A Taste of Farm Life

Agritourism is a growing industry that allows you to learn more about the land we walk on, the animals we live with, and the food we eat—all while on retreat.
photography Jim Korpi

On a farm in Athens, OH, guests learn about farm-to-table living, collecting eggs they then use to prepare their own breakfast. In Petersburg, KY, a woman prepares guests for a couple hours of trail riding by first showing them how connect—and listen—to their horses. In Mount Healthy, OH, guests wake up to the sound of goats and chickens, wander down to the on-site farmers’ market, and later enjoy beer brewed on site.

This is agritourism.

Although the Census of Agriculture first used the term “agritourism” in 2007, the concept has existed for decades. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, agritourism is a business that links agriculture and/or processing with tourism, with the intent of attracting visitors onto a farm, ranch, or other agriculture business in order to entertain or educate visitors while generating income. This can include everything from a farm stay to pumpkin patches to winery tours.

You can find agritourism destinations online through reservation sites like Hipcamp, Farm Stay USA, Airbnb, VRBO, and more. As you’re planning your summer adventures, here’s an in-depth look at several regional agritourism destinations.

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Owner Betty Bollas, along with her husband, Bob, purchased the same flower shop where they bought their wedding flowers in 2014 and started making their vision come true: a nanobrewery and urban farm with an on-site Airbnb. Named after the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern found in nature and architecture for centuries, Fibonacci Brewing Co. has become a place for the community to come together in Mount Healthy, offering a local farmers’ market on the first Sunday of every month, May through November, with SNAP and Produce Perks, and a seed-swapping station inside the brewery for those in the community who want to plant their own gardens.

Betty Bollas says it was important that they invest in the community they lived in, and an urban farm brewery seemed fitting: At more than 200 years old, Mount Healthy, now a city, was originally a farming community. Nearby neighbors include Tikkun Farm, which provides food and resources for those experiencing food insecurity, as well as Running Creek Farm, which sells at area farmers’ markets.

“Our goal has always been to stay small and to serve our local community,” she says.

And that they do. Guests of the Airbnb, as well as visitors to the brewery and farmers’ market, can watch the goats, chickens, and honeybees roam about the property. There’s live music on Friday and Saturday nights in the beer garden, and food trucks to take advantage of as well. Fibonacci also offers a series of monthly classes called Fib Farm that cover everything from making your own elderberry syrup to all about mushrooms. Bollas wanted these classes to be affordable, so the fee for each is only $25 with all proceeds going directly to the instructor.

While most guests hail from larger cities around the tri-state, Bollas has hosted folks from about two-thirds of the U.S. thus far. Many come for the brewery experience. Some come for family events or local German festivals or concerts in town. Some just come for a night (or three) of peace. Fibonacci’s website features a highly visible equity and diversity statement, and the Bollases foster, both in words and in practice, a climate of purposeful inclusion, welcoming all.

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Jen Warner bought a 150-year-old farm that is now a two-room bed-and-breakfast located about 20 minutes from Cincinnati almost 25 years ago, in part because she wanted to raise her son, Ty, on a farm. A former writer, photojournalist, and public relations professional, Warner used a book called Wishcraft by Barbara Sher to envision her future, spent a decade creating a detailed business plan for a bed-and-breakfast—and after two years of searching, she and her husband, Dana Kisor, found the perfect property. Warner turned her vision to reality and has three times won the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Success Award.

Upon purchasing the property, Warner brought with her an Appaloosa gelding she’d raised 12 years before. And because horses are herd animals, she says, and you need at least two, she began taking in giveaway horses (and became the first host farm for ReRun, a local thoroughbred rescue program at the time). About five years into operating her bed-and-breakfast, guests began asking if they could ride the horses.

Warner was raised on a farm and had spent years riding horses, but she knew she needed to protect the horses, the guests, and herself. So she needed to teach riding skills.

As is her nature, Warner dove into the research, reading books, taking dressage lessons, and attending seminars. Having also worked in education for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, where she became knowledgeable about auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning methods, Warner began incorporating those techniques when teaching guests how to ride.

Today, guests at First Farm Inn can expect not only a traditional bed-and-breakfast stay, but riding lessons perhaps unlike any they’ve had before. Warner and her guests get to know the horses first, learning how to connect and communicate, before they ride (using what’s called the Centered Riding style) throughout the hills around the property, along the ponds, and through the woods. Warner estimates she’s now led more than 12,000 riders along the trails. By Warner’s side is horse trainer and manager Carolyn Frias, who joined First Farm Inn in 2022, and who also introduced goats to the property.

