The idea of hosting an open farm day that would give the general public an insight into the working world of farming families was instigated by Deirdre O’Shea, executive director of Agri Aware, the Irish agri-food educational body.

“The open farm day is where we invite members of the general public, specifically targeting families who are not exposed to agriculture, and show them what farmers do and try to bring the farm-to-fork food chain together, linking the food that they eat back to its base, which is the primary producer,” she explains.

The open farm day will be held on 7 May, with four farming families hosting an open day on their farms.

“On 7 May the four farms will open from 11am-4pm across the country,” explains Deirdre.

“The event is free of charge and it will be a great day full of activity, fun and learning. We encourage all members of the general public to attend.”

In relation to choosing the four farming families, various aspects had to be taken into account.

“The farming families are key to this event. There was a number of things that we had to take into consideration as we were trying to get a geographical spread, and showcase the various enterprises.

“Cork is a huge agriculture county, which is why we pinpointed Cork as one of the areas and we felt that a Dublin farm was key to attract that urban audience.

“The four farming families are fantastic farmers and are a really good representation of food producers and high-quality farming. They are vital to delivering the message on behalf of Agri Aware.”

There are five key zones on each farm, each of which will concentrate on a specific area and will help to address veganism theories.

“Veganism has gained a lot of coverage over the last 12-18 months and an event like this will allow us to showcase exactly what farmers do on a daily basis in terms of welfare, traceability, and quality linking it back to the final product, which is the food.

“There will be five key zones on each farm. Zone one is the farm enterprise where the farmers will talk to the visitors about what they do. The second area is farm safety, and the third is a machinery section.

“The fourth zone is the kid’s zone, where there will be butter discos and milk races, and the fifth area is the cooking demo. We will have a chef at each venue and a cooking demonstration on the hour every hour, so again it is bringing back that farm-to-fork food journey making people understand that right from the grain that is grown to the bread that is made, this is the link and that is why our farmers are so important in this whole chain.”

Vital for future

The open farm day also highlights the crucial relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and chair of Agri Aware, Richard Moeran, outlines that providing the public with information is vital for our future.

“If these events had taken place over the last 20 years in the UK would they have voted Brexit? Would there have been a better understanding of what it is Europe actually delivers? I would say there probably would be.

“No information is a dangerous place because that is a vacuum where seeds can be sown that create an ideology that is anti-Europe or anti-farmer, so it’s really important to keep that information flowing north and south in this country.

“What we do in the next 12 months is going to define the foundation for how Brexit is going to work and people have got to realise how important that trade link with Northern Ireland is.”

While the host families represent the partnership between husband and wife, Agri Aware requires support from its fellow businesses to launch an event like this.

“We couldn’t run this event on our own. The Irish Farmers Journal is behind this, FBD, IFA, and Grassmen, and there is administrative support as well. Everyone in this industry recognises this story and what we are trying to do. This is the first year, this is the birth of a new idea and it is always difficult to get it up and running, and getting the support from different organisations is hugely important.”

FARMING FAMILIES

Name: Padraic and Bríd McMahon

Location: Fieldstown West, Co Dublin

Enterprise: Beef, sheep and tillage farmers. They also rear turkeys for Christmas and sell lamb direct to market.

Following the training day at UCD Lyons Farm, ahead of the main event in May, Padraic and Bríd are looking forward to the occasion.

“We have a lot of work to do to get the place in shape because the unknown is the numbers that might arrive on the day and because we live in an area with a huge population, if it is a good day we could get a lot of people,” says Bríd.

When asked if they had ever considered doing an open farm day, Padraic responds with humour: “It was something Deirdre sprung on us.”

“Padraic is being modest,” adds Bríd. “He is quite involved with the Flavours of Fingal and the organising of that so he is aware of crowd control and the issues that go along with an event like this. It is not something that we thought we would be doing on our own farm but we are looking forward to it.”

Bríd believes that open farm days are the way forward and that the event may spark an interest in children who are from non-farming backgrounds.

“For children, understanding where their food comes from is such a key thing. If they know that milk comes from the cow on the farm and not just from a carton, the same with meat, eggs and turkeys. It is great when kids come onto the farm and realise that this is where the food is coming from.

“We have students from UCD who come out to the farm and many wouldn’t be from farming backgrounds but they are all excellent, and the range of jobs in food and agriculture is amazing.”

Name: John and Ann Coughlan

Location: Ballyellis, Co Cork

Enterprise: Dairy and beef cattle.

John and Ann Coughlan are keen to welcome visitors to their farm to exhibit the dynamics of farming. “We have had farm walks with dairy co-ops and Dawn Meats so when Deirdre asked if we would consider this concept we said yes because somebody has to put the message out there as to what farming is about, and show the public how we produce beef, milk and grain,” explains John.

“Farming has changed dramatically in the past 20 years and the general public are more removed from agriculture than what they used to be, so there is a need to show the public what we do.

“Food is a critical component of life and most people buy their food in the supermarket but we need to demonstrate where and how it is produced and what it takes to provide fresh wholesome food.”

Name: Padraic and Breege Joyce

Location: Islandeady, Co Mayo

Enterprise: Dairy farmers, rear their own replacements and finish some stock as beef.

For Padraic and Breege Joyce they believe that events like this are vital for people to identify with farmers.

“Many have no idea of the hard work that goes into producing the food that they buy in the shop. I think that link is very important and people need to be able to identify with farmers and how difficult it can be when there is bad weather,” says Breege.

“During the snow the joke was that everyone was buying so much bread, but people wouldn’t really stop to think that the oats and the wheat were grown on the farm, so unless the farm produced that, we wouldn’t have it.”

“Environmentally and hygienically, we produce probably the best food in the world and it’s about people outside getting an appreciation for the food and the hard work that goes into it,” adds Padraic.

Name: Tom and Geraldine Short

Location: Kilmullen House, Co Wicklow

Enterprise: Sheep and tillage, grow winter barley, winter wheat.

Tom Short took over the family farm in 1991, he and his wife Geraldine married in 1993 and since then, they have worked in equal partnership.

“Geraldine is in the office doing the admin work and helps out when we are under pressure,” says Tom. “The family farm is always a team, Geraldine would have a very strong business head and I would be the gambler and would be a bit dangerous on my own, we work together.”

Geraldine believes that one of the positive aspects of this open day farm event is that it showcases women’s importance on the farm.

“I think women’s role in the farm was so undervalued when a lot of the time it was the women who kept everything ticking along and who did the unseen work.”

The Shorts demonstrate a family-run business: “We have four children, two of whom are at college so we rang them and asked what they thought. Our youngest one is 13 and she had to have her say too,” says Geraldine.

“As a farm family we sacrifice an awful lot, we don’t go on many holidays, even on Christmas Day there is work to be done.”

Tom acknowledges that, for a long time, farmers kept their heads down and did the work: “Now we have a very significant name for producing quality food, which didn’t come easily. Maybe we haven’t explained ourselves well for a number of years and it is our job to reconnect with our customers.

“This Agri Aware open day will allow us to do that. It won’t be a quick fix but it is a good start.”

If you would like more information on Agri Aware’s open farm day taking place on 7 May, visit www.agriaware.ie or contact 00353-1-4601103.