Open Farm Sunday is going ahead as planned on June 27, said organisers - but with smaller socially-distanced events due to the delayed end of lockdown.

The popular annual summer spectacle, which usually brings thousands of visitors onto farms across East Anglia, was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Organisers at LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) had pushed this year's date back to June 27 in the hope it could be free from Covid restrictions, to maximise crowds.

But after the prime minister announced "Freedom Day" would be delayed by four weeks until July 19, farmers are being encouraged to run smaller events within the current restrictions.

A spokesman for LEAF said: "LEAF Open Farm Sunday (LOFS) will still be going ahead as planned with smaller scale, socially distanced farm walks and talks.

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"Outdoor events are low risk regarding Covid transmission and the current Covid restrictions do not impact outdoor agricultural and horticultural events for up to 4,000 people in England - as mentioned in Step Three of the roadmap.

"Farms opening for LOFS will be offering visitors a wide variety of on-farm experiences from self-guided walks and farm tours to machinery displays and picnics on the farm.

"We will continue to monitor Covid information from government and support both our host farmers and visitors so that everyone has a safe and enjoyable day.

"Ultimately, we are so pleased that we can bring the public out onto farms this summer, to find out more about the agricultural industry first-hand and to give visitors a memorable experience.

"We hope that everyone will take the opportunity on June 27, to celebrate all that British farmers deliver and enjoy a feast of British food and drink."

  • For more details about Open Farm Sunday, and information for farmers on how to plan and register an event, see www.farmsunday.org.