With fall approaching, many are wondering if farm-based activities like apple picking and corn mazes are safe. Kat Johnson speaks to Caylin Sanders of EscapeMaker and Jamie Ager of Hickory Nut Gap about the impacts that Covid-19 has had on farms – particularly those who rely on agritourism to stay in business.

Agritourism is broadly defined as any activity that brings visitors to a farm. If you’ve ever shopped from a farm stand, toured a winery, or picked your own berries, then you are an agri-tourist. Most farms use agritourism for supplemental income – but some farms located near urban areas increasingly rely on visitors for significant revenue.

Another big question looming is can agritourism help farms survive Covid-19? Both Sanders and Ager share thoughts on what the future may hold.

For further resources on how to stay safe while visiting farms this year, see guidelines released by Massachusetts and Maryland.

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This project is funded in part by a Humanities New York CARES Grant with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the federal CARES Act. 

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