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Agritourism Toolkit helps farmers grow their

March 23, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

For many farmers, the opportunity to have visitors tour their farms provides extra income and the opportunity to provide information and awareness about agriculture in the province.

The Simcoe County Agritourism Toolkit is a guide that contains all the information you will need to help you decide which agritourism is suitable for you and your farming operation.

The Toolkit outlines the steps need to add an agritourism component to an existing farm business or grow your current business.

The Toolkit is divided into four components based on a standard business development planning approach.

Agritourism promotes the enjoyment, education, or activities related to a farm operation. This may include on-farm retail outlets, farm tours, accommodations such as a bed and breakfast, or recreation such as horse riding.

Agritourism may also be done in a broader sense, including off-farm agriculture-related businesses, like attending farmer’s markets, specialty retail products, or local food-related events and festivals.

While Agritourism Toolkit focuses primarily on farm-based agritourism, it will also benefit individuals interested in starting or developing off-farm agritourism operations.

The main difference between agritourism and traditional agricultural businesses is the idea of welcoming visitors to your farm. Consumers want to know more about how food is produced and where their food comes from, and this can enable a consumer to learn.

This also allows farmers to get to know some people they grow and raise food for.

Deciding whether to try agritourism is as simple as asking yourself a few questions.

For example, do you want to broaden or diversify your income stream? Are you interested in promoting your particular product or brand? Do you like interacting with other people regularly? Do you like educating people about your farm and agriculture? And, are you willing to accept the risk and liability associated with inviting people to your farm?

There are many more things to be considered if you decide to try agritourism. This includes creating a business plan and hiring employees.

You can find out more by downloading the full Toolkit at experience.simcoe.ca/resources.

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