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Eden Hodges
One Bulloch County farm is dipping their toes into ‘Agritourism’ as an alternative way to bring people and revenue in.
As Americans, we’re collectively used to having food on the table, leaving some farmers feeling taken for granted.
Often we don’t think about where our food comes from until grocery prices start skyrocketing.
“Even when you don’t realize where your food is coming from, as long as food is on the table everything is fine,” said Bill Tyson, Bulloch County’s agriculture expert from the UGA agricultural extension.
Tyson says farming isn’t a get-rich-quick kind of business. It’s a constant battle with the elements for penny profits. He says one way farms are trying to increase revenue is by adding agritourism options.
Agritourism is when people visit farms or rural areas to experience agricultural life, often participating in activities like picking fruits or learning about farming practices. Tyson says it’s something that’s catching on in Bulloch’s vast farming community – especially so at Hunter Cattle, the County’s sole grass-fed beef farm.
“It was more of meeting a need,” said Kristan Fretwell, the co-owner of Hunter Cattle farm, a family business based in Bulloch County.
Tyson says Hunter Cattle has been the quickest to embrace the movement. Fretwell says it came to them organically, as people are increasingly wanting to learn more about what’s in their food.
“We felt really blessed to have the farm and we just looked at any way to open it up safely and in a good manner to just share the farm with people,” said Fretwell.
They started by offering Barn-loft stays, where a small group could spend the night on the farm and wake up when the roosters crow. The overnighters would then work with the family on the farm to learn the ropes of cattle herding, egg picking and so on.
Fretwell says their educational tours became very popular and stuck around. They’ve expanded their agricultural operations, so she says they needed the barn-lofts for storage and soap packing.
Now they give tours at $8 a person, where anyone can come learn about animals or how everything works.
“People really wanted to connect with their food and know where their food is coming from,” said Fretwell.
Of course, ‘agritourism’ doesn’t only mean educational tours. Tyson says it’s about getting people out to the dirt their food is coming from.
“If you go to the farm to pick strawberries that’s great,” said Tyson. “But if you’ve got other products there you’re gonna buy something else too.”
“Anything you can do, you’ve got to have something attract the consumer there,” said Tyson.
Fretwell says it started off almost like charity work to share her land with the community, but she says after a while, they realized it could be another alternative source of revenue.
She says they plan on opening up more barn-lofts towards the end of the year to hold guests again. She says they have lots of people interested in starting their own farm who are interested in learning from them.
“People just really want to be out in nature and the farm,” said Fretwell. “And we’re here for it.”
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