The event is scheduled for Aug. 19 and 20
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Alberta farmers interested in opening their gates to community members can register for 2023 Alberta Open Farm Days.
Next year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 19 and 20, will be the 11th edition of Open Farm Days.
The weekend helps celebrate agriculture and bring Albertans together to learn the story of agriculture have a farm-to-table experience.
“If you are one of those individuals who are thinking about getting involved in Alberta’s Open Farm Days, it’s a great time to get involved,” Tim Carson, CEO for the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies and Open Farm Days, told 96.5 CKFM. “There’s a tremendous amount of training and information that is going on right now.”
Interested farmers can register on the event website and receive access to host resources.
During its first year in 2012, 46 farms participated in a one-day event.
In 2022, more than 100 farms welcomed guests.
Drew Pasay and her husband Kenleigh, the owners and operators of Bentgrove Farm in Redwater, Alta., participated in 2022 for the first time.
“It went spectacularly,” Drew told Farms.com in August 2022 following her experience. “We’re definitely going to do it again next year.”
The farmers primarily raise beef and lamb but also raise pigs, hens and chickens.
Participating in Open Farm Days allows farmers to engage with community members who may be unfamiliar with food production.
“We hear a lot about how people, especially kids, don’t know where their food comes from,” Pasay said. “So, for us to be able to show them where it comes from, and to have people come out to the farm and ask really good questions and be open to learning new things, it’s a really rewarding and validating experience.”