Agritourism

Hartford's Agriculture and Farmland Protection Planning Committee is exploring how agritourism could benefit the town's farmers and economy more broadly. There are a number of opportunities for agri-tourism in Hartford.

Ideas that have been suggested thus far include organizing a regularly-scheduled "farm tour" program that would be held throughout the year with farmers signing up to participate at the times/frequencies that work for them and with the "tourists" purchasing a ticket for the tour to provide a revenue stream to support the program. Alternatively, a handful of dates could be selected each year to open as many of the town's farms as possible to visitors in coordination with other community events, holiday or special seasons (i.e. farmers market festivals, sugaring season, harvest time, etc.). Opportunities may exist to build upon existing agri-tourism programs operating in the region as well.

Some resources that exist within Hartford that support agritourism include: the effort to start a farmers market, the town's scenic views, the Historical Museum & Recruitment Center, the town website, promotion of agritourism at the county level, active agritourism efforts else in the region (Maple Weekend, Fiber Tour, Cheese Tour, HarvestFest, County Fair, etc.).

One of those resources is the The Agritourism Resource Evaluation Guide presents a list of agritourism ideas including:

Recreation and Education

• Outdoor games/sports (laser tag, paint ball, archery, mini-golf, etc.)
• Guided nature or scenic walks (bird watching, native plants, herbs, astronomy, autumn leaves, etc.)
• Non-motorized trails (for biking horseback riding, skiing, hiking, snowshoeing, etc.)
• Motorized trails or courses (snowmobiling, ATVs, dirt bikes, mud bogging, go-carts, etc.)
• Winter activities (skating and sledding)
• Water activities (swimming, canoeing, inner tubing, water slides, etc.)
• Fishing, hunting and shooting (trap shooting, fee fishing)
• Haunted house/barn/woods
• Mazes (corn, hay bales)
• Crop art
• Pumpkin carving
• Pizza farm
• Operations or processing demonstrations (cider mill, maple sugaring sheep shearing, milking, haying, harvesting, birthing, beekeeping, horseshoeing, etc.)
• Interaction with farm animals (petting farm, goat walk, pony rides, horse instruction, etc.)
• Lectures, seminars or classes, workshops (gardening, cooking with local food, arts and crafts, wreath making, etc.)

Special Events

• Festivals and fairs (heritage, history, harvest, music, blossom, field days, pumpkin, etc.)
• Tours (cheese, dairy, wool, maple, etc.)
• Barn dances
• Bonfires
• Outdoor plays and concerts
• Horse shows
• Trap shoots
• Races

Services

• Accommodations (B&Bs, cabin rentals, camping, etc.)
• Farm vacations (stay on the farm and be involved in farm activities) and dude ranches
• Weddings, banquet facilities, catered events, etc.
• Picnic sites
• Hay, sleigh, tractor rides
• Nature photograph
• Farm theme playground or amusement park
• Horse boarding
• Kennel
• Custom slaughter (domestic and wild)
• Guided hunting, fishing, birding
• Rentals (boats, canoes, fishing gear, camping gear, floral plants, etc.)

Value-Added and Direct Sales

• Pick your own (fruits, flowers, vegetables, Christmas trees, etc.)
• Community supported agriculture (CSA)
• Direct delivery of food products
• Internet and mail order sales
• Gift baskets of local products
• Roadside sales
• Deli
• Hoop house or greenhouse
• Sales to chefs, schools, institutions
• Red meat (buffalor, beef, pork, goat, ostrich, rabbit, veal, etc.)
• Poultry (chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, eggs, etc.)
• Dairy products (cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream, etc.)
• Fish (smoked, fresh, etc.)
• Fiber (sheep, alpaca, etc.)
• Alternative crops (ornamental gourds, herbs, mushrooms, Indian corn, popcorn, birdseed, etc.)
• Breads, pies, etc.
• Jams, jellies, preserves, etc.
• Condiments, sauces, salsas, etc.
• Canned, dried, smoked or other preserved foods

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