In NH, many of our farms consider themselves diversified—meaning they produce more than one thing. To some, that may mean that they are growing and selling vegetables and meat, or grains and eggs. But more and more frequently, farms are adding Agritourism Events and Farm Stay enterprises to diversify their operations.
Defining Agritourism
In NH, Agritourism is seen as part of the farm businesses marketing and is defined as “attracting visitors to a farm to attend events or activities that are accessory uses to the primary farm operation.” NH RSA 21.34a.
Far from a new phenomenon, Agritourism has been part of farming in NH for many years. Pick-your-own apples and sleigh rides are prime examples of traditional events that invite customers onto the farm for an experience. On-farm events help foster a deeper connection between the customer and the land or farm as well as offer a different income stream to the farm business.
Like all marketing strategies, the agritourism space has been growing and changing over time. With the rise in desire for picturesque, barn-side weddings, farm weddings became quite popular in the 2010s. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic created a resurgence of demand for outdoor event spaces that offered entertainment or experiences that could be enjoyed from 6 feet apart. Wine tastings, goat yoga, summer camp, en-plein-air painting, the list of activities that are enhanced by a pastural background are many.
Overnight Farm Stays
The pandemic also increased the demand for time away from cities and other crowded spaces. Many NH farms met that demand with overnight stays at their farms. Kate & Ken Osgood of Birch Rise Farm in Sanbornton and Hank & Heather Letarte of White Gates Farm in Tamworth all agree; they love their overnight rental space as an additional income stream at their farms. After talking with both couples, here’s a few tips and tricks to think about before adding a Farm Stay enterprise to your business.
Use a Third-Party Site
The fees that sites like AirBnB and VRBO take from each stay can be off putting for some, but both couples say that it is worth it. These sites have quickly become the go-to for folks looking to get away someplace special. Rather than fight for google search results on your own, Kate advises, “let them do the marketing for you! The customers are already on their platform and it’s easy to link the booking calendars to each other to avoid double booking.” The reviews are also trusted by other customers as legitimate, which can impact someone’s decision to book a stay with you or not.
Other booking assistance options with a farm focus include Farm Stay USA, Harvest Hosts and Hip Camp. Each has its own focus (camp and RV sites, cottages, B & B, etc.) and has its own requirements for participation, but may provide an avenue directly to folks looking specifically for a farm stay option.
Give Tours
Hank & Heather make sure to give everyone who stays at the farm a tour of the property no matter the season. “The whole reason they’re at the farm is to experience the peace that is being here, so we show them around, and then leave them alone,” Hank says. A tour also helps with additional product sales to the guests. At White Gates, each guest of “Cottage Cove” can go into the greenhouse and pick something for a salad and buy steaks from the farm stand for grilling. Chances are, they’ll stock up on farm products before they leave for home, too!
Be Clear About the Environment and Rules
Tours also help reinforce the fact that they are on a working farm; there are places you can go and places you can’t. It’s easier to communicate in person than in a binder on the table that folks might not read. Kate says, “It’s really important to us to make sure that everyone knows this is a working farm. Most people want to get out and help us with farm chores, but we need to be with them if they are near our animals.” And this seems to work at Birch Rise. One of their most recent reviews beams, “What a find! We loved staying at Birch Rise Farm. Our family of four (children ages 11 & 7) felt right at home and had all of our creature comforts. Ken and Kate were the most gracious hosts and gave us a tour of their working farm and also had our daughters be a part of the farm chores, which they enjoyed. We got lucky with a beautiful snowfall right before our arrival and it made the landscape even more charming.”
Know Your Zoning, Rules, & Regulations
Each town in NH has different rules and regulations when it comes to overnight guests—check in with your town about what regulations you need to know about.
But this additional due diligence doesn’t just start with overnight stays—anytime you invite guests onto your property, you’re changing the legal risk that your farm is susceptible to. Farm Commons is an agricultural legal hub that provides legal workshops, timely resources and a community for farmers, ranchers and their service providers. Before you launch your farm pizza series, check out their free Agritourism Legal Basics, which provides you with some of the basic things to should consider from a legal angle. If you are interested in more comprehensive guidance on agritourism considerations, read the 19-page Farmers’ Legal Guide to On-Farm Events. If audio-visual learning is more your style, check out their 2-hour recorded webinar, Hosting Safe, Legally Secure Farm Events.
Insurance
This may be as simple as adding a rider onto your existing farm insurance. For Ken & Kate, it was not expensive at just $35 a year. Oddly, they were required to prove they have a coffee station onsite! Check with your own insurance company for details about how to make sure overnight guests are properly covered.
Additional Labor Requirements
Adding a Farm Stay can add a significant amount of labor between cleaning, farm tours, and guest management emails. Both couples add a cleaning fee to guest bookings to help cover this cost, but it is important to think through if your farm has the hands to do this additional work. Hank & Heather feel the increased labor hours, especially when all six of their on-site cottages need to be cleaned and reset in one day. Heather notes, “A deep clean can take 2 hours per cottage, if check out for all six is at 11 a.m. and check in for all six starts at 3 p.m.—there’s no way just one person can get all of that done. We have to make sure both of us have no other farm chores to do during that time.”
Adding to the Offerings
Events and overnight stays can add to the bottom line of a farm business. While eggs and tomatoes are tasty summer income streams, farm product margins are often quite small and only bring in income seasonally. Agritourism can add year-round, higher margin sales to a farm business.
Additional Resources from UNH Cooperative Extension
Cultivating Farm Experiences - Can Agritourism add to your bottom line?
A free 4-part online educational program on March 9, 16, 23, & 30, 2023, noon to 1:30 p.m. Registration is required by March 3, 2023.
Agritourism Development: Neighborhood and Community Considerations
This presentation offers tips from town planners and agritourism operators for navigating potential roadblocks.
Legal Guide for New Hampshire Agricultural Producers
An incredible resource for agricultural producers in NH. While not agritourism-specific, there are many sections that are applicable to adding an agritourism enterprise—labor, taxes, and municipal law for example.
