Hosting a farm visit – Information for farmers
If you want to get involved on Open Farm Sunday or host farm visits throughout the year, the questions and answers below should give you some guidance. However, this guidance is intended for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.
What do I have to do first before I host a farm visit?
You must carry out a risk assessment. The Health and Safety Executive has developed some interactive software to help you carry out a comprehensive health and safety assessment on your farm. Visit their website for details.
Read the NFU Business Guide on Health and Safety Advice for Open Farms or contact NFU CallFirst on 0870 845 8458 to seek advice.
Where the visitors are part of a visit organised by a school or other similar body you should discuss the visit with the organiser because they will have some responsibility in relation to health and safety. You should be able to advise them of the risks applicable to their visit from your farm and activities and they should be able to advise you of any risks associated with their visit from their point of view. Such a meeting will enable you to better carry out your risk assessment and make the visitors - through the organiser - aware of the control measures you have put in place.
You must assess the risks to people from exposure to hazardous substances, including biological agents - a requirement from COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations). Illnesses that must be included in a COSHH assessment are E.coli 0157, Orf or other possible infections such as Salmonella. You can find out more about COSHH by visiting the Health and Safety Executive website.
Speak to your insurer to see if you are covered for visits.
How much supervision will visitors require?
The level of supervision applied to visitors will vary depending on age, size of the group, experience and knowledge.
Where the visitors are from organised groups you should liaise with the organiser about supervision. Where schools are concerned the teachers will have responsibility for the health and safety of the children so should be involved.
Particular care should be given where young children are involved as they have little or no experience, are more likely to investigate or go into restricted areas and are more likely to put their fingers in their mouths.
Some visitors will have limited knowledge or understanding about the potential hazards that exist on farms. Never assume a high level of appreciation or awareness of the dangers.
All staff working on the farm, including contractors or temporary workers, should be briefed in advance of the visit and given any necessary instructions regarding increased risks or additional precautions.
How can I increase biosecurity on my farm?
Foot bathing facilities containing Defra approved disinfectants should be provided for visitors upon entering any farm premises.
Regular liaison and animal health checks should be arranged and maintained with your vet.
For biosecurity reasons, farm visitors should be prevented from coming into direct contact with animals. The line should always be taken that visitors should not pet, stroke or touch the animals, their bedding or food. This should include farm pets, working dogs and other companion animals such as horses.
Visitors should be advised that clean, washable clothing must be worn. Appropriate footwear that can be submerged in disinfectant solution should be a minimum requirement.
Visitors should be discouraged from smoking within a farm premises and eating and drinking should only be allowed in controlled situations and areas.
How can I prevent farm visitors from catching illnesses from my farm animals?
Have your vet check for illnesses such as Salmonella, Campylobacter and Cryptosporidiosis.
It should be assumed that all ruminants carry E.coli 0157. People can contract the illness by accidentally ingesting the bacteria following contact with infected animals or their faeces.
For biosecurity reasons, farm visitors should be prevented from coming into direct contact with animals. If you choose to let visitors touch the animals, decide which animals and what level of access visitors should have. You could set up a separate animal contact area which should be kept free of animal faeces. The barriers and gates should be disinfected regularly with a Defra approved disinfectant or bactericide.
Consider how many people will be in contact with the animals, what rate they are expected to disperse and how long it will take them to effectively wash their hands.
Washing facilities should be provided for visitors immediately after contact with animals. This should include warm running water, soap and paper towels. (Hot/warm air dryers are an acceptable alternative to paper towels but reusable towels are not acceptable.)
Do not let visitors near animals showing signs of illness or those that have recently given birth. Animals under stress will be more likely to excrete E.coli 0157.
Young children should be discouraged from handling or bottle-feeding young lambs or calves.
Any farm visits should be cancelled or postponed if there is any disease or biosecurity risk to both the animals and the visitors.
Visitors should be instructed to wash their hands thoroughly before eating or smoking and when leaving the farm.
Unpasteurised milk or cheese can be consumed in England and Wales but it is important to educate visitors before offering it to them to eat or drink. Pregnant women and immune suppressed individuals should adhere to medical advice before consuming these food groups.
Any visitors who come in to contact with animals or touch any materials that have come into contact with animals are exposed to risks from skin infections such as Orf or Ringworm. Orf is usually transmitted by sheep at lambing time as it affects the muzzle of young lambs and the udders of the ewes. Ringworm is a fungal infection that is normally passed by cattle to humans but it can be passed by animal to animal or human to human. If you cannot provide suitable washing facilities, protective clothing such as disposable gloves, disposable boot protectors and non-water disinfectant hand washes should be considered.
