Farms attracting more people, revenue through agritainment
These days, visiting a farm is about more than going to see animals or shop for seasonal produce.
Activities ranging from hayrides to haunted mazes to pumpkin picking are becoming more prevalent as more farms lean into “agritainment” or “agritourism,” the combination of agriculture and entertainment.
Agritourism’s origins can be traced to mid-20th century Italy, with the formalization of the term “agriturismo” and accompanying legislation in 1985. However, the concept of rural tourism existed much earlier, with farm-related recreation becoming popular in the United States during the Great Depression and increasing after World War II.
It’s become good business, giving farmers a chance to diversify their income.
The 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture reported 28,617 farms offered agritourism and recreational services, generating more than $1.26 billion in income. These figures are driven by consumer demand for authentic, sustainable and rural experiences.
“It was about us understanding that people enjoy being here,” said Annelise Mox, marketing and events coordinator for Trax Farm Market in Finleyville. “This was another outlet and something else for people to do whenever they come into our store besides just shopping. We want to give them an experience whenever they visit Trax Farms.”
Trax Farms schedule many activities throughout the year with its biggest coming soon – the Fall Festival, which gets underway Sept. 20. There are also a number of craft and vendor shows, winter and summer wine festivals, the Amish and Antique Fair, the Trax Farm Market Showcase and the Sunflower Festival, which Mox said is the farm’s second most popular event.
Agritainment ventures have worked out well at Trax.
“We love when people come to events and then the next year we see them again and they’ve brought friends this time,” Mox said. “It continues to grow organically through people attending our events and just bringing new people every year as well as different forms of advertising. We hope to continue to expand and grow with each event.”
Hickory Hearth Highlands in Hickory is the home of Hug A Highland, where 30-minute sessions are available to hug, pet, brush and take pictures with Scottish Highland Cows, pigs and miniature donkeys.
“When I was in high school I got a Scottish Highland,” said Reagan Carter, the seventh generation of the Carter family, owners of Hickory Hearth Highlands. “When I went to college I just started doing the experience to make some extra money and it became a full-time business.”
Carter said about 3,000 people came for Hug A Highland in 2024, and she said it’s on track this year to do even better this year. She admitted that in many cases farms need to take on an entertainment venture to generate some needed revenue.
“I’m of a younger generation,” said the 22-year-old Carter. “So, the farm itself can’t support my dad and me. It’s my way of still being on the farm every day, and it’s my income. I also feel it’s the younger generation’s way of staying on the family farm but not working on the farm and making an income. When people come to my farm to see the cows, they see the corn and the soybeans, and you just hope they learn something while they’re there. At the end of the day, it’s just fun.”
Another farm that has embraced in agritourism is Lippencott Alpaca breeding farm in Waynesburg.
“I’m really into agricultural tourism,” said Lena Galing, who owns the farm with her husband, Philip. “I give tours all year round. I give people grain and the alpacas come up to them. We discuss fiber. We pet them. Sometimes I even halter one and let people walk with (the alpaca). It’s fascinating. I love doing the tours.”
The farm has been in business for 20 years after Galing and her husband saw an alpaca at the first Waynesburg Sheep and Fiber Fest in 2005.
“There was an alpaca vendor there and it was love at first sight,” said Galing, whose farm now includes 24 alpacas. “The more people we have here, the more they understand that alpacas are nothing to fear. A lot of farms have children that work with alpacas. People can buy them now at reasonable prices.”
Maple Bottom Farm, a Guernsey dairy farm in Dawson, opened in 2020 with just a sunflower field. That quickly changed.
“In the first week of August in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, we launched three businesses,” said Vickie Baker, who owns the farm with her husband, Mike. “We started to make cheese, which has spiraled into the evolution of the Red Shed, which is our on-farm store. We also opened the Farmhouse bed and breakfast and our sunflower field. Those have all grown and evolved.
“The goal with everything we do is to educate people about agriculture and where their food comes from. It’s not just agritainment, it’s not just agritourism, it’s education. When we serve breakfast to a guest, everything we serve is farm-fresh, most of it grown on our farm.”
The dairy farm has 60 registered Guernsey cattle, along with horses, pigs and goats. The Red Shed is known for its self-serve, farm-fresh food. There also are tours.
“It represents about 15 to 20% of our overall income,” she said. “Margins are not good in anything in agriculture. We needed to do something and add something. Quite honestly, people coming to the sunflower field during the pandemic saved our farm. We’re located on a dead-end, and nobody would come to a dead-end in Fayette County unless there was something to do.”
Triple B Farms in Monongahela remains a popular location for school field trips. In May, more than 3,500 students visited for a day of education, learning about honeybees and crops.
“We want to make sure people are having fun while learning about where their food comes from,” said Sue Beinlich, daughter of owners Carolyn and Ron Beinlich. “Oftentimes, when you combine fun with something that you learn, knowledge that you’ve increased, it will be remembered. So much of the public is so far removed from growing any of their own vegetables or knowing how milk and meat are produced that it’s important for those of us that do still do that labor of love that we communicate it so that they appreciate the farmers that are producing food for them. Hopefully, we can do it in a meaningful way or a fun way.”
There also are a number of attractions for kids in Pop’s Fun Yard. The “acres of family fun” includes jumping pillows, a tire slide, and a barnyard carnival. Plus, the farm offers “pick your own” flowers and fruits.
“When people come to pick their own, they like to spend the day,” Sue Beinlich said. “It allows them to bring the family together and enjoy themselves for maybe three to four hours instead of an hour.”
Among other area farms offering agritainment:
– Simmons Farm in McMurray offers apple and flower picking daily and field trips and hayrides.
– The Springhouse in Eighty Four has a number of events as part of Fall Fun on the Farm, which runs weekends Sept. 20 through Oct. 27. New activities this year include tug-of-war, bounce-house corral, farm-style ping-pong and a potato pelter.
– The Komarinski Farm in Farmington is one of only two certified American grass-fed beef farms in Pennsylvania.
– Redstone Farm in Fayette City offers attractions such as pumpkin patches.
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