DID you know that there are more than 195,000 farms in England and that farmers manage 75 per cent of the total land area of the UK, which is almost 20m hectares - or 40m football pitches.

But just how many of us really knows what goes on down on the farm?

Farmer Colin Dawes and his wife Di, of Foxbury Farm, Brize Norton, are inviting us all to spend a day down on the farm, so that we can see just what modern farmers are doing these days.

Foxbury Farm is one of the many farms in the country participating in Open Farm Sunday this week, a national day co-ordinated by LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming).

The aim of the day is to give us all a chance to see the positive steps that farmers are taking to look after our countryside, whilst producing safe, wholesome, and affordable food.

To ensure that the visit is a real family day out, Colin and Di have organised farming demonstrations, and also demonstrations of spinning and weaving. There will also be craft stalls, farm ice cream, farm tours, and competitions. There's even a sheep shearing demonstration.

For those that get hungry and fancy a tasty treat, there's a Gloucester Old Spot pig roast, and other refreshments.

Visitors who would welcome the chance to stretch their legs, can enjoy a farm walk through Colin's one-hectare broadleaf woodland, with its interesting range of native trees and plants.

For the children, there's a chance to meet the newest arrivals on the farm. They will also be able to feed the peg goats, ducks and chickens, and visit the new lambs.

Foxbury Farm will be opening its gates on Sunday, from 10am to 4pm. Admission to the farm is free. Any money raised will go to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance Trust, a charity that is trying to raise funds to lease a larger helicopter, so that two patients or a patient and a relative can be transported together.