From sugar shacks to corn mazes: The risks and benefits of adding agritourism

Adding agritourism to your farm is a great way to boost revenue, connect with consumers and teach visitors about what you do. But it’s not without risk.

Pumpkin patches, corn mazes, maple sugar shacks,  farm tours, hayrack rides and how-to classes are all popular agritourism activities. The best option for your farm will depend on the unique resources and features you have to offer.

Things to consider in making an informed agritourism decision

Adding a new agritourism venture starts by considering a few key factors specific to your land and operation:

• Your land, what you raise and any other resources that can contribute to a new attraction
• The time and money you can invest in an agritourism venture
• Potential hazards to visitors, the liability they create for you and how you’ll mitigate the risks to keep people safe
• Impacts to neighbors and your local community

Maple farms are uniquely positioned to embrace agritourism. Many farms host guided tours and hands-on workshops that teach the art of tapping trees for maple syrup.

"It doesn't always have to be a large venture that requires a lot of resources,” said Barb Neal, Cornell Cooperative Extension Agriculture Agent and Horticulture Educator in Tioga County, New York. “Everybody has a specialty. It’s just a matter of finding what will require the right amount of time and investment.”

Things to think about when adding agritourism to your farm

Creating an agritourism attraction does create a few challenges for farm owners and managers, including:

• Liability. Visitors to the farm may be unaware of the common risks associated with your operation, like the risk of injury in climbing on farm machinery or in close encounters with livestock. Secure the right liability coverage so you’re not financially vulnerable if a visitor is injured from a fall, for example. Discuss any new operations with your trusted farm agent to ensure proper coverage is in place.
• Food safety. Proper handling, labeling and storage of food products produced on the farm should be established to ensure product quality and meet local and federal regulations.
• Wear and tear. Opening up your farm to visitors can create new maintenance needs. Make sure you maintain all parking areas, paths, fences and trails.
• Zoning requirements. Some zoning laws require different permits for agritourism than commercial farms. Make sure you’ve got the right permits before adding agritourism.

“There’s a lot of hesitance to do it considering the potential liability,” Neal said. But if you check with your state officials and risk management team, you will likely find that there are things you can do to minimize the liability of a new agritourism venture.”

Tips to help minimize new agritourism risks

Despite the challenges, you can minimize any new risk of agritourism with a few steps.

• Audit your farm to identify current and potential hazards from your agritourism attraction.
• Start small by making incremental agritourism additions first. 
• Control visitor access with clear signage and highlight safety protocols. 
• Conduct routine safety inspections to ensure your operation is safe for visitors and workers.
• Provide employee training so all workers clearly understand their roles. 
• Provide customer supervision to prevent any accidental or purposeful risky behavior.
• Establish emergency action plans so both employees and visitors know what to do in the event of an accident.

Your local Nationwide Farm Certified agent can help you identify risks, implement safe practices and confirm you have the right agritourism insurance in place. Nationwide offers liability coverages that can be written as a package in conjunction with a farm policy to cover your agritourism ventures.