Dear Farmer:

We are writing to you because you have expressed an interest in participating in the National Farmers Union Open Farms event taking place Sunday, September 19, 2010, from 10 am – 4 pm. This event will further serve the NFU’s goal of supporting small local farms and promoting local food. With a major part of the funding from the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, we have an opportunity to establish an annual event which will have a positive impact on the marketing efforts of your farm.

Event Details
Open Farms is a self-directed tour of the farming areas stretching from Picton to Brockville. Our mission statement is to provide the public with an opportunity to: visit food producers within a 100 km radius of Kingston; learn about local food production; and meet with the farmers who grow our food. The event is free to visitors.

We are looking for partnering farms interested in increasing awareness of their products, promoting sales and celebrating the bounty of the harvest. The farms must produce food in order to participate.

We have interest from at least 36 farms throughout the area which is easily sectioned into smaller regions, including Picton, Napanee, Odessa, Maberly & Westport, Sydenham, Storrington Township, the City of Kingston and the Gananoque area. Producers in each region could benefit from working together to promote their area, taking advantage of the marketing potential within their own neighbourhoods. Clusters of farms are likely to have more visitors than those that stand alone.
Open Farms is modeled after other similar events. To learn more about the potential benefits, visit Durham County’s www.gatesopen.ca and Britain’s www.farmsunday.org/ofs/home.eb.

Marketing & Promotion
The majority of the funding is being utilized to construct a website that will list participating farms, include profiles and photographs of the farmers and provide a map showing each farm’s location complete with GPS coordinates. The map will show suggested routes and highlight each region. For example, there are eight farms in the Picton area that want to be involved. By clicking on the Picton region, the site visitor will be able to download and print a map and guide for that region.

In advance of the event, flyers will be handed out at markets, at the farm gate and other strategic locations, with the details of the day and direction to the website. Posters will also be distributed through retail and restaurant locations and a comprehensive publicity campaign will be conducted using local papers, radio and Facebook. We will also count on our partners to aid in spreading the word to their own contacts.

Costs to Partners
Partnering farms will be required to purchase a roadside sign indicating an Open Farms Tour participant in advance of the event. The cost of the sign is to be determined, but we expect a fee of $20-$25 per sign which will be able to be re-used in future years.
Each farm will need to check with their insurer regarding liability and may or may not need to purchase a rider for the day. We are presently looking into buying group insurance and we will be in touch with these details shortly.

Each farm will also be responsible for their own costs associated with whatever promotion they do on their own farm. If food samples are involved, it will be up to the individual farm to meet the requirements for serving food to the public as established by the local health unit.

We will be organizing a meeting which will help with planning your farm event. Attendance will be important. Details will follow.

Displays
Keep in mind that the public has become very detached from their food and even the simplest displays are sure to provide an educational opportunity. On our own farm, we will offer a tour of our garden and explain our organic pest control methods. The beekeeper that supplies our hives will be on hand to show his wares and demonstrate his craft. We may offer a tomato tasting, and will certainly have produce available for sale. Other farms intend to demonstrate equipment (eg. potato harvesters), some will offer wagon rides, others will showcase their animals. Some will have corn mazes and pumpkin or apple picking. Rest assured, the public will enjoy the opportunity to tour the countryside in the height of harvest to see what our farms are producing!

Next Steps
To indicate your intention to participate, please sign the attached form and return it via e-mail or regular mail by June 30th. Please be aware that this committee is run by volunteers that are very busy with their own farms — we would appreciate strict attention to deadlines.

Thank you for your interest. If you have any questions, please contact me through e-mail at sharonfreeman@rogers.com. My mailing address is 1863 Wellington St., Battersea, ON K0H 1H0.

Sincerely,

Sharon Freeman Chair, NFU Open Farms