For many, First Farm Inn is a fun weekend away, perhaps the first time they ride a horse or an opportunity to learn how to ride properly. It’s also something of a haven. Although Warner no longer does so, she used to board horses. About three years ago she received a message from a woman who, years earlier, had come to the inn late at night in the middle of a storm. The woman had a horse, dog, and cat, and she was eight months pregnant. In her message she recalled that she was fleeing an abusive relationship that night, and that she talks about First Farm Inn with her son often, calling it a solace in the storm.

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“It is starting to bust loose in Appalachian spring down here,” says Paul Harper, owner of Woodland Ridge Farm and Education Center. “The grass is coming out and it looks beautiful. Right now we have seven head of cattle and one goat that just hangs out with the cow herd.”

In 1995, Harper and his partner bought this Appalachian ridgetop farm, all solid red clay dirt that he says was over-farmed until it could no longer produce corn. An advancement development director with Hocking College, Harper began immersing himself in regenerative agriculture literature; he wanted to heal the land. In 2002, he built a house on the property with visions of it being a visitor residence. He then decided to move onto the property full-time. In 2012, he retired and had an epiphany: Why not open a farm stay bed-and-breakfast? So that’s what he did.

Harper says Woodland Ridge Farm is built on a three-legged stool: farm-to-table food, restorative agriculture, and farm inspiration, with farm inspiration being a long continuum that includes everything from traditional bed-and-breakfast guests to people coming to learn restorative practices.

When guests visit, the eggs (which they can collect) and bacon they cook and eat come from the farm. Guests can also buy pork and other products to take home.

“People are interested in the farm experience but they are also more interested in where their food comes from,” Harper says. “We aspire to be a local and Southeastern Ohio region farm food hub.”

Right now Harper has enough laying-egg chickens to feed guests and the small team who work on the farm. Harper also has 100 meat chickens, half of which will be sold as farm-raised meat, and half of which will be sold as four-week-old chickens to those who want to learn how to raise and process them at Woodland Ridge—education really is Harper’s jam.

Pigs arrive in the summer, and ram lambs serve as the farm’s summer lawn mowers. Also key to the farm’s operation are two farm dogs, a little herding dog who Harper says is sharp as whip, and a “big, goofy, dumb” German Shepherd. “They just love each other and they protect the animals,” Harper says.

There is a facility on-site with commercial kitchen equipment and a large room for meals and education. Summer workshops may include container gardening and canning. Right now there are beds for 14 guests; Harper hopes to soon incorporate short- and medium-term residencies. Already a hub in the local food community, Harper wants to broaden his footprint and serve as a model for others in neighboring communities to follow suit.

“These hubs need to be a more major part of the local food system because they’re healthier, they’re better economically for the community, certainly for the farmers, and the difference in the food is just phenomenal,” he says.

Throughout the growing season Harper will also be hosting Buy Farm Food From the Farm Tours—immersive farm-food weekend experiences. Folks can stay at Woodland Ridge or a neighboring Airbnb, and then everyone will travel together in a 15-passenger van to visit local farms, learn how they raise their food, and have the opportunity to buy food to fill up their freezers for the coming months. 

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Also Consider

Carriage House Farm in North Bend, OH Single-family owned since 1855, this 300-acre Ohio Century Farm features two campsites that are within a five-minute walk of Carriage House Farm’s distillery, winery, market, and food truck. In spring and fall, the farm is popular among birdwatchers, as a section of the property is preserved in a conservation easement for migratory birds. Available on Hipcamp.com

Graceful Pastures in Winchester, OH For nearly 100 years, this working farm has been in the same family. It now features four primitive, walk-in tent campsites located in shaded, woodland settings. During summer months guests can purchase produce from the farm market, including peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more. Available on Hipcamp.com

KD Guest Ranch in Adamsville, OH Owned and operated by Dave and Kari Burkey, this vacation getaway offers a wide range of activities including trail riding, sorting and penning cattle, roping lessons, bonfires, and live music. The lodge features a dining room, general store, library, saloon, game room, and more. Guests sleep in log cabins.

Long Lane Farm in Yellow Springs, OH Watch the sun set while sitting in Adirondack chairs surrounding a bonfire on a historic farm owned and operated by Naomi Ewald, with horses to pet as ducks waddle about. The large farmhouse features a kitchen, living area, four bedrooms, four full baths, and deck. Located within three miles of Glen Helen Nature Preserve and John Bryan State Park.