Why Open Farm Days Matter
This article was first published in Farmer’s Weekly NZ
‘Tell our story’. That’s a line we hear a lot in farming these days. It’s supposed to be the way that rural New Zealand reconnects with urban Kiwis. How we ‘bridge the divide’. But as a marketing guy, I’m not so sure.
Farmer’s stories are everywhere. This very paper is full of them, Country Calendar’s ratings are unbeatable and the NZ Farming Facebook page is one of the country’s largest.
But it’s not enough. To genuinely connect with people, to make the things that are important to you important to them, farmer storytelling needs to go offline. Videos, news articles and social media play an important role, but they can’t change behaviour alone.
To make farming relevant for urban Kiwis, we need to be real. We need to create space for people to ‘feel’ farming - the buzz of a woolshed, the touch of an animal or the sight of biodiversity flourishing alongside food & fibre.
If we want farming to mean something to urban people, these experiences are crucial. That’s why we built Open Farms – a nationwide open farm day to get urban Kiwis back out on-farm, in-person.
The response from urban Kiwis continues to amaze us. At time of writing, Open Farms 2021 has been open to visitors for three days – 1,100 have already signed up to reconnect with a local farmer.
Like any good story though, it’s not all smooth sailing. The farmers who choose to host an open day, do so knowing that there are health & safety considerations and that some people might question the way they farm. Their decision to host despite these barriers, to be vulnerable, is what makes this project real and why, in the long run, it’s going to work.
But you’ve read enough from me. I want to finish this article by thanking a few of these farmers, and sharing their stories.
Untamed Earth Farm
Penny, Isaac and Ollie are three friends growing vegetables using regenerative organic practices in Leeston. Their open day is about getting hands dirty – visitors can pick their own vegetables, explore the farm and learn more about their approach to farming. New and vintage tractors are on site for selfies too.
River Terrace Dairy
The Morris, Hogg and Miller families will be introducing visitors to ‘farmily’ – their philosophy on how to treat people, animals and the environment. They will be showcasing their Rangitata river dairy farm on-foot and via tractor rides, with a few farming games thrown in for good measure.
Earthbound Honey Farm
The bee life will be on show thanks to the Earthbound Honey team near Auckland. Visitors will explore the role of each bee in the colony, how keepers sustainably care for their hives and how honey is crafted into a wide range of final products.
Braeside Farm
The Berger family run sheep & beef in Kaipara and consider it a privilege to share the ups & downs of farming with others. For their open day, they’ll take visitors on a tour covering the full farming experience – showing others where animals, nature and people meet.
