By Stephen Smoot
Last year, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Maine released a study detailing the rise of agricultural tourism in the United States and its benefits to farmers.
After months of discussion, Pendleton County farmers and agricultural support specialists are teaming up with the Pendleton County Convention and Visitors Bureau to create a “farm crawl” to showcase all that the area does best in food and farming.
“The Pendleton County Farm Crawl will be a one day event,” shares Jessica Hoover, a Pendleton County West Virginia University Extension Service agent. She went on to add that “it’s a self-guided tour through participating Pendleton County farms and agribusinesses.” The day’s events will allow “an inside look at daily operations and allows participating stops to showcase what they offer.”
The notion of a “crawl” came originally from the realm of potent potables. College towns and other areas with a number of bars and taverns, normally on Saint Patrick’s Day, would see these establishments team up to encourage patrons to go from one to the other and sample the best of what each has to offer.
“Bar crawls” inspired other ideas, such as the “hot chocolate crawl” in Frostburg, Maryland.
Hampshire County pioneered the idea of a farm crawl last year, earning a silver designation from the State of West Virginia in fairs and festivals and won West Virginia Living’s Best Fair/Festival/Event of 2024.
This coming year, Hampshire County has planned July and October versions.
The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development used 2022 Census of Agriculture to craft a study on agritourism and direct to customer sales from farms. In it, 1.5 percent of farmers reported some kind of engagement with agritourism and six percent using direct-to-consumer as part of a sales strategy.
Mostly medium and small sized farms use these techniques to boost sales and earn customer attention.
James Entsminger, University of Maine professor of entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as a small business specialist, stated, “Our analysis of these newly released data indicates that agritourism and direct-to-consumer sales are critically important sources of revenue for America’s small family farms.”
Pendleton County has seen a number of farmers and businesses join the agritourism and direct-to-consumer sales movement. During the summer, the Pendleton County Farmers Market has offered consignment services to help encourage local producers. Annie Humes directed that effort and also currently serves as interim executive director of the Pendleton County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Humes stated that Pendleton County’s participation in Maple Days has proved it to be “a fantastic agritourism activity, and we’re excited to see it continue to draw cold-weather explorers this year, starting on Feb. 18.”
She added, however, that “summer months are the time when we see the most tourism traffic in Pendleton County, so it’s exciting to consider how many of these visitors will have the opportunity to meet the farmers that are a part of our rural community this coming June.”
Hoover shared that “we hope that those involved in these diverse aspects will participate in the crawl to allow ‘crawlers’ to experience what they have to offer.” She went on to explain that “the goal is to increase exposure, promote the participating stops, and increase their sales.”
The State of West Virginia has named July as official farm crawl month, but to avoid competing with Hampshire County and others, Pendleton County will have a one day event on June 28.
According to the earlier mentioned study, “roughly 28,600 U.S. farms and ranches reported receiving income from agritourism or on-farm recreation services.” That includes using farm structures as event venues.
On average, these farms receive $44,000 in gross revenues from their endeavors in agritourism. Total income from agritourism and recreational services combined across the nation grew by $310 million since the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Total receipts added up to approximately $1.26 billion in total gross receipts, a 33 percent increase during the five years.
Despite the substantial growth, the number of farms engaged in these activities has not increased significantly, likely showing that a substantial opportunity still exists for farms that have not yet engaged the public directly in these fields.
