Agri-tainment is What it’s Called
Posted by Admin
Why are so many farms turning to agriculture entertainment, or agri-tainment? Some farms that have been ran and passed down through many generations have been falling upon hard times recently. There just doesn’t seem to be much of a profit margin with rising costs, droughts, storms and many other factors. The same land and the same products that used to put food on the table, pay for equipment, provide college funds, and keep the farm running smoothly just don’t cut it many times now days.
And of course, this is actually on the upside of when they are able to produce the same amount of harvest as their family has done in generations past. There are also farms all across the country that are unable to produce what they used to. Mother Nature has been shifting and wreaking havoc upon some of the land.
This is probably why there has been such an explosion in agri-tainment. Many people have never heard of this term, but chances are they have seen it in action but didn’t know it.
A prime example of agritainment is a farm that opens the gates come fall time and Halloween. They may have hay rides, mazes cut into the fields for kids to explore, petting zoos of various farm animals, refreshment stands, and selling pumpkins. Some farms have discovered that holding such events will bring in double or triple the funds that their actual farming will for the year.
Farmers are being forced to step out of the mold, be creative, and sell those things that no one else is able to. Another good way to see agritainment in action is the “Pick Your Own” farms. Signs abound on the highway in many regions to come pick your own blueberries or strawberries for a flat fee. It is normally much cheaper than the local supermarket, and they are fresh from the vine!
Farmers have only started to scratch the surface of what agritainment can, and will most likely grow to be. Take a look back to Vermont in 2002. Income from agritainment, also called agritourism, in Vermont alone was almost 20 million dollars; double the income that was generated just two years earlier in 2000.*
Several agencies and government departments have started to see the problems farmers are facing and are pitching in their help to support agritainment. In 2005 alone the United States Department of Agriculture allocated over 1 million dollars to 20 states and Puerto Rico funding research into marketing of agritainment and demonstrations. They hope to find new and innovative ways to support agritainment through marketing and increasing public awareness so more people will spend their time and money in agritourism.
The possibilities of agritainment are endless. It is inevitably part of the future for most farmers, and the general public benefits from it as well. The day can be spent relaxing in the fresh open air on the farm, or frolicking through the fields of mazes. At the end of the day the farm has brought in extra revenue that it needs, and hopefully people had fun and maybe even learned something!
