Croots Farm Shop takes part in Open Farm Sunday on 9th June
Derbyshire farm shop Croots will be opening the gates to the farm on Sunday 9th June as part of a nationwide event to showcase British farming.
LEAF Open Farm Sunday is the farming industry’s national open day, with hundreds of farms throwing open their gates to give the public the chance to find out more about where their food comes from.
Among them is Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road near Duffield - the home of the award-winning Croots Farm Shop.
The farm will be open from 11am to 3.30pm on Sunday 9th June and will feature a range of displays including sheep shearing and blacksmith demonstrations. There’s also the chance to enjoy Shire horse dray rides and find out more about how the gentle giants of the horse world are cared for at the farm. Or maybe meet the farmer and discover more about looking after and rearing sheep and lambs?
In addition, there will be a marquee featuring producers who will be showcasing egg production, cheesemaking, butchery skills, and beekeeping and honey production. Plus, visitors can explore a farm trail, take part in competitions, and enjoy a bouncy castle, music and a BBQ.
Croots Farm Shop is run by Steve and Kay Croot, and this is the fourth year that they have organised an open farm event. Kay grew up at the farm – a 72-acre sheep farm producing lamb for the farm shop - and her parents Jim and Sue Yates still live there.
Shire horses have been grazing in the fields around Farnah House Farm for decades, and a number of mares at the farm have recently given birth to foals. The LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Open Farm Day event is the ideal opportunity to find out more about the breed, which has played such a big role in the farming history of Great Britain.
Kay Croot said: “Open Farm Sunday is the ideal time to discover more about what goes on behind the scenes at a farm and how food is produced. We hope that lots of families will join us to see real farming, first-hand.
“We’ve organised displays and demonstrations, plus there’ll be the chance to take a closer look at some of the machinery used on the farm, ask questions about how the farm is run and discover more about how food ends up on the plate.
“My family have been farmers for generations. I grew up at Farnah House Farm and work at Croots Farm Shop which opened here 11 years ago. Not only do we sell our home-produced items at Croots, we also sell products made on farms across Derbyshire and beyond. We’re delighted to be taking part in the LEAF Open Farm Sunday once again and look forward to welcoming visitors on 9th June.”
Admission to the event is free, with free car parking, but the Croots team will be raising money for local charities.
Since the first Open Farm Sunday in 2006, more than 1,600 farmers across the UK have opened their gates and welcomed 2.2 million people onto their farm for one Sunday each year. It’s a great way for farmers to shine a light on what they deliver and why supporting British farming matters, as well as discovering at first-hand what it means to be a farmer and the work they do producing the nation’s food, their role in the countryside, and all the goods and services farmers provide.
Croots Farm Shop, which is based at Farnah House Farm, is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.
For more information, visit http://www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop-127012538821/