Agritourism

This page is dedicated as a resource for farmers, food system partners and community members interested in agritourism.

What is agritourism? Agritourism can be defined as a form of commercial enterprise that links agricultural production and/or processing with tourism to attract visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agricultural business for the purposes of entertaining and/or educating the visitors while generating income for the farm, ranch, or business owner.

The importance of agritourism for farmers: Farmers find both financial and non-financial benefits to including agritourism as part of their business model. Agritourism allows farmers to diversify operations, spread financial risk, and maintain farmland in production.

There are many agritourism models employed by our area regional farmers. Some include:

• farm stands or shops
• farm stays, weddings and events
• farm tours
• u-pick
• on-farm classes
• youth camps
• fairs and festivals
• pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and Christmas tree farms
• wine tasting and harvest dinners
• and more!

Helpful Resources

Getting Started in Agritourism

A Cooperative Extension guide from Cornell University on to how to begin, what visitors expect, customer relations, income streams, liability, and marketing. Includes an Agritourism Enterprise Checklist and other useful resources.

How to Develop a Farm Tour – Agritourism Best Practice Series

University of Vermont Agritourism Resource Hub

Includes helpful resources on getting started with an agritourism venture, financial planning, safety and liability, marketing, farm experiences and webinars. Additional resources include: A Guide to Successful Agritourism Enterprises – pdf

USDA: Alternative Enterprises and Agritourism – Farming for Profit and Sustainability
Resource Manual containing 2,300 pages of reference material. It is divided into 20 chapters and 37 sub-chapters to guide you to a subject of interest.

Agritourism & direct sales: best practices in COVID times and beyond

University of California Cooperative Extension, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and partners for a series of 8 free virtual trainings in how to build your capacity to sell direct to consumers and build an agritourism business.

The International Workshop on Agritourism: presents Agritourism Gatherings: A virtual series for farm, food, and travel communities.
The series brings together farmers, researchers, service providers, tourism experts and many others to share their knowledge and experience from around the world.

Agritourism in Washington State: An Industry Profile – WSU Publication

Practical Biosecurity Recommendations for Farm Hosts – WSU Publication