G's open farm sunday trailer tour

G's Peter Sargeant will be one of those manning trailer tours at the farm's Open Farm Sunday event on 8 June

Why should growers open their farms to the public?

PS: The rewards are immense – it is a once-a-year opportunity to get people into your farm and talk with passion about your job. And it is a chance to inspire the farmers of tomorrow. This is our seventh year of taking part. Over the years I can definitely feel a much different attitude to our business. The typical remarks we hear are: “I just had no idea the extent of the work you put in.”

We want to make people positive about farming, rather than getting frustrated sitting behind a tractor in their car. We want them to be more sympathetic.

What kind of things will you be running on the day?

PS: The aim is to give them a fun day out. The tours are interactive, so we do a quiz for the children, we have toy tractors, face-painting and colouring activities. This year we will have a sheep dog trials at the event. It escalates every year. We run trailer tours using eight trailers non stop from 10am to 3pm.

What key things will you be showing them?

PS: The idea is to get them to understand how we farm alongside the environment. In particular, we will be showing them dedicated areas of the farm with wildlife. We have developed a wetland area, where we often see herons, and we have reed beds and nesting skylarks. We also have bird boxes and a pair of nesting barn owls.

One of the key things the general public don’t have a great understanding of, is the research or technology involved in farming, whether this is for fertiliser, or pesticides.

What tips have you got for growers who would like to host an OFS event?

PS: Don’t underestimate it in terms of the work you need to put in. How you advertise yourself is key, you need to make people aware that your farm is open, put this out early. G’s uses local radio, flyers near train stations and on the road, leaflet drops outside retailers and in schools, and using Facebook and Twitter.

How many visitors are you expecting this year?

PS: In 2013 we had 3,000 visitors – it’s very much dependent on the weather, but we hope to beat that this year.

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