Hello Farmers!
This year’s Open Farm Week will take place August 6 - 13, 2023 - please save the date!
Open Farm Week creates an opportunity for folks to visit farms and connect with Vermont's working landscape, and it's a great way to engage with your customers and community. We are all looking forward to getting out and enjoying Vermont this summer! Remember, you can choose any day during the week to host an event, or have events on multiple days. Registration for farm participation will run until July 1st.
Important Details for Open Farm Week 2023
Event Requirements
Feedback has shown that people attending Open Farm Week events are looking for activities, farmer interaction, and unique events. Rather than listing a farm stand as open throughout the week as an Open Farm Week event, the farm will be required to have an activity (big or small) in addition that is not part of their regular farm schedule.
Feel free to think outside of the box. And if you want to include a standing event you usually host during that week, we’re just asking that you provide a special addition to the event that we can highlight for Open Farm Week. Questions about this? Please let us know - we can help you find the right fit for your farm.
Cost to Participate
To effectively plan and produce Open Farm Week, the Vermont Open Farm Week committee starts planning 10 months prior to the event. We’ve calculated the true cost of organizing Open Farm Week at well over $400 per farm. The recommended fee for participation is $50/farm. However this year, we are offering a range of registration fees in an effort to make Open Farm Week accessible to all farms.
Registration fees go towards coordination and planning of the week long event, registration management and outreach, DigInVT website promotion, paid digital and radio advertising, print advertising, marketing materials and promotional resources for each farm, technical assistance, and in-state marketing and promotion through the many communication channels of the DigInVT committee organizations.
Resources
Many resources and tips on hosting events are available here: www.uvm.edu/vtagritourism. Some specific guides for setting up an event may be particularly helpful!
- Do you have an Act 31 sign? Learn about Vermont's Limited Liability Law for Agritourism hosts with this FAQ.
- or your on farm activities, you can find answers with this Guide to Navigating Vermont's Agritourism Regulations
- The Farm-Based Education Network also has several great free scavenger hunts, tools for engaging all five senses on a farm visit, and activities to share with guests on your farm.
- UVM Extension's Vermont Agritourism Collaborative has a wealth of important information and resources on all things agritourism for farms.
Featured Farms
For farms interested in being a Featured Open Farm Week Farm, you can pay an additional $20. For this fee, DigInVT will boost a social media post (a full match of $20) promoting your event to a targeted audience and your farm will be prioritized in our media outreach. Please stay tuned for more information. We will be sending out emails about social media starting in June.
Technical Assistance
Our Open Farm Week team is available to provide resources & technical assistance to a limited number of farms that would like support developing ideas and preparing for visitors. We can help you develop an event that's right for your farm and community, along with a timeline, marketing plan, and safety plan. There is no additional charge for this technical assistance, but you do need to apply for it via the Open Farm Week registration form.
Technical assistance looks different for every farm. It can be anything from a 15 minute phone call about event marketing or an email conversation about social media promotion to an on-site visit for help to develop a safety plan and/or discuss ideas for an event. It’s really up to you and it ranges from farm to farm.
Discounts
Neighboring farms interested in collaborating and marketing their events together can sign up together and receive a $10 discount per farm.
Please be in touch with any questions and we look forward to hearing about your events!
The 2023 Open Farm Week Organizing Committee
Andrew Graham, NOFA-VT and the Vermont Farmers Market Association; Lisa Chase, UVM Extension; Katherine Ingram, Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing; Kristen Brassard, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets; Tara Pereira, Vermont Fresh Network & DigInVT; Vera Simon-Nobes, Shelburne Farms and Farm-Based Education Network;
Vermont Open Farm Week is made possible by the generous support of media sponsor, Front Porch Forum and the partner organizations below.
