Agri Aware's Open Farm Event
Agri Aware is delighted to announce the return of its Open Farm event, taking place in Co. Kildare next month.
The dairy farm of Stephen Byrne and family is the location of this year’s Open Farm event taking place on Saturday June 15th 2024.
Open Farm is the flagship event in Agri Aware’s mission of enhancing agricultural literacy.
This year’s event sees the addition of a school’s day on the Friday, June 14th where 500 primary school students in Kildare and Dublin will step foot onto the farm.
The school’s day will give the next generation a chance to see first hand how local Irish food is produced, particularly dairy products and give the next generation an appreciation of where their food comes from.
The general public day on Saturday will give young and old the same chance to see a working farm that, like any enterprise, is focused on production in an environmentally sustainable way.
Open Farm is sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the National Dairy Council, the Irish Farmers’ Association and Tirlán.
Speaking at the launch of Open Farm 2024, Agri Aware Executive Director Marcus O’Halloran said: “We are delighted to announce the return of Open Farm for 2024.
“Bridging the gap between producer and consumer continues to be a challenge but one we are committed to bridging.
“Open Farm gives us that opportunity to do so and we look forward to hosting the school’s day on the Friday and the general public day on the Saturday.
“We are very grateful to Stephen and his family for opening up their farm and allowing us to showcase the food the Byrnes and all Irish farmers produce in a sustainable way to consumers.
“This year’s event will be bigger and better than last year and is one for all ages to attend and enjoy.
“From a self-guided tour of a typical family run Irish dairy farm, to a mini-farm village showcasing many of the other Irish agricultural production systems, to cooking demos, games for the kids to enjoy and delicious local Irish food to taste, it promises to be a great day.
“I’d encourage anyone living in Kildare and neighbouring counties to make the trip to the Byrnes farm to reconnect with our producers, who put animal health and welfare, the environment first and foremost everyday to ensure the sustainability of our food chain.”
Also commenting on Open Farm was host farmer Stephen Byrne who said: “When I was initially approached about hosting Open Farm my initial reaction was yes let’s do it.
“As one generation moves to the next, the connection between where our food comes from and how it is produced gets lost as that link from one generation to the next to a farm diminishes.
“We take great pride in what we do here and the care we give our animals and the food we produce, we simply want to share that with consumers and tell them how we are doing it sustainably.”
Free of Charge
Open Farm is a free of charge event. Gates open to the public from 10:30am – 5pm. The Eircode for the farm is W34 V521. For full details on the event see agriaware.ie/events or across Agri Aware’ social media channels.
For more information or media enquiries, contact Michael Geary – Communications Officer, Agri Aware on 087 775 0935 or via email michael.geary@agriaware.ie