Agritourism
From SmarterTravel
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General Information
Agritourism is a type of vacation that involves visiting and even staying on a working farm or other agricultural site such as a vineyard, orchard, or ranch. Oftentimes, visitors are allowed to participate in farm chores like feeding animals or picking fruits and vegetables.
Agritourism typically appeals to travelers who want to learn about where their food (or other products) comes from. Visitors gain an educational experience by connecting to the source, and farmers supplement their incomes and help sustain their farms.
Other components of agritourism include food and wine trails, farmers' markets, farm stands, u-pick operations, petting zoos, wineries, distilleries, agricultural education centers, artisan producers, gardens, restaurants serving locally grown food, etc.
Agritourism Websites
As agritourism grows in popularity, many destinations (including convention and visitors' bureaus and other organizations) are creating websites devoted to farm vacations.
U.S.
Rural Bounty is a good resource for agritourism listings throughout North America. While not necessarily built with tourists in mind, Local Harvest serves as a comprehensive directory for farms, farmers' markets, restaurants serving local food, and more.
Websites by state:
- Alabama: AgriTourism in Alabama
- California: UC Small Farm Center's California Agritourism Database, AG Adventures of the Central Coast
- Delaware: Delaware Agritourism Association
- Illinois: Agriculture & Tourism Partners of Illinois
- Kansas: Kansas AgriTourism
- Kentucky: Kentucky Department of Travel, Kentucky Farms Are Fun
- Massachusetts: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
- Michigan: Michigan Farm Marketing & Agri-Tourism Association
- Missouri: VisitMO, AgriMissouri
- New Jersey: Visit NJ Farms, Discover Salem County
- New York: New York Agritourism & Education
- Oklahoma: Oklahoma Agritourism Program
- Tennessee: Tennessee Tourism, Visit Tennessee Farms
- Oregon: Mt. Hood Territory
- Vermont: Vermont Farms! Association
- Virginia: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Canada
- Quebec: Agrotourisme Quebec.com