Are you looking for new adventures to experience with your family? Have you ever considered a “FARMily” adventure? You may be surprised by how many opportunities there are in Utah to participate in agritourism.


WHAT IS AGRITOURISM?

Agritourism is where agriculture and tourism meet. This tourism is broadly defined as farmers and ranchers inviting visitors to a working farm, ranch, or other agricultural business to participate in educational (often hands-on) activities to provide guests with a taste of farm and ranch life.

Agritourism comes in several different forms—1) educational experiences such as farm camps, pumpkin patches, and corn mazes 2) direct agricultural sales such as U-pick operations, roadside farm stands, and farmers markets or 3) farm and ranch accommodations such as dude ranches, cattle drives, or wedding venues. Each provides unique opportunities to personally experience agriculture.

Agritourism is catching on in Utah and attracts both local and out-of-state visitors across the state. Harmony Cox, a fifth-generation cattle rancher in Kane County, suggests why there is such a heightened interest in visiting farms.

“It wasn’t very many years ago when you would meet someone and tell them you were a rancher and they would reply with something like, ‘My dad was a farmer.’ Or ‘I spent summers on the farm.’ But today that exchange is becoming more and more rare,” Cox said.  “More and more people have no personal connection to their agricultural heritage, but I believe that God instills within the human heart a need for connection to heritage and His earthly creations. That’s why I think people are so hungry for an agricultural exchange right now.”

No one can argue the fact that farming is a difficult, risky business. Farmers face uncertainties in weather, crop yields, input costs, and market prices, so agritourism can add a stabilizing income that allows farms and ranches to remain economically viable. It can also provide a way to include future generations to stay on the farm.

For Staheli Family Farms in southern Utah, agritourism has helped the family farm remain open and preserve agricultural land and open space amid the rush of new housing developments.

The public benefits because agritourism provides individuals with the opportunity to learn about rural living, nature, and the agricultural industry, and it also connects them with local food and an understanding of local food systems. Visitors can see firsthand how farmers and ranchers care for and protect land, animals, and natural resources.


STAHELI FAMILY FARM

The Staheli Family Farm is a six-generation farm located in Washington, Utah. Today the 350-acre farm is different than it was when Frank Staheli, Sr. established it in 1889. The Staheli family continues to plant seeds and care for crops and animals, but they’ve also cultivated new ways to share the farm with visitors.

Staheli’s opened their farm to visitors about 20 years ago when Burke Staheli, who worked in elementary education, noticed there was a disconnect with kids knowing where their food came from. The family felt that if the children could experience the farm firsthand, they would begin to understand and make connections.

Every year Sherrie (Staheli) Tate runs summer farm camps where kids learn what it’s like to be a farmer. The children do morning chores, interact with farm animals, learn, and play on the farm, but campers work first, and play last. They learn responsibility and make new friends all while having fun.

Agritourism at the Staheli Family Farm has expanded over the years to include corporate training experiences, and seasonal festivities year-round such as Easter events to Christmas on the Farm. Fall is one of Staheli’s busiest times with fall events including a Pumpkin Patch, Field of Screams, and a Corn “Maize” that attracts an average of 30,000 visitors during the month of October. The farm is also available for family reunions, weddings, and has a farm store where you can purchase local beef, and fresh produce in season.

Sherrie says the best part of bringing people to their farm is hearing people reminisce about their agricultural ties. People tend to relax more on the farm—they feel different. She hopes she plants the seed of how important agriculture is in their lives and that they make the connection from farm to table and that visitors sense the “family” feeling and feel a part of it.

Learn more at  www.stahelifamilyfarm.com.


COLD SPRINGS TROUT FARM

Cold Springs Trout Farm is located at the base of Cold Water Canyon, only minutes from downtown Ogden. The farm’s water source comes from Rocky Mountain springs. This cold-water natural resource is key to raising great tasting Rainbow, Brown, Brook, and Tiger Trout.

This family farm has been operated by the Barker family for the past 100 years.

Neal and Carrie Barker have seven daughters, including triplets. Two of the triplets, Tarah and Tylynn wanted to come back to the farm so Tarah got her degree in business from Weber State University and Tylynn received her degree from Utah State University in fisheries and aquatic sciences. The sisters, along with their husbands, are now running the farm.


Tarah (Barker) Holt and her sister Tylynn (Barker) Griffin and trout at their farm in Weber County.


Tarah says she received a lot of experience growing up on the trout farm, but she was thrilled to find journals of her grandfathers who recorded how they experimented and came up with best practices for raising fish, and how they handled the challenges that came their way.

In addition to selling eggs and live fish, Cold Springs added agritourism to their farm. With seven daughters, it just made sense to offer a wedding venue. So, in 2005 the Bowery was built and as each daughter was married something new was added to the wedding venue, a gazebo, a dance floor, and more green space. Trees were cleared to reveal a majestic mountain backdrop, and each year more flowers are added to the grounds creating a beautiful and peaceful setting.

In the summer, the farm is open to weddings, family reunions, birthday parties, corporate events, baby showers, rehearsal dinners, picnics, and more.

Children can discover the excitement of catching their first fish from one of the Catch n’ Keep ponds – no fishing license necessary. There’s also a Fly-Fishing Catch and Release Pond that offers a variety of trophy-sized trout and white sturgeon.

Visitors can enjoy fall festivities on the farm at the Jailhouse Maze which is changed from week to week to keep it fun and challenging.

Cold Springs Trout Farm is open from April through October. Learn more at coldspringstroutfarm.com.


THE RANCH AT WILD ROSE

Harmony Cox’s second great-grandfather, Jonathan Heaton, was an original settler of the Alton, Utah area. He loved, lived, and worked the land with his family. Dustin & Harmony Cox along with their six cowgirls continue his legacy at The Ranch at Wild Rose nestled on 180 acres of beautiful Utah landscapes, centered between Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon.

The Cox family loves to share their cowboy way of life.

Harmony Cox and her daughter during one of the family's cattle drives. Photo by Shy Photography. 

“We strongly believe that when God blesses you with something rare and beautiful, He wants it to be shared,” Cox said.

The Cox family offers a variety of cowboy experiences including cattle drives, branding team building, and weddings.  Opportunities range from day trips to 10-day trips and everything in between. You can join them for a day of calving or branding.

Dustin Cox (left) and his daughter Rachel Cox (right) during one of the family's cattle drives. Photo by Shy Photography. 

Guests participating in the spring and fall cattle drives help push 850 head of cattle 110 miles to their summer grazing to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  It’s a five-day cattle drive. Guests camp and eat along the trail with the cattle and gather around the campfire at night to share stories of the day.

The family is excited to welcome friends to experience a piece of their heaven.

Ruth Cox during one of the family's cattle drives. Photo by Shy Photography. 

“I love watching guests experience for the first time the miracles we see every day. It’s easy to forget how special our life is. We see the miracle of life, of renewed wealth every day. How special that is!” Harmony said, “Watching our guests’ eyes light up as they experience it for perhaps the first time is beautiful and gives me renewed appreciation for all that God has blessed us with.”

Learn more at  www.theranchatwildrose.com.


DISCOVER MORE AGRITOURISM OPPORTUNITIES

These are just a few of the many available agritourism opportunities in our state. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) maintains a voluntary agritourism registry to provide public notice of locations where individuals may participate in an agritourism activity. Farm owners may voluntarily place their agritourism venue and activities on the registry by providing information to the Department. The registry is posted on the UDAF website.

A sampling of additional Agritourism opportunities in Utah:

When planning your upcoming staycations or vacations, consider one of the many FARMily Adventures Utah has to offer.