Preparations are under way for Open Farm Sunday – which is celebrating 20 years of connecting people with sustainable farming and food production.
This year’s event takes place on 7 June 2026 – with thousands of people expected to visit farmers across the country to learn how their food is produced and find out how farmers look after the countryside.
The special day is coordinated by the Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) charity, which has developed a comprehensive support package for all host farmers thinking of taking part this summer.
Valuable insights
New for 2026 is a series of sector-specific webinars featuring experienced Open Farm Sunday hosts, as well as members of the LEAF team, providing valuable insights and top tips to encourage others to get involved.
Farmers are invited to register to join the webinars live and get their questions answered:
Beef and sheep: 13 January 12 noon – 1pm
Arable: 28 January 11am – 12 noon
Fruit and vegetable: 5 February 12 noon – 1pm
Dairy: 11 February 12 noon – 1pm
Health, safety and insurance: 24 February 12 noon – 1pm
LEAF is also organising two in-person training days for potential and seasoned hosts to take a deeper dive into logistics and explore creative activities to engage visitors on the day.
Open Farm Sunday manager Annabel Shackleton believes LEAF’s new support programme will give farmers the skills and confidence to run safe, enjoyable and rewarding events.
Delivered by the Open Farm Sunday team, LEAF education specialists and experienced host farmers, it says these events are a great networking opportunity for host farmers to get to know one another.
“Our new webinars and training days are a fabulous addition to the core support available to all Open Farm Sunday host farmers – including the 2026 Host Farmer Handbook.”
Free resources
Leaf also supplies free resources to promote events and use on the day, with the OFS team to talk through events, answer questions and help all host farmers make a success of welcoming people onto their farms.
“We want to highlight Open Farm Sunday as a unique chance to connect local communities, celebrate sustainable farming and build trust and pride in our industry.”
In 2025, 86% of farmers who took part in Open Farm Sunday wanted to promote a positive view of British agriculture, while 80% wanted to connect with their local communities.
For full details, visit www.farmsunday.org