Guadalupe Valley vineyard, Baja California, MX | © Greg Gross

It’s one of those forms of vacation we call “niche travel.” It’s a chance to learn, meet people, re-connect with Nature and see the world at the same time. This niche has gone global, and it’s growing.

Winery tours and dude ranches were among the earliest forms of agritourism. You could argue that farmers markets fill a part of that niche, too.

These days, though, it’s gone much further. The number of things lumped under the agritourism banner is incredibly broad; I couldn’t begin to list them all. Everything from horseback rides and corn mazes to agriculture fields where visitors can pick their own produce and “entertainment farming.”

Those are farm stays that not only give the visitor an education on how their food is produced, but lets them get hands-on in with the process.

You can see where your coffee comes from on Hawaii’s Big Island, and why it costs so much. You can see what it takes to make your favorite glass of wine from France or Italy or Argentina or South Africa. You learn what milk tastes like after you get it from the cow yourself.

These experiences can be as brief or as lengthy, as laid back or as strenuous, as you like. And when you tell folks back home that you got some international “flavor” on your vacation, you’ll be speaking literally.

Indeed, some of the most unforgettable memories of any trip are the ones you bring back on your tastebuds.

Being from New Orleans, I thought I knew a thing or two about shellfish, until I tasted fresh oysters harvested off the Normandy beaches in France. Ohhhh my…!

That’s one of the beauties of travel. There’s always something else, something more, out there, waiting to take you farther — and further — than you thought you could go.

But you need not travel long, far or expensively to get a taste of agritourism. America’s farmers and ranchers, especially the little guys, are warming up to this concept.

Odds are, a check with your local county government or farm bureau will yield plenty of agritourism opportunities within an hour’s drive — or maybe just a health walk or bike ride — from your own doorstep.

IBIT guest columnist Tracy Gross