Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) has announced a new theme Open Farm Sunday 2018.

The 2018 theme for LEAF Open Farm Sunday will be The Great British Farm Day with a clear call to action to farmers, the farming and food industries and the public, to be part of it.

LEAF has reminded farmers that opening their gates on the June 10 2018 has a huge positive impact on helping people understand all that farming delivers. The day offers a chance for everyone to take part, whatever the size or type of enterprise.

To help encourage more farmers to take part, LEAF has boosted the help and support it offers host farmers. This includes a simplified website and resource ordering system, a personal welcome call to new farmers from the LEAF Open Farm Sunday Regional Co-ordinators, peer-to-peer support through a private Facebook group, as well as a revised host farmer handbook.

Annabel Shackleton, LEAF Open Farm Sunday manager, said: “LEAF Open Farm Sunday unites the whole British farming industry and is a key date in the farming calendar so we’re officially making it The Great British Farm Day. It offers farmers a fantastic opportunity to welcome people onto farms to discover real farming at first hand and see for themselves how their food (and much more besides) is produced. Our research shows that taking part in LEAF Open Farm Sunday is a very powerful way to build public trust and support at both a local and national level.”

Since LEAF Open Farm Sunday started, more than two million people have visited a farm – with 273,000 of those visiting in 2017 alone.

Ms Shackleton added: “We know from what visitors tell us how important LEAF Open Farm Sunday is in helping them understand the realities of farming and how it impacts on their lives. Last year, one in five visitors were doing so for the first time and 86% told us they learned something new. So we’re calling on everyone to support LEAF Open Farm Sunday 2018 - it offers a perfect platform for farmers to shine a light on what they deliver and why supporting British farming matters.”

In addition to helping grow the public’s understanding of British farming, many farmers make the most of the day to build trust within their own local communities, or to fundraise for charity.

Will you be opening your farm up on June 10? If so, tell us below what you'd like the public to learn about farming.