Over 100 farms across Atlantic Canada opened their doors to the public on Sunday for the third annual ‘Open Farm Day’.

“We came out last year to a farm near Lunenburg and we really liked it,” says Jaclyn Currie who brought her two year old son Harrison to Moorbern Farms in Scotch Village, N.S.

From feeding the chickens, to checking out turkeys, to seeing baby piglets, just two days old, Moorbern Farms hoped to welcome some new faces to this year’s Open Farm Day.

“Since people started coming up the driveway at 9:15 this morning, we’ve probably welcomed 90% new families to our farm, who are now talking about bringing their children back next year for things like the blueberry U-Pick,” says Cynthia Bernier, owner of Moorbern Farms.

Open Farm Day aims to give the public a backstage pass to see where their food really comes from. Over 100 farms across Atlantic Canada participated.

“Harrison loves to see the animals and be outside, and with this gorgeous weather we’re having, we just thought we’d come and enjoy a bit of rural Nova Scotia,” adds Jaclyn Currie.

Down the road at Meander River Farm and Brewery, several local producers showcased their wares on the lawn, just in front of the lavender fields.

Owner Brenda Bailey says she welcomes people to tour the brewery and show them how self-sustaining a farm can be.

“The pigs get fed the spent grain from the brewing process, and the waste, wash water and the water off the roof go into our ponds, and we can irrigate with that water,” explains Bailey.

Hops strung up on the side of a barn will be used to make Meander River’s craft beer. The Bailey’s make beer with their own lavender, hops, honey and other crops.

“This year we grew lemon grass and we’re thinking we may use that, but it’s some of those things, the rose petals, whenever they come into season we think, ‘oh maybe we could do something with that’,” says Bailey.

Back at Moorbern Farms, the Bernier’s are still relatively new to farming, but with the support they felt from their community today, they are already thinking about what to offer next year.

“Even though the farm is much more than we thought it could be, it’s exactly what we want it to be,” says Bernier.

Some lifelong lessons from farm, to fork.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Emily Baron Cadloff.