How agritourism boosts Maryland farmers, through Halloween and beyond

The corn mazes and hayrides that make up much of Wicomico County farmer Gaylon Adkins’ agricultural income came to a close for the season on Tuesday.

He learned to farm from his father, Fred, and mother, Mary Ann, on their farm in Parsonsburg, Maryland, but in recent years the Salisbury family farm’s attractions have boosted the business.

“It was slow getting started, but I’d say in the last 10 years or so, half of our business has been agritourism,” said Adkins, in a phone interview on October 27.

What is agritourism?

He is not alone either in supplementing the farming with community fun. A University of Maryland Eastern Shore Extension survey released last year showed nearly 500 agritourism sites statewide, ranging from farmers markets to pumpkin patches and petting zoos.

Martin Proulx, ​the state’s Value Added Agricultural Specialist, a position in the Maryland Department of Agriculture created by law earlier this year, said a report with 2017 data showed the “value-added agriculture” industry supporting close to 74,000 jobs and bringing a total of over $20.6 billion annually to the state’s economy.

He said that “not all value-added agriculture is agritourism,” think jams, jellies, and other farm-produced products as value-adds. “But agritourism is certainly value-added agriculture,” he said. The UMES Extension report shows agritourism bringing in about $1 billion annually in the state.

The Maryland General Assembly has even sought to define “agritourism” in recent years, categorizing a dozen activities from “hayrides” to “farm museums” under that umbrella. But Adkins’ definition of agritourism, while not defined in statute, is shorter and simpler: “If it’s anything to do with agriculture, and you have the public coming to it, it’s called agritourism.”

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‘Agritourism will help us push our business to another level’

Andrew Herbst, general manager of the Misty Meadow Farm Creamery in Washington County, used to have a corn maze on the property, which has been in his family over a century. The pandemic changed plans, but he said in an Oct. 27 phone interview that he’d like to get it going again, calling the corn maze a “Fall event that really helps the business.”

Herbst, when interviewed last week, was readying to attend Conecon, the National Ice Cream Retailers Convention in Las Vegas with his wife. He said the growth of their ice cream and milk business has occupied more of their time and attention lately.

“We’ve gotten to a point where we’re no longer a mom-and-pop shop. We’d like to keep it growing,” said Herbst, whose farm has installed two robot milkers in recent years, changing a laborious process that used to have people up milking cows as early as 3:30 in the morning.

The “main goal” of agritourism at Misty Meadow “has always been to explain agriculture, to teach people,” said Herbst, as a tour was occurring on the grounds. There is also an ancillary benefit, which he acknowledged, of having more people on the farm.

“Agritourism will help us push our business to another level,” Herbst said.

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‘It’s just a tradition for them to come’

For Adkins on the Eastern Shore, his business saw quite a few school trips in October. The financial numbers for the season weren’t finalized yet at the point of Friday’s interview, but Adkins said the season’s numbers were close to what they were last year.

The extra guests on the farm during several months — from April’s produce to October’s autumn activities — allows the operation to stay in business, he said.

“I’m not a large farmer,” said the agricultural veteran who grows corn, soybeans, about 15 acres of pumpkins, and other vegetables for the produce markets in the summertime. “But when I include the agritourism in the mix, then that allows (us) to make a living.”

Adkins, like Herbst, expounded on the benefits of agritourism as a teaching tool. “(People) get to experience seeing a farm and seeing some of the work that goes on farm,” he said.

As families and the smiling schoolkids step away from the farm for the season, the Eastern Shore farmer who has run the corn maze for 18 years remarked on another valuable part of the business, the memories. “It’s just a tradition for them to come,” he said.

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Agritourism is big business for Maryland farms, boosting economy