Agritourism Is Us

It’s in our roots.

A bright orange tractor chugs through Key Center, piloted by a tired, dusty, third-generation farm kid. Will you yield and wave? The neighboring cows are out after the fireworks on July Fourth. Will you help herd them back in? A farm stand, with new paint and a hand-lettered sign, shows up on your commute. Will you stop, shop, and honor the trust box?

Fences and open spaces, trees and pastures, greenhouses and gardens, as well as bovine, canine, feline, equine, and ovine animals, all contribute to the canvas of Key Peninsula farms. Beyond the charm lies a growing trend: agritourism.

Yes, that’s a different word: tourism based on agriculture. Easy in concept, harder in practice.

Agritourism provides an alternative income stream to help keep our farmers farming by allowing for direct sales of products, events like the Key Peninsula Farm Tour, educational programs, and more. The current Pierce County Code is very supportive of agritourism, some might say, as it doesn’t explicitly stress an agriculture-first premise.

Agritourism assumes that a connection between farmers and consumers magically provides revenue. Sales will increase, alternative income streams will appear, and profits will support reinvestment into farm infrastructure and ecological conservation actions. Farmers will stay on the land, and farming will continue. The assumption is flawed, however, as it neglects the costs, work, and demands on the farmer and the role of the community as consumers.

Agritourism, at its best, provides experiences that restore the connection, understanding, and appreciation of agriculture in a generation that has become removed from the art of food production.

Farm stands offer immediate access to products, from flowers to eggs, fruit, and vegetables, and a free car-full of zucchini in August, if you aren’t careful. U-pick farms create interactive harvesting moments to gather the perfect dahlias, pumpkin, blueberry, lavender sachet, or Christmas tree, wandering through rows of plants, fingers stained, shoes dirty, heart and mind at peace. Larger farms also allow participation in the harvest, sweat-stained shirts, and blistered hands loading hay before a rainstorm while the barn swallows dance between the dust motes. During farm stays, we may help with the herding of livestock or planting of crops, camping in the solitude of fields, lulled by the “spiff, zssst, schoos” sounds of irrigation. Farm clinics teach us about food, farming, livestock, and production, and skills related to fiber, flowers, or horsemanship. Our children attend farm camps to gain practical experience with machinery, pollinators, ruminants, grafting, and schema. Seasonal events, competitions, wedding celebrations, and concerts are made memorable in serene rural settings.

Agritourism should amplify agriculture, not overshadow it. The line blurs when farms become event hubs with minimal or faux agriculture. How do we discern authenticity? What is an asset to our community and families, not a distraction or liability? Is it the farmers themselves living and working the land? Is it the soil that needs protection from development? Is it a going concern, where a product is clearly produced for revenue on-site? Some wish to make an agriculturally based business but don’t want to get their hands dirty. Is that OK?

Ultimately, dear neighbor, it is you, the consumer and resident, who will decide. What you attend, what you purchase, is your support. Each action is a validation of what is or is not farming.

Farming is in our community’s historical roots of settlers, but is it in our future? Will we actively engage to ensure its existence, or watch passively, only mourning the loss when it’s gone? This is your call to action, your decision, your engagement. Will you wave back to the tractor, help herd the cows, and support the farm stand?

Pierce County and Washington State are revising agritourism codes, aiming to balance farm viability with community impact. Pierce County’s permissive stance may tighten to emphasize agricultural output, while the state is polishing new definitions of agriculture-related activities. This could affect exemptions, zoning, and event permits. Currently, county administration barriers, such as requirements for insurance coverage, permitting fees ($1,200 per event), timelines (greater than 90 days), county health guidelines (water systems must be Class A for even a dishwasher sanitization cycle), and vague code interpretations (what defines a barn wedding?) are disenfranchising farmers.

Our voices and actions will shape the changes to agritourism and ultimately farm experiences for us all.

Join the Farm Tour, Sept. 28 and 29, go pick a homegrown crop, attend a class, get dirty, buy local, and champion rules that sustain farmers and our community. Key Peninsula’s cornucopia is worth protecting and honoring. And know that as a farmer first, I am grateful to you all.

Janice Bryant is a repurposed Navy program manager, livestock rancher, and voting member of the Pierce County Agriculture Advisory Commission. She lives in Longbranch.