WEEKLY HARVEST

Farm Tour hits 39 years, features sheep, local agriculture
The Associated Press via The Miami Herald
Ormond Beach, Florida, resident Linda Sullo peeked through the fence at Bob, a Katahdin sheep. Bob moved ever closer to his pasture fence to get a closer look at Sullo, her friend Anne Rogers, and about six other visitors who had trekked out to nearly the county line in Pierson to learn about shepherding, Volusia County-style.

A different year for agritourism
AgriNews
Agritourism spots across the country adapted in light of COVID-19 concerns. The International Agritourism Association hosted a roundtable discussion to share stories, ideas and resources for farms. Debbie Patton, co-owner of Lynd Fruit Farm in Pataskala, Ohio, was one of three farmers who shared their stories.

How agritourism benefits rural communities
Travel Daily News
The tourism industry has been on an upswing since the past three decades. The major driver for this trend is globalisation, which has made borders more porous and reduced red-tapism in domestic travel, consequently easing movement of people. Correspondingly, air, rail and road travel has also become more affordable, even as increasing disposable incomes of people in developed and developing countries has encouraged them to travel as a mode of leisure.

Sweet potato festival exemplifies agritourism before Anne Arundel council considers bill to expand types of farm events
Capital Gazette
For two years Honey’s Harvest Farm in Lothian has held a sweet potato festival for friends and family but this year they opened it up so others could learn about the vegetable and how it’s grown there. “We realized how much fun we were having eating and cooking the potatoes, then we thought why should we keep this to ourselves. We need to share this with other people,” the farm’s owner Anna Chaney said.

Hipcamp, the Airbnb of camping: Farmers find new source of income renting land for outdoor stays
Lancaster Farming
Maryland farmers are finding a new source of income through a vacation rental platform. Hipcamp is similar to Airbnb, which allows people to rent out their homes, apartments and other private quarters for short stays. But as the name suggests, Hipcamp focuses on camping accommodations. The company was started in 2013, and slowly grew in popularity out West before making its way to the East Coast. It has grown in popularity since the onset of COVID-19 and the creation of the socially distant vacation.

Horry County farms are 'thinking outside the box' to recover from economic downturn
WBTW-TV
The South Carolina Department of Agriculture Agritourism Marketing Specialist points out: If a farm relied heavily on school field trips in the spring, things were hard economically, and may still be. Thompson Farm in Conway, South Carolina, is working to bounce back after losing all of their income from the spring to now.

Agritourism adapts: Farms make COVID adjustments
AgriNews
Farms across the country have made safety adjustments to adapt to COVID-19 this year. The NAFDMA International Agritourism Association hosted a virtual roundtable to discuss changes being made. "The biggest thing we decided was to have increased hand-washing and sanitation stations," said Jeanne Johnson, operations manager at Johnson Farms in Belton, Missouri.