51AVÊÓÆµ

OPINION: "Open the farm gate, muddy the public's trainers and change how they see farming"

As LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) encourages farmers to open their gates for Open 51AVÊÓÆµSunday on June 7, Farmers Guardian's editorial director Olivia Midgley reflects on the quiet but powerful influence such encounters can have on the public

clock • 2 min read
OPINION: "Open the farm gate, muddy the public's trainers and change how they see farming"

Last weekend offered a reminder of the value of opening the farm gate to the public. At a school on the urban fringe of Banbury, Oxfordshire, which runs its own 47-hectare teaching farm, a two-day lambing...

To continue reading...

Already a member? Login for full access.

New to Farmers Guardian? Register for 1 free article per week or become a member for unlimited access to essential farming news and insights.

article-img-580x358

Ìý

More on 51AVÊÓÆµLife

OPINION: "Open the farm gate, muddy the public's trainers and change how they see farming"

OPINION: "Open the farm gate, muddy the public's trainers and change how they see farming"

As LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) encourages farmers to open their gates for Open 51AVÊÓÆµSunday on June 7, Farmers Guardian's editorial director Olivia Midgley reflects on the quiet but powerful influence such encounters can have on the public

clock 19 March 2026 • 2 min read
Rural poverty 'overlooked and misunderstood' by policymakers, report finds

Rural poverty 'overlooked and misunderstood' by policymakers, report finds

Rural communities have been overlooked by successive Governments, the report says, with assumptions that they are areas assumed to be 'prosperous, politically peripheral, or resistant to change'

Chris Brayford
clock 19 March 2026 • 8 min read
Spirited sisters unite through grief and grit to run Cheshire mixed farm

Spirited sisters unite through grief and grit to run Cheshire mixed farm

After the loss of their father, sisters Fiona and Alison Wilshaw stepped up to run their family farm in Cheshire

Danusia Osiowy
clock 19 March 2026 • 9 min read