RORY O’Brien from the Hunt & Gather Bee Company in Raglan demonstrates how honey is made. PHOTO SUPPLIED
KING Country rural businesses are invited to host an Open Farm on March 12 as part of a nationwide series of on-farm community events.
Open Farms founder Daniel Eb said rural businesses would gain much from getting involved in the now three-year-old programme.
As well as bringing people together, primary producers could showcase any direct-to-consumer products through “experiential marketing.”
“For them it’s this added economic piece to why they host. They can sell products on the day, or they can build visitor information to go into email newsletters,” he said.
“They see economic value from it, and we’re able to support that.”
Open Farms’ PR team would promote primary industry businesses – not just conventional farms but also others like beekeepers and orchardists – using a range of outlets.
“We put your profile up on the website and … our Facebook and Instagram and Twitter channels. We love stories like that.”
Businesses would see their social media uptake “accelerate,” he said.
Daniel said Open Farms would contact larger regional media, as well as national outlets like RNZ to promote the events.
Farms would be supported to make the day run more smoothly, with things like roadside signs, a script to email to the insurance company, health and safety cheat sheets, hand sanitiser and safety tape “to save a trip to town.”
One important proviso is that businesses in areas like the King Country, away from major centres, must agree to do part of the event marketing in order to be accepted into the programme. That was important in areas like the Waitomo district where most people had exposure to farming.
That was because Open Farms had learned from the past, Daniel said.
A previous on-farm event in this area was planned but did not have many attendees on the day.
Now, Open Farms asks businesses in more remote areas to do micro-level marketing (including local district Facebook pages and school newsletters) as part of the deal. This could not be done easily from north of Auckland, where the organisation is based.
Daniel said a benefit of hosting an Open Farm event outside major centres was that it was an excuse to connect with friends and neighbours in the local area.
“Communities are always looking for a place to come together.”
