How Rise of Agritourism is Boosting Local Farms

Monday, May 15, 2023

From u-pick pumpkins and wineries to farm breweries and event spaces, the unpredictability of markets and weather has led to a boom in agritourism in New York over the last two decades.

For the Horning family, they decided to host guests on their working dairy farm, Country Cousins Farm in Evans Mills in Jefferson County.

“We started the cabin in 2012,” Stanley Horning said. “We were looking for alternative sources of income because dairy isn’t always good. Like most agricultural products, there’s ups and downs.”

Stanley and his wife, Sharon, moved to the property in 1993 where they raise dairy, beef and chickens – in addition to their four children.

With the help of their oldest daughter, they transformed a storage shed to a spruced-up cabin for six people with four bunk beds, and a pull-out couch, complete with a view overlooking the rolling fields behind their property.

“She did a lot of the leg work as far as getting a website set up and Facebook and all that helped do some advertising,” Horning said. “We finally put it up on Airbnb and then started getting a lot more guests.”

The visitors that come to the farm have the option to watch the Hornings milk cows, or work in the barn, but they don’t have to, Horning said.

“It’s just an opportunity for people to learn what actually goes on at a farm,” he said.

Horning estimates they make an extra $8,000 to $10,000 on the cabin each year, but they added a farm store about five years ago as another way to diversify their income.

“We’re selling roughly around 100 to 115 gallons of raw milk a week. We’ve stocked up freezers with beef too,” he said.

They sell cheese, eggs and jerky, as well.

According to the 2017 USDA’s Census of Agriculture, there are over 800 farms in New York that incorporate agritourism into their business model.

Larkin Podsiedlik, executive director of Madison County Cornell Cooperative Extension, said in the last 20 years agritourism has grown.

“It is a way for farmers to pivot and versify their operation,” she said. “It’s a good way to add value to the farm and an income that’s not just tied to the commodity market.”

Additionally, agritourism offers an educational component, Podsiedlik said.

“The value of agritourism for the public is huge, it’s an awesome way for anybody to learn about agriculture that they might not otherwise see,” Podsiedlik said.