Organisers have decided to call time on the 2020 LEAF Open Farm Sunday event after striving to make the event happen despite Covid-19 disruption.
When lockdown was enforced in March, LEAF took the difficult decision to postpone LEAF Open Farm Sunday from June 7 to September 20.
LEAF chief executive Caroline Drummond said she had consulted widely with host farmers, sponsors and supporters.
“Whilst there is the drive and enthusiasm to share our farming story with the public, there continue to be many concerns regarding hosting on-farm visits this year due to the continuing Covid-19 situation,” she explained.
“After much careful consideration, taking into account farmer feedback and using other similar events and shows as guidance, we have taken the decision to cancel all face to face on-farm LEAF Open Farm Sunday events this September.
We are all looking forward to welcoming the public back on-farm next year on Sunday, June 13, 2021.
Virtual farm tours
However, the organisation said it planned to run more virtual events.
“Following the huge success of LEAF Online Farm Sunday this June, we are making plans to promote more virtual farm tours during the weekend of September 20, 2020,” Drummond added.
This will be an exciting opportunity to showcase the tail end of harvest, drilling and autumn calving, alongside many other aspects of farm life which the public may never get the chance to see.
“We would like to thank our LOFS sponsors for their understanding and continued support to showcase the best of British farming to the public across the UK and further afield.”
