The Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC) is continuing its support of the local agri-food industry by renewing its sponsorship for this year’s Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend, which is back on farms next month.
Taking place on Friday 17 June for schools, Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June for the public, Open Farm Weekend has had a successful partnership with the LMC for many years through its popular cookery demonstrations, as well as the work it does in highlighting the Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured beef and lamb farms that participate in the Weekend.
Lauren Truesdale, Sustainability Projects Manager for LMC said, “Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend brings the consumer one step closer to the food chain, especially as it is back on farms again this year. A large part of what LMC does is to educate consumers about the merits of purchasing and consuming local produce, so events such as Open Farm Weekend highlight this farm to fork story very well.
“Sustainability is a key word in the agricultural industry in terms of the environment, socially and economically, and at LMC we want to help enable our industry to continue on its sustainable development journey for generations to come. We are delighted to sponsor Open Farm Weekend again this year as it gives us the chance to continue to highlight local beef and sheep meat as a world class product.”
David Brown, President of Ulster Farmers’ Union and Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend Chairman added: “Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend was established in 2012 to showcase our farming industry and the wonderful work our farmers do. Its focus is to help the public, particularly those from a non-farming background to better understand how our food is produced and to raise awareness of how supply chains work, through our local food industry. We are delighted to welcome farms this year to the Weekend and give consumers a snap shot of what happens behind the scenes on a working farm.
“LMC has supported the initiative for many years and as well as the financial support this year, the organisation has very kindly provided Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured beef and lamb cookery demonstrations on selected farms. We appreciate this as it allows consumers the chance to taste delicious quality beef and lamb produced on our doorstep.”
