A new agritourism network connects and promotes farmers of color

One of the main benefits of agritourism, says Singh-Knights, is farm income diversification. “It’s often challenging for a small farm to compete,” she says, “so creating these opportunities can increase the viability of small farms, adding value to products … through experiences. And then the benefit to society in general, really, is that farm to consumer connection, or farm to food connection.”

Every farm trail is a bit different. The Farming for Freedom Trail, for instance, is set up as an annual fall event with tours of the farms. Sonoma County Farm Trails continues to publish an annual map and guide, but they also have a website and put on regular farm events. There are also several ingredient-specific trails, such as the Maine Oyster Trail, which was established in 2017; an interactive guide maps out different oyster experiences along the coast, including shucking lessons, oyster tastings and tours of oyster farms, and visitors can use a “passport” to check in at participating businesses and earn rewards.

Farm trails are marketing, sure. They create a ready-to-go day trip itinerary for community members and visitors alike, and many offer some incentive for visiting. But they can also provide farmers opportunities for learning and development, says Christa Nunez, co-owner of The Learning Farm in Ithaca, another Farming for Freedom member, and the director of Khuba International, a nonprofit that provides support for the trail. “It’s really given people the opportunity to get to know other farmers and create a vibrant network where we can share skills and create collaborations,” she says.

The founders of the Farming for Freedom Trail are hopeful that the model can also help build community and be a means of food justice.

“Having people walk on the land, having people have a respite from the day to day and see that the natural world is beautiful — I think that if people can spend time in nature, it’s the first step to wanting to partner with others who are interested in preserving the natural world for future generations,” says Debbie Branker-Livermore, who runs Loving Farms with her husband, Craig.

The couple grows organic vegetables on their 118-acre agro-forest in Candor, New York, which is named as a nod to Richard and Mildred Loving, winners of a landmark civil rights case in the 1960s that overturned a ban on interracial marriage. Debbie and Craig joined Farming for Freedom because they found themselves wanting to provide a connection to the earth along with their food while also meeting and supporting other farmers.

“When you’re in a space, and you’re looking at that space all the time, we’re looking at it through our lens,” Debbie says — but after meeting other member farmers, “we had people walking around saying things to us … it gave us ideas.”

Beekeeping, for instance, wasn’t something the Branker-Livermores were familiar with, but thanks to connections made through the Farming for Freedom Trail, they realized that the plants and the acreage they had would be ideal for it.

“Just knowing that there are other people out there who are doing this … other people who are like, ‘I’m not sure how to do this. What are you doing? How are you doing this?’ Knowing that there are other people we can turn to is wonderful,” Debbie adds.

Farm trails are a lot of work; Sonoma County Farm Trails has survived for so long largely because of an annual fundraiser that helps fund all the programming, pays for marketing staff and keeps farmer membership rates at roughly $200 per year. Synder cautions that marketing is a massive part of the trail’s success.

“So much of it is finding all the channels you can between social media, having a solid website with as much information as possible, member spotlights and offerings,” Synder says. “We focus a lot on educating people about local food systems and why it’s important to support them.”

As the Farming for Freedom Trail moves into its second year, the farmers say they are looking to expand the number of farms involved, as well as the event itself, which they’re considering expanding to two full days. Better outreach — and a strategy for bringing in more visitors — is also in the plan for 2024, and the farmers themselves are also planning to do more touring of each other’s farms and collaborate further year-round.

They’ve also had other farmers reach out to them to learn about possibly setting up their own BIPOC trails around the country, a blueprint that will hopefully help support farmers of color for years to come.