While for the layman, this may be a new topic, what I am learning in recent months and even years is there is a segment of tourism that is big business for a number of states and has many facets of interest along the way, that of agri-tourism.
While I have not found a common, “standard” of definition, most of them seem to follow a general grouping pattern of direct-to-consumer sales, agricultural education, hospitality, recreation, or entertainment. So things like that ice cream you bought on your kids school trip to the dairy, the corn maze that you went through in the fall, a visit to learn more about farm operations? Yep, all agri-tourism.
So what does this do? Great question and I am glad you asked. The benefits are actually multiple for many audiences including the producer (i.e. the farmer or the landowner). Generally speaking, they include but aren’t limited too:
*Breaks the seasonal cycle. Dependent on creativity and what you can do it may expand the capabilities of the property beyond the seasonal cyclical of agriculture.
*Education. It enables the general public to learn more about product production, what is involved in getting the product to market, and the labor of the agriculture industry.
*Direct to consumer marketing and product distribution. The producer can direct products straight to the consumer, reduce overhead, the capabilities from a market standpoint are significant.
*Family-friendly. Whether it is a maze for fun or an educationally-based opportunity, agri-tourism is a very family-friendly activity.
*Benefits to the community. Promoting the producer/farmer often also promotes the community also. With that, the benefits to the small-town community are likely big as well.
Financially, the benefits by state are exponential as well. Because there are multiple definitions of what agri-tourism truly is, it’s challenging to general quantify the statewide impact. Based on the definitions and how the state embraces it (which most all do) the financial benefits range from several million to low billions.
Using general definitions, we have taken advantage of several “varieties” of agri-tourism personally. These have included pumpkin patch picking, educational trips to dairy farms, winery visits, hayrides, and more. With a family, much of these are fantastic activities. They are usually fairly cost-efficient, especially for big families. Some are more couple, single oriented (such as the winery piece), but here’s the fun part, a lot of them work for all-purpose entertainment. I have seen families with multiple kids intermingled with college-age students in pumpkin patches, and likewise with things such as corn mazes, hiking, trail rides, and mountain biking.
Quick internet searches will send you down pathways for this if you think you may be interested. This is something we do pretty regularly and highly recommend for others.
There is a place not far from me that does lessons for kids on the farm. It’s fantastic!! I love the idea of agri-tourism to not just support local businesses but to broaden awareness of our world.
I’ve always wanted to try this! It seems like a great way to take a break from technology and relax at a slower pace! I’ve always found farms fun! Wish we had more options like this around my area!
I love traveling. I will have to add this to my list from now on.
I thought this might be about staying on a farm and exchanging some room and board for help with chores. I understand better now. We have these opportunities all around us! Yes, they are very family friendly. It got me thinking about some ideas for my own family. Thank you!