Participant with Alberta Open Farm Days
Farm 2 Table on 51, located in Sexsmith, Alberta, offers fresh organically grown vegetables and flowers. Items can be purchased through special farm-to-table garden dinners or onsite from their farm store during the growing season.
Farm 2 Table on 51 has participated in Alberta Open Farm Days for two years. Here’s what they have to say about their experience.
What were your motives behind participating in Open Farm Days?
Participating in Open Farm Days, we were able to gain exposure through larger scale advertising, including radio, to promote our business. Additionally, we took advantage of the many pre-event courses offered, which provided opportunities for learning about the agri-tourism industry. Lastly, participating in OFDs was a new way to engage with our local community and connect with small scale agricultural businesses nearby.
Agri-tourism is essential in bridging the gap between the end consumer and the producer.
What types of experiences could visitors enjoy on site at your farm?
The first year, we were open to the general public without pre booking & we did garden tours (veg and flowers) every hour and u-pick flowers, soil block demos, face painting and had the farm store open. It was stressful not to know how many people to expect.
As a result, the second year, we did a ticketed only event for 18 people 2 nights in a row. The events included a flower garden tour where guests could pick their own flowers, a catered farm to table dinner prepared with all of our own produce, locally raised beef tenderloin, seasonal desserts decorated with edible florals and paired cocktails provided by a local distillery.
What advice would you give to other farms considering participating in Open Farm Days?
We suggest selling tickets in some capacity so that you can create a plan around numbers to minimize stress (think portable toilets, sinks, parking). Also, take as many of the pre-event webinars as possible because there is so much valuable information offered in them.
What were the positive outcomes that resulted from participating in Open Farm Days?
We learnt a ton about serving alcohol and food on the farm. We had really great engagement both years and many people were interested in how we are growing organically. The soil blocking was really popular – we hope that we were able to convert a few visitors to utilize our reduced disposable plastic way of starting plants. We got to talk to people in an intimate way about why it’s so important to have a connection with their food and the people who produce it.
What do you believe is the value of agri-tourism? Who does it help and why does it matter?
Agri-tourism is essential in bridging the gap between the end consumer and the producer. So many people don’t realize what is involved in food production, the amount of risk farmers take on, how climate change is affecting the things they eat and their costs to produce. It makes the connection clear for people, builds relationships, creates discussions/dialogue around bigger issues.
Discover more about this farm at flowersandveg.com
Collective Joy Farm