Open Farm Day Participants
Dear farmers, forest and food producers:
The Agriculture Resource Development (ARD) and get real. get Maine! team at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is in the midst of planning promotions, registration information, and online participant tool-kits to help farms plan for Open Farm Day, an annual statewide agritourism event that welcomes the public to learn about the value Maine farms have in their communities.
We know this event is an opportunity to promote your business, and we'd like to direct you to the >>2018 schedule and participant resources<<.
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Review >>participant resources<<: agritourism best practices handbook, sample certificate of liability, etc.
- Contact your insurer: get an updated COI that includes the event date, July 22, and send the current COI to the department; include OFD 2018 in the description, and MDACF as additional insured.
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>>Update<< your get real. get Maine! producer profile: share special events, plans and activities, click the Open Farm Day 2018 participant check b!
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>>Register online<< The online form will ask you for more specific information this year.
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Share the news, build some buzz: tell your customers, community members and others. Extend the invitation to your community. #MaineOpenFarmDay2018
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We have some benchmarks and related pilot programs for 2018 to help connect consumers and attendees with Maine farmers during Open Farm Day 2018. This includes: an online map, a printable passport, and participant resources.
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Online Map: Identify your GPS coordinates to be included in the *new* electronic guide map! To help us better share and publicize your participation to interested attendees, this year's form asks for a GPS address. The GPS information will help us create an online map for attendees to search. You can >>use this online tool<< to enter your venue address, and get the latitude and longitude for your GPS address.
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What to find on the farm: When our team receives questions about where they can purchase Maine products, or where to visit to learn about a certain type of crop or animal, we want to be able to connect attendees and customers with Maine farms. The 2018 form has more specific categories, and will help us share specific information in the Open Farm Day Passport.
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Open Farm Day Passport: The printable and electronic guide for attendees will include a passport. It is a pilot program to encourage participation by attendees, and create relationships with farmers. We are asking farmers to initial an attendee's passport next to the farm description. We are asking attendees to submit their signed passports and surveys to the Ag Resources team for prizes. The passport is scheduled for publication across the state in all seven daily newspapers, and visitor centers.
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Participant Resources: these are designed as helpful tools for farmers. Look for the agritourism best practices, a sample certificate of insurance copy, pre-and post event survey about your participation goals, and tips on how to help promote your agritourism event!
The "get real. get Maine!" program is a marketing resource for Maine farmers, food producers, and woodlot owners to promote sales of Maine food and farm products. The program is administered by the Agricultural, Resource and Development (ARD) team—the team accountable for marketing Maine agriculture to the state, country and world, and whose work aims to ensure that agricultural businesses remain profitable and sustainable. ARD is a division of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry—Maine’s lead agency for all aspects of the food system from field to table.
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