If possible, restrict access to areas that animals regularly use, eg tracks and fields to reduce the risk of contaminating footwear. All areas accessed by visitors should be kept as clean as possible and free from animal faeces.
Any slurry, manure or compost heaps should be segregated from visitors.
Is it ok for pregnant women to visit my farm?
Pregnant women are advised to avoid close contact with sheep during the lambing season. Pregnant women who come into contact with sheep during lambing may risk their own health and that of their unborn child from infections that can occur in some ewes. These include chlamydiosis (enzootic abortion of ewes -EAE) toxoplasmosis and listeriosis, which are common causes of abortion in ewes.
Although the number of reports of these infections and human miscarriages resulting from contact with sheep is extremely small, it is important that pregnant women are aware of the potential risks associated with close contact with sheep during lambing season.
More information about this is available on the Defra website and the Health Protection Agency website.
What information should I give to visitors to protect them while on my farm?
Adequate information and instruction should be given to visitors on their arrival.
In the case of school visits, you must discuss the visit with teachers in advance. You are duty bound to inform visitors of the risks they might be exposed to when on your farm and the teachers are responsible for the health and safety of the children and that includes when they are on your farm.
Parents should be told that if their child drops anything on the ground, it should not be given back to the child until it is thoroughly washed.
Make young people and visitors aware of the hazardous areas of your farm. Use warning signs to help you.
If group visits occur regularly, it will be appropriate to sign the location of the first aider facilities. It may also be necessary to have a member of staff as a trained first aider. Your risk assessment can help you decide what first aid facilities and training should be provided.
I want to do more than just farm visits, I'd like to provide camping facilities, what do I need to do?
If you intend to use fields on your farm for recreational activities, farmers' markets, camping, boot sale etc, keep farm animals off the fields for at least three weeks prior to use, and remove any visible droppings at the beginning of the three week period.
Mow the grass, keep it short and remove the clippings.
Ensure that water from burns and streams is treated before drinking.
Ensure there is adequate supervision for children, especially for those under five.
Where can I get more information on hosting a Farm Visit?
Download the NFU Business Guide on Health and Safety Advice for Open Farms from the NFU Online library section. Alternatively, contact NFU CallFirst on 0870 845 8458 to seek advice.
There are lots of advice sheets and preparation sheets which can be downloaded from the Farming and Countryside Education FACE website.
You can take part in the CEVAS training scheme (Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme) which is designed for farmers wishing to host school visits and for those wishing to improve their existing educational visits to schools. Find out more by visiting the FACE website.
You could visit the Teacher Net website where Access to Farms, a partnership of national organisations that promotes farming and horticulture education through links with schools, offers training to farmers wishing to host visits from school parties.
There are a number of Farm Visits Resources on the FACE website including Teachers' Information Packs, Farm Visits Case Studies, a presentation on making your farm accessible and a series of maths resources based on farming themes. Visit the Face website.
Defra guidance on biosecurity is available on the Defra website.
Contact the Local Education Authority to find out what their policy is on school visits to farms. Visit the DFES website.
You can download a leaflet from the Health and Safety Executive website called 'Be responsible - Keep children safe on your farm'.
There is a document on the Health and Safety Executive website called 'Avoiding ill health at open farms - Advice to farmers (with teachers' supplement)' which you can download.
A range of leaflets providing advice and guidance on COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) can be downloaded from the COSHH section of the Health and Safety Executive website.
A document called 'Safety on Farms, A shared responsibility - Industry guidance for farmers, growers, drivers, contractors and other commercial visitors' can be downloaded from the Health and Safety Executive website.
You can find out more about Open Farm Sunday which takes place on 10 June, by visiting the Open Farm Sunday section of the LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) website.
If you are a farmer who would like to register with Access to Farms as a farm that people can visit throughout the year, take a look at the Access to Farms website.
Farm, Food and Countryside is a comprehensive easy to read booklet that puts the case for British farming, counters some of the negative spin and presents information in an easy amd informative style to be read by non-experts. It is intended to be available on a 'Please take one' basis in farm shops, at farmers' markets, in rural pubs and on the bedside table in farmhouse B&Bs.
Download the booklet from the website or request that copies are sent to you.
Find out more by clicking here.
I host visits to my farm already and I have some advice for other farmers. How can I let them know?
You can visit the Have Your Say section of NFU Online and post your comments for other members to see.
New Activity Sheet for Visitors
