Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend 2016 will be held on 18th and 19th June. The event is in it’s fourth year and gives everyone an opportunity to see how a farm works first hand.

All photographs are from the Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend 2016 Facebook Page.

Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend was established in 2012 as an annual showcase event for the Northern Ireland farming industry, a celebration of our farmers and the food industry.

Primarily it aims to help the public, particularly those from a non-farming background, better understand how our food is produced and to raise awareness of the importance of the local supply chain. The initiative hopes to reconnect the public with the countryside and the local farming community which is responsible for producing the food we all enjoy.

Each farm event is unique and will be organised primarily by the host farmer. Visitors to the farm will have a free VIP pass to see the exact processes involved and the care and dedication that goes into food production while hopefully gaining an understanding of how important local farming is for everyone’s future. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the farmer and, on certain farms, be able to taste and buy the food, highlighting the importance of supporting your community by buying local. To date, over 60,000 people, including Primary School pupils as part of our extensive Schools Programme, have visited a variety of farms across Northern Ireland.

Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend is being delivered by Ulster Farmers’ Union and is sponsored by Bank of Ireland UK and supported by The Prince’s Countryside Fund; NFU Mutual, Asda and Tesco. The weekend would also not be possible without the help and resources of Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster, CAFRE, the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association and Food NI. (Source)

Hillstown Farm and Jalex Herd Farm are the closest to Ballymena and are both participating this year by opening their farm up to the public. Here is some information on both:

Hillstown Farm

Come and visit our farm on Saturday 18th June 10am-5pm

At Hillstown Farm Shop we sell home produced great tasting dry aged beef, lamb,rare breed pork and free range chickens and eggs. Hillstown Farm Shop also have local fruit and veg, buns,cakes and sauces to compliment any meal. Our chef also prepares tasty meals and desserts. So why not come down and visit our shop or have our meat delivered to your door or visit us at St Georges market every Saturday.

Jalex Herd Farm

Come and visit our farm on Saturday 18th June 11am-4.30pm

A fun-filled, FREE day out for the whole family come rain or shine! Jalex Herd and Alexander Tractors will be open to the public on Saturday 18th June between 11am and 4:30pm.

Come along and have a peek behind the scenes of our busy working farm, see the animals up close, have a tractor trailer ride though the fields and take a seat in some of our tractors. There will be a range of animals you can see including sheep, cows, including the native breed Dexter, pygmy goats, a donkey and a pony! Enjoy our informative displays and demonstrations and get answers to those burning questions you’ve never had the opportunity to ask before! There will be an indoor play area for the children with toy tractor race track, colouring competition, games and more.

Find out about all the farms who are participating here and plan to visit one on Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend 2016.