Long Meadow Farm is one of 18 farms gearing up for Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend, which is “back on farms” on Friday 17 June – Sunday 19 June after a three-year hiatus. The farm in Portadown, County Armagh is best known for its hand-crafted ciders, apple juices and cider vinegars and the McKeever family are looking forward to opening to the public on Saturday 18 June 10-5pm and Sunday 19 June 11-5pm to share what happens on a working farm. On Saturday there will be orchard tractor rides, wheelbarrow park and rides, children’s horticulture and artisan stalls, while on the Sunday there will be a pig on the spit, cider tastings and an ice-cream van.
The Open Farm Weekend initiative is led by the Ulster Farmers’ Union, with the support of Bank of Ireland, Asda, NFU Mutual, Livestock & Meat Commission NI, Moy Park, Fibrus and Irish Farmers Journal and is expecting 20,000 across all farms over the entire weekend.
The virtual format that was adopted over the last few years allowed Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend to still continue throughout the pandemic, and although the in-person interaction with farm families was missed, the event did reach a new online audience. With this in mind, selected farms will be streamed live through Open Farm Weekend’s social media channels on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June.
The 18 working farms participating this year are: Acton House Farm | Armagh Apple Farm at Ballintaggart House| Blackberry Hill Farm (Schools Day only) | Bullsbrook Farm| Broughgammon Farm| Chesnutt Farms| Churchview Farm| CAFRE Greenmount Campus| CAFRE Enniskillen Campus| D&D Holland| Hollow Farm (Schools Day only) | Jamison Farms| Laurel View Farm| Long Meadow Farm| Millbank Farm| Mullygarry Farm| Redhouse Holsteins (Schools Day only) | Seaview Farms
All participating farms and opening times can be viewed at www.openfarmweekend.com.
