The National Trust has
announced that one year on from the launch of its innovative,
award-winning MyFarm project, the charity is dropping the £30 sign-up
fee in a bid to widen its success and inspire even more people to
engage with farming and food.
The experiment - based at the Trust's 1,450 acre Wimpole Home Farm
in Cambridgeshire - was launched last May to encourage people to learn
about day-to-day farm life and get a better understanding of where their
food comes from.
The virtual farmers are able to view day-to-day farm activities via
blogs from the farm team, videos and live webcams. Significantly they
can also influence what happens on the farm by voting on key decisions
usually made by the farmer.
As the project moves into the second year, the team behind the project are seeking to increase the number of people who take part in MyFarm, and cover a wider range of food topics.
Farm Manager Richard Morris said: "We've learnt a lot from our
5,000-strong audience over the last 12 months, especially how interested
people are in following and finding out about the day-to-day running of
the farm.
"The experiment has helped us deepen people's understanding of the
challenges faced by farmers in the wider market place including the
European and World markets, and enabled those involved to comment on a
wide range of farming issues.
"It's been the animal stories that have really captured the public's
hearts - both births and deaths. MyFarmers have also loved getting to
know the farm team, the rare breed animals kept at Wimpole and the
monthly votes which explore one particular aspect of farming in more
depth, with the majority vote then carried out on the farm."
The National Trust
is the country's biggest farmer and through MyFarm hopes to help people
understand the issues facing farming today, the numerous and daily
decisions farmers have to make, as well as the joy and the heartache
which is part and parcel of farm life.
As part of the changes the Trust will also now host the experiment on
its own website rather than the current microsite. It will also make
broader use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to
interact with users and to encourage further discussion on food and farming issues.
Founding Farmers - those who joined in the first year - will be invited
to continue as ambassadors on these platforms to encourage more people
to join in; sharing the journeys they have been on over the last 12
months.
MyFarm Project Manager Andrew Cock-Starkey added: "Our members come from
all over the world as well as from the UK and after a successful first
year we believe we’ve established a clear demand for this kind of
learning. Now we want to reach even more people and build a broader
understanding of farming.
"Waiving the membership fee will, we hope, help us reach a much wider
audience, as will ensuring we have appealing content for users of
different ages across various platforms."
Deputy President of the National Farmers' Union Meurig Raymond said:
"This project is an effective and fun way of engaging people in farming
and the hard work and skill that goes into producing food for their
table. With more and more people using social media to communicate,
share views and influence decisions MyFarm also tackles some of the more
serious issues and involves its supporters in the day-to-day running of
a real-life farm."
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