Thirty-seven Manitoba farms will open their doors to the public this Sunday as part of the province’s annual “Open Farm Day” celebration. 2015 marks the 6 year that Open Farm Day has been observed in Manitoba.
Karen Walker-Tibble, a business development specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, says last year over 8,000 visitors took part, attendance has been growing every year and the hope is to grow that number again this year.
Open Farm Day is an event where farms across the province register and open their doors to visitors on Sunday, September 20. The purpose is to give everyone a chance, an opportunity to see what is on farms in Manitoba and what makes each farm unique in the province.
There will be 37 farms participating in Open Farm Day this year and that’s across the province, from Roblin down to Woodbridge, down to Virden and across to the Steinbach area. We have farms that have horse activities, we have chickens, we have alpacas, we have experiential farms.
There’s a wide variety and gambit of farms participating and I think that’s a great opportunity for our visitors to see what is on farms and how every farm is different. I think people are generally very interested in agriculture. We see a movement again with the local foods. We see people wanting to buy their foods, we see do see people that are taking the initiative to specifically connect with the people making the food, with the farmer. It’s an opportunity as well to find out where your food is coming from and how your food is making it to your table.
Walker-Tibble says the demographics are varied and organizers are hoping to attract people outside the city that haven’t grown up on a farm as well as people from the city that have never been to a farm and provide them the opportunity to talk to the farmer.
For more information on open farm day, including the location of participating farms, visit openfarmday.ca.
