LEFT There is a strong team of staff on the Open Farm and working farm at Smithills.
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ABOVE LEFT Carldanton Benjamin Mahogany Red was calf champion at Cheshire and Leek Shows 2014.
ABOVE RIGHT The eight abreast parlour allows the public to watch the cows being milked from a viewing gallery.
BELOW RIGHT One of the many activities for children to enjoy at Smithills is the donkey rides.
promotion. “The annual spend on advertising used to be £25,000 on adverts in local papers and magazines, but with little return. We have always and still rely heavily on word or mouth and customer recommendations. “Since setting up a Facebook page more than a year ago things have escalated rapidly. It is a great way to advertise to the age group of adults we are dealing with. We currently have 968 ratings averaging four and a half stars with very favourable comments and a staggering 20,774 people have checked in here. We do also have a website which is where more detailed information can be found about the Open Farm and the fact we feature high on google means people find the farm easily.”
Seasonal events are run to attract visitors with Easter egg
THE JOURNAL OCTOBER 2014 41
We have to take the open farm into consideration when making every management decision
hunts creating the most interest – last year the farm was so busy on Good Friday customers were turned away for the first time ever. There are also Halloween themed nights and a Santa’s Grotto. Throughout the year children’s parties are held at Smithills, as well as school and nursery visits with up to 300 children in a day being shown round and educated.
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LAST YEAR
90,000 VISITORS
Smithills is one of a few working farms that is open to the public and this is coupled with some challenges. Although the cows are milked mid-day all other tractor work is done before 10am and after 5pm when there are no public on the farm due to health and safety issues. This means extremely long days when slurry or muck needs spreading or when the silage or harvest is ready to lift. To allow for flexibility Anthony purchased his own silage equipment meaning silage can be lifted out of Open Farm hours, but also during the best weather.
IMAGES BY Richard Hodgson Photography
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