Open Farm Day in Newfoundland and Labrador goes virtual
/by Wayne Simmons
Open Farm Day in Newfoundland and Labrador is a provincewide initiative held in conjunction with the rest of Atlantic Canada and designed to raise awareness of the agriculture industry. This year’s Open Farm Day was held on Sept. 20 and was a different kind of event than in previous years. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the decision was made to host a virtual event.
This year’s event was also special in that it was the 20th annual Open Farm Day in Atlantic Canada. The initiative has connected farmers and consumers across the region since 2001.
Open Farm Day provides an opportunity for farmers to share their passion for agriculture and educate the public on where and how our local and fresh food is grown. Newfoundland and Labrador producers of vegetables, berries, lamb, honey, dairy, and chicken were involved in this year’s event.
The benefits of this initiative include increased public awareness of the agriculture industry, increased awareness of local farms and products, increased public trust, increased sales for the farmers, and increased consumer confidence in local products. It gives farmers the opportunity to be part of the bigger picture.
In a typical year, 4,000 to 5,000 visitors will visit farms across the province to see how things are done and food is produced. The virtual format this year had the potential to allow many more people to take part, especially with the virtual tours still accessible online after Sept. 20.
In conjunction with Open Farm Day, the Newfoundland and Labrador Young Farmers Forum (NLYFF) launched the harvest edition of its Young Farmer of the Week program. That program has a different young farmer take over the NLYFF social media accounts for a week at a time and show what life is like on the farm. For Open Farm Day and the week that followed, young farmer Chris Oram of Mark’s Market in Wooddale showcased his farm through the NLYFF social media channels.
As people did on the Sept. 20 event date, those interested can still connect with farmers and experience virtual farm tours, learn about local food in their community, and even discover a new recipe for dinner. For more information about Open Farm Day, visit the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture (NLFA) website at nlfa.ca. Farm tour videos and video links are posted on the NLFA’s Facebook page.
Open Farm Day in Newfoundland and Labrador is hosted by the NLFA and is funded in part by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
(Wayne Simmons is president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture and is an owner-operator of Hammond Farm Ltd. in Little Rapids, N.L.)
