their local community
• The fifth annual Open Farm Sunday on 13 June provides a great opportunity for the public to truly get to know how their food is produced and how the countryside around them is cared for
• Visitors will be able to learn from farmers themselves how natural plant and insect species are encouraged to thrive alongside crops, they will get a close-up look at farm animals and see how the needs of wildlife are balanced with modern food production
• LEAF organises Open Farm Sunday and supports farmers with putting on an event that is not only enjoyable, but gives visitors a really fascinating insight into aspects of the countryside that they would not usually see or experience on an average day out
• LEAF supports both LEAF and non-LEAF member farmers by hosting a number of workshops across the country with practical advice and tips for organising successful events.  LEAF also provides free promotional support materials and an interactive online event database to register details of farmer events
• Food carrying the LEAF Marque logo shows that it has been grown by farmers who are committed to looking after the countryside and the environment.  LEAF farmers are subject to an independent LEAF Audit, designed to help them meet the change in demands placed on operations by legislation, the marketplace, community and the industry.
• An increasing number of farmers are signing up to support LEAF to demonstrate how they are integrating modern farming with environmental conservation
• Principal sponsors for Open Farm Sunday 2010 are: ASDA, Defra, Frontier, LEAF Marque, Love Food Hate Waste and Home Composting, Morrisons, National Grid, Natural England, Waitrose and Warburtons
• The additional sponsors are: DairyCo, Dairy Crest, EBLEX, HGCA, Marks and Spencer, NFU, GrowHow, Produce World, Soil Association, Duchy College, Farm Stay UK, Wiggly Wigglers.