See event listings and more articles in this edition of Agri-News: March 18, 2025 issue
Alberta Open Farm Days is an annual 2-day summer event that presents Albertans with an opportunity to experience the farm firsthand from farmers and ranchers. The program started in 2013 and has encouraged Albertans to engage with their local communities and experience agri-tourism.
In 2024, over 150 farms participated in Alberta Open Farm Day, welcoming over 52,000 Albertans to their farms and ranches. Host farms have included traditional farms, livestock (bison, cattle, alpaca, sheep, llama, goat, poultry) farms and ranches, organic operations, corn mazes, wineries, craft distilleries, meaderies, craft breweries, stables, petting zoos, along with honey, fruit, vegetable, grain and u-pick farms.
Since 2013, Open Farm Days has seen over 235,000 people visit over 1,200 farms and ranches, injecting over $1.7 million into the rural economy through on-farm sales. In 2024, reported on-farm sales surpassed $300,000 for the first time.
Over the years, Alberta Open Farm Days has also evolved to offer professional development opportunities for hosts, helping them build successful ag-tourism programs. Training sessions were provided to equip farms with valuable insights on marketing, ticketing, food planning and booking, as well as insurance.
Participating farms and ranches have had very positive experiences being part of Alberta Open Farm Days:
The important factor was having people learn first hand about bison and having a First Nations representative to speak to the importance of the bison to their culture.
Visitors were genuinely interested and engaged with what was being shared. Many visitors had never heard of flower farming or alpaca raising in Alberta, so it was a new experience for many.
Many people were exposed to animals and the rural way of life. They were able to interact with producers and find that they were educated, responsible, articulate and caring people regarding the welfare of their animals and the environment.
Register to become a host farm. Registration is open until April 30, 2025.
For more information, see:
Contact
Connect with the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies for more information:
Phone: 780-427-2174
Email: info@openfarmdays.ca
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