We ran our first Farm Open Day a few weeks after we had our alpacas arrive. Our faithful friends were interested in seeing them and we were happy to share our delightful new arrivals. We have learnt a lot over the years - mostly how to do it better - here Steve Heatherington shares some of that hard-won experience to hopefully help you get a good start, if you are thinking of having your own Open Day.

SCALE

What is the maximum number of people you can cope with at one time?

How many cars can park safely and get in/out?

Make sure you have enough helpers - and some spares

Limit numbers by having tickets - decide if, and how much you will charge

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Health and Safety - do your risk assessments and put things in place to keep visitors safe.

Insurance - you will need Public Liability insurance and keep within any restrictions they impose.

Security - house and workshops or stores

WELFARE

People - toilets, handwashing facilities; access for people with disabilities

Animal - as stress free as possible; no dogs

OFFERINGS

products

payments (cash or card)

selling animals - not easy to do on a farm open day; collect contact details and arrange for another time

refreshments - decide extent and price

demos

feeding the alpacas

MARKETING AND PROMOTION

social media (including paid adverts?)

signs to make you easy to find

banners and information signs

CONTINGENCIES

weather (too hot; too wet)

disasters and cancellation policy

PACKING UP

returning to normal

take signs down

feed yourself and the alpacas

LINKS https://www.eventbrite.co.uk Eventbrite - Discover Great Events or Create Your Own & Sell Tickets (NB other providers available)

https://squareup.com Take card payments with Square and get fast deposits, low rates, simple to use point of sale software, dedicated support and powerful eCommerce tools. (Note: other providers available)

https://farmsunday.org/ Homepage - Open Farm Sunday

OPEN FARM SUNDAY INFO PACK - very good resource

https://farmsunday.org/uploads/homepage-slides/2019-LOFS-Information-Pack-FINAL.pdf (https://farmsunday.org/uploads/homepage-slides/2019-LOFS-Information-Pack-FINAL.pdf)