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Farm visits offer a variety of activities depending on location and time of year. |
Agritourism
Will your next vacation be down on the farm?
Many Americans see their food only as the grocery store sells it. They buy meat on a Styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic. Near-perfect fruit arrives from all over the world, and vegetables are always in season. While the food industry delivers variety and saves us time, it insulates us from how, when and where food grows. Grandparents and parents may have grown up with gardens, but many children today never see a plant grow from a seed to produce food.
Many farmers and ranchers are opening their lands to re-acquaint visitors with the basics of growing food. Now you can plan an agritour trip locally for a weekend or travel to neighboring states, even to Hawaii, Canada and Europe.
Agritourism, where agricultural operations are a travel destination, is gaining popularity. It can encompass activities as simple as farmers’ markets and U-pick fruit, to picnics on the farm and cattle drives on working ranches where you ride, eat and sleep on the range.
Not only does it help satisfy our basic yearning for first-hand experience with our food, but many farms gear activities toward kids, making it a family affair. Kids can feed chickens and gather eggs, and watch calves being born. Adults may help milk cows or mend fences.
Lodging runs the gamut. Not all agritourism businesses offer accommodations, but you may be able to camp on the farm, stay in a bunkhouse or in bed and breakfast-type accommodations.
Check them out
Verify the reliability of tours and destinations with the Better Business Bureau and specific membership in associations, such as Dude Ranchers’ Association or AAA (American Automobile Association). If they have a mailing list, you may be able to talk to references.
Knowledge of rural life helps kids make informed decisions.
Your choice of activities depends on season and geography. In the spring, animals are giving birth and farmers are planting fields, while late summer and fall are harvest times for fruit and vegetables. Western ranchers herd cattle and horses from spring through fall. In the northern latitudes, you can enjoy a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow.
A farm, ranch or orchard often reflects values, not just recreation or a business. Agritourism destinations tend to be family farms, not industrial-scale operations. They’re often run as organic fruit orchards, vegetable gardens or raise antibiotic-free, grass-fed livestock.
Family agricultural businesses have struggled to remain profitable in recent decades. Farmers selling directly to consumers at farmers’ markets, and now agritourism, create a valuable revenue stream to help preserve a legacy of family farms. — Marilyn Stone