To some people, the term "agritourism" may summon images of white-collar tourists paying for the chance to do farm work, or perhaps the wacky television antics of beet farmers. However, more people than ever are jumping at the diverse opportunities provided by agritourism. Agriculturally-inclined tourists can vacation on an olive farm in Tuscany, pick grapes at a California winery, buy oranges from a roadside fruit stand and tromp through a corn maze.

Corn maze
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A five-year-old girl makes her way out of a 10-acre cornfield maze in New Mexico. The farmer who built the maze is using tourism as a way to supplement income.

Agritourism is the practice of attracting visitors and travelers to agricultural areas, generally for educational and recreational purposes. Due to economic hardships and changes in the farming and livestock industries across the globe, many farmers -- especially those with small, family-owned farms -- have found they must supplement their agricultural business model and explore new ways of generating income.

Likewise, as the distance between the production and consumption of agricultural products grows, so too does consumer interest in how crops and livestock are raised. People want to reconnect with the agricultural practices of the past.

These two needs come together in agritourism which helps rebuild a relationship between producer and consumer that has all but vanished with the rise of heavily-industrialized farming methods.

So what makes a farm an agritourism operation? In this article, we'll take a look at the different types of agritourism.

Agritourism and Farming's Past
Would you like some time travel with your agritourism? Some destinations recreate farm-life from ages past or even immerse their guests in another time period. The U.S. Department of Agriculture owns and operates the Homeplace by the Lakes National Recreation Area in Tennessee where historic interpreters carry out farming chores on a recreated mid-19th century farm. The Connor Prairie Living History Museum in Fishers, Ind. goes a step further. The outdoor museum not only gives visitors the chance to see how an entire small 19th century town operated, but also explores America's darker agricultural past with the Follow the North Star program. This allows visitors a chance to experience what it was like to be a slave on the run from slave drivers.
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