Annabel Shackleton

On 19-20 September, Leaf Open Farm Sunday will feature live interactive tours and demonstrations from UK farmers and chefs, with organiser Leaf (Linking Environment And Farming) urging farmers to share their own short film clips, photos and stories on social media.

With thousands tuning in for the first virtual Online Farm Sunday back in June, Leaf Open Farm Sunday has decided to team up with British Food Fortnight and Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight, also held in September, to bring a cookery element to proceedings.

“Farmers can take part through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #LOFS20,” Leaf stated. “The focus on Saturday 19th is nutritious food, seasonal recipes and cookery demonstrations. On Sunday 20th farmers across Britain are invited to virtually open their farm gates and show the public how their food is produced and the amazing work they are doing to protect and enhance the wildlife and biodiversity on their farms.”

Leaf Open Farm Sunday manager Annabel Shackleton commented: “At the very heart of Leaf Open Farm Sunday is telling the real stories of farming and this is the perfect opportunity for farmers across the country to get involved and collectively make a huge positive impact on the British public.

Although the event has been forced online by the coronavirus pandemic, the virtual aspect has the ability to involve more farmers from all across the country.

“These could be farmers who may not have been able to host a Lead Open Farm Sunday event for whatever reason before, but who can dip their toe in this year with as little as one photo or a self-made video on their social channels,” said Shackleton. “What we want to show is a really rich and diverse kaleidoscope of farming stories from the people who can tell them best.”