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Farm Hotels?

Many are ditching the traditional resort for a stay on the farm - and they’re causing greater impact than they realize


The term agritourism is increasingly popping up in news feeds, social media posts, and travel agency recommendations. The world seems to be growing in curiosity for spaces and hospitality that center around the beauty of nature, food as medicine, and a retreat from the chaos of urban environments. However, I believe it may be lost on some that one of the greatest opportunities to create real world impact lies in the agritourism industry.


What is especially critical here is the support of what the world now refers to as regenerative farming. Unlike the farming we’ve known since the 1950s, also called industrial farming, regenerative farming focuses on soil health first, forgoes chemicals and synthetic fertilizers, and sequesters carbon in the ground rather than releasing it into the atmosphere. This type of species-rich farming also includes perennial plants whose roots grow into deeper levels of soil and offer the consumer a greater amount of minerals and diverse nutrients.


Want beauty in nature? These farms have year-round plant growth, beautiful tree canopies, and as you’ll see in the list below, noteworthy design and architecture. Want food as medicine? This is about as healthy as food gets.


Olive groves at Poggio ai Santi in San Vincenzo, Italy
Olive groves at Poggio ai Santi in San Vincenzo, Italy
 

MY STORY


Lisel Morris

I’ve spent the past 16 years researching, visiting, and working on regenerative hospitality models and educational farms around the world, including farming myself, in an effort to understand the best models for hospitality that simultaneously preserve regenerative farmland and support our amazing farmers while also offering visitors unforgettable hospitality experiences.  Those experiences range from rustic to luxury stays in nature, incredible meals grown and prepared onsite, and hands-on educational workshops learning how to grow nutritious, delicious food.


I am going to share my list of personal favorites in a moment, but first let’s cover some quick facts about our current food system – so we’re all on the same page and can understand what we’re solving for:


  1. We are rapidly losing topsoil across the U.S. and around the world[1]

  2. Food is losing its nutrient density[2]

  3. Americans are deficient in minerals[3]

  4. America has an obesity health pandemic, not from the lack of food but from poor quality diets of ultra processed foods[4]

  5. Family farms have been drastically decreasing, which results in not only a loss of land stewards, but also the knowledge base of how to care for land for generations[5]

  6. Government subsidies for genetically modified crops such as soy, corn and wheat create artificially low prices for these crops which put farmers growing local heirloom crops at a significant disadvantage to price their produce at the true cost of food (and pay living wages)[6][7]

  7. Farmers – particularly small- to midscale, chemical-free farms – need additional revenue streams to stay in business[8]

  8. The American public at large needs more access to, and education of, locally grown, nutrient-dense food and how these foods positively impact their bodies and communities[9]


IS THERE A SOLUTION?


As with all things in life, there is no one silver bullet to solve a complex, systemic problem. However, the world of agritourism is one of many effective ways to make real positive change for the issues listed above. Agritourism offers a unique solution for getting us – the market – to better support a sustainable food system. And we get to have a pretty great time while making that shift!


When we buy food consistently from local, regenerative farms, we help them stay in business, ideally allowing them to steward the land for generations. When we stay and dine on these farms, we get to build a closer relationship with the people and the land that nourish us and remind us of our interconnectedness with all of life.


Oliver Wendell Holmes is famous for saying, “A man’s mind, stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimensions.” In speaking from first-hand experience, my time living on farms and learning about food systems has forever changed me. I think about where food comes from and how it was produced at every single meal. I encourage each of you to allow yourselves to learn more about where your food comes from, how it’s made, and how that affects your health, the environment, and our communities.


This isn’t a depressing, dogmatic journey when it’s done through agritourism. Through great hospitality, delicious meals, time in nature, and conversations with soulful, caring people, agritourism turns this learning experience into edutainment. 



NOTEWORTHY AGRITOURISM MODELS


The list below is a sampling of some of the most aspirational examples in the agritourism industry.  I believe each carries out the mission of regenerative farming, edutainment, and hospitality in such an impressive manner, they deserve a visit. By no means do we get kickbacks for these recommendations, but rather we are excited to share these for the potential of expanding your curiosity in this industry and championing the amazing teams leading these efforts. 


Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture

(and Blue HIll Restaurant)


Tarrytown, NY, USA


What to Do:

  • Sign-up for a tour of the farm and innovation labs with cooks and farmers as your guides

  • Grab breakfast or lunch in the cafeteria

  • Dress up and dine at Michelin-starred Blue Hill for dinner

  • Shop at the market

  • Watch Dan Barber’s TED TALK: How I Fell in Love With a Fish; and A Foie Gras Parable



Polyface Farm


Swoope, Virginia, USA


What to Do:

  • Take a two-hour private walking tour of the farm and learn the incredible story behind Polyface and its systems

  • Join the monthly “Lunatic Tour” hay wagon ride

  • Apply for an apprenticeship ranging from 5- to 12-months

  • Check out Polyface’s many and varied workshops and courses, especially the Rogue Food Conference

  • Virtually attend classes through Joel Salatin’s “Farm Like a Lunatic” video training course

  • Read one of Farmer Joel Salatin’s many books, including, “Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World”

  • Stay in off-the-grid tiny houses on the farm



Ballymaloe House & Cookery


Cork County, Ireland


What to Do:

  • Take a half-day, full-day, weekend-long, or 1-, 5-, or 12-week cooking course!

  • Catch a concert or theatre performance at the Ballymaloe Grainstore

  • Stay overnight in the inn or one of the country cottages

  • Grab lunch or a snack in the market café or dress up and enjoy a seasonal, locally sourced Irish dinner

  • Walk the beautiful walled garden



Babylonstoren


Franschhoek, South Africa


What to Do:

  • Tour the 12 acres of fruit and vegetable gardens including the extraordinary four acres of culinary, medicinal and ornamental gardens

  • Tour the cellar with Babylonstoren’s cellar master and partake in a wine tasting with grapes grown and bottled onsite

  • Dine in the greenhouse or sunlit, farm-to-table restaurant Babel

  • Take a workshop on bread making or veggie growing

  • Intern or volunteer in the garden

  • Stay overnight in beautifully appointed cottages



White Oak Pastures


Bluffton, Georgia, USA


What to Do:

  • Shop their produce, beef, lamb, meat, pork, rabbit, and artisan goods online – their meat is all processed onsite which is extremely rare

  • Visit the General Store and pick up all sorts of delicacies

  • Stay overnight in a farm cabin or hook up your RV

  • Attend educational workshops ranging from soil health management to leather shoemaking

  • Read Farmer Will Harris’ book, A Bold Return to Giving a Damn – listen to it on audible and you’ll enjoy the distinct pleasure of hearing him narrate



Exmoor Forest Inn


Exmoor, United Kingdom


What to Do:

  • Arrive hungry and work your way through the pub menu – be sure to try their beef (native breeds raised on their farm nearby), local squid (if available), and try the vintage Taunton cider

  • Join a guided foraging tour and return to the pub for a cooking demonstration using the foraged ingredients

  • Hike in the magical Exmoor Forest – even take a short walk before or after dining

  • Cycle or horseback ride along the idyllic moors

  • Stay in the charming inn or camp next door

  • Sneak outside at night for stargazing as Exmoor National Park is a designated International Dark Sky Reserve



7. Bocavaldivia Restaurant and Biodiverse Edible Forest


Manabi, Ecuador


What to Do:

  • Visit one of the largest food forests in the world

  • Learn how to make ceviche or take a personal cooking course with Chef Rodrigo Pacheco

  • Sign up for a full day tour spent with local fishermen, artisans, and foragers ending with a 7-course meal and wine pairing

  • Immerse yourself in a 5-day to 3-month course focused on biodiversity, ecosystems, and food with personal lectures from Chef Rodrigo Pachego

  • Stay in the Tanusas Eco Village

  • Surf



Single Thread Farms


Healdsburg, California, USA


What to Do:

  • Dine in the farm-to-table, 3-star Michelin restaurant

  • Sign-up for a CSA farm-share subscription if you are lucky enough to live nearby

  • Stay in their intimate inn with a multi-course breakfast served in-room

  • Participate in monthly, seasonal workshops

  • Shop the Farm Store for local eats, artisans craft, and cookbooks



Outstanding In The Field


What to Do:

  • Track locations and book a ticket to experience this nomadic, pop-up hospitality concept that collaborates with farmers and landowners to bring diners together for a one-time event onsite of where their meal’s ingredients are sourced

  • Enjoy that meal and the company and nature around you!



My hope is that this list at the very least provides an amazing itinerary for future adventures. However, my biggest goal would be to remind us all that as a consumer we vote with our wallet. Your support of hospitality models that are also taking care of local foodsheds, watersheds, and the people and animals within them, is what allows these businesses to survive and thrive. 



 

 


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