Business

Agri-tourism Makes the Family Farm Look Like a Horse of a Different Color

Visitors to Two Sisters Pumpkin Patch will find a corn maze, farm animals and acres of sunflowers, pumpkins and gourds.

An old song once asked‚ “How you gonna keep ’em down on the farm?”

A growing number of Mt. Sterling farmers have found agri-tourism is the answer.

A concept that’s rapidly changing the way many farmers across the country do business‚ agri-tourism is the diversification of traditional agriculture into specialties that bring visitors – and customers – to the farm from the local area and farther afield. The result is an economic win for small farmers – who have been under the financial gun for years – and the community as well.

“People want to see the farmer’s quality of life‚ their environment‚” says Lynda Wilson‚ director of the Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Tourism Commission. “And this is also a great way to learn. Kids think pumpkins come from a box at the grocery store‚ but here they can see how things really happen.”

Mt. Sterling has seen agri-tourism pick up dramatically in the past few years‚ says agricultural marketing specialist Crystal Amburgey.

“We’ve seen some people who were in tobacco looking to use their land in different ways so they can maintain their farms‚” Amburgey says. “Others not in tobacco were looking for some supplemental income. Agri-tourism is becoming very popular around the county.”

At Hickory Springs of Montgomery Daylilies‚ visitors can see flower farming in action. Glen Berger’s G & R Freshwater Shrimp farm sells at farmers’ markets and offers pond-side pickup at shrimp harvest time. Two Sisters Pumpkin Patch is a fall favorite with families who come to explore a corn maze‚ buy gourds‚ pumpkins and fall flower arrangements‚ and enjoy farm animals. And Townsend’s Sorghum offers strawberries‚ blackberries‚ sweet corn and a stocked fishing lake‚ not to mention its award-winning‚ homemade sorghum that’s finding a growing niche with area inns and restaurants.

When Cindy Peake and her husband‚ Terry‚ moved from Chicago to the family farm a few years ago‚ a scant six or seven apple trees made selling at the local farmers market a brief affair.

“People kept saying‚ ‘Where’s your orchard?’” recalls Cindy Peake‚ who worked as a teacher while Terry Peake worked as a corporate executive.

In 2001‚ the Peakes and another couple planted 2‚700 apple trees of 13 varieties‚ and in 2004 Bramble Ridge Apple Orchard celebrated its first crop. Today it’s an all-things-apple paradise‚ where agri-tourists come from spring to late fall to tour the farm‚ pick apples and feast on homemade apple jam and pies‚ Blackjack cider and Wapples – waffle cones filled with warm apple filling and ice cream. Each April the farm hosts an Arts in the Orchard celebration‚ and October brings the annual Apple Butter Festival.

“With the price of gas as high as it is‚ people are looking for fun things to do closer to home‚” Cindy Peake says. “This is an educational benefit for the community‚ too‚ because it helps them understand what has to happen to get food to their tables.”

Story by Laura Hill
Photo by Wes Aldridge

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