Farm Fresh Ideas
ARIZONANS CULTIVATE AGRITOURISM TO KEEP ON PLOWING
Karen Fernau
Weekend Living Arizona Republic
March 31, 2006
Over the past quarter-century, Arizona farmers and ranchers have sold an average of 1,320 acres a day. Houses and shops have replaced almost one-third of the state's farmland.
But as more farmers sell their land to developers, a handful of die-hards are turning to agritourism, also known as agritainment, to preserve their farms and their way of life.
"We are losing our farmers, our locally grown food and the knowledge of how fertile this region was before the houses came," said Katie Decker, spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, which charts the state's ongoing loss of farmland.
Agritourism, which combines agriculture and tourism by providing the public with a farming experience, also gives farmers who want to keep plowing a way to fight off developers.
For Mark and Carrie Schnepf, opening the Queen Creek farm their family has owned since 1941 for tours and weekend visitors helps them diversify their income and stay on their land despite encroaching development.
"We are planting trees on the perimeter to be able to maintain our agricultural feel to the farm," Carrie Schnepf says. "We believe that it's important to keep farming alive in the state, and agritainment is one way we can show the public why our goal is so important."
Farm tours, which cost an average $6 a person, along with fees for pumpkin patches, Christmas-tree lots and other special festivals, subsidize Valley farms' income from the sale of peaches, corn, salad greens, onions and other crops.
Agritourism and special events also provide an opportunity for urban dwellers, many of whom assume food comes from the grocery store, to discover how their food is actually produced.
"We get people, especially kids, who have no idea that carrots grow underground. Too many people have no idea where their food comes from," said Gracie Tolmachoff, who along with her husband farms a 20-acre farm in Glendale.
At Queen Creek Olive Mill, farmer Perry Rea leads tours of his orchards and pressing plant. Most leave with a newfound appreciation of how olives are grown, and then pressed into Tuscan-style oil.
"When people see how olive oil is made, they say 'Wow.' They never knew how complicated it can be," Rea said.
"Agritainment is a way for us to reach people who believe chickens are born wrapped in cellophane."
CAPTION: Pull up a chair. Rob Holmes has a story to tell about how to make olive oil. The director of sales and marketing at Queen Creek Olive Mill explains the process during tours. Tours and mazes (below) are helping some farms supplement income.
Copyright 2006 The Arizona Republic.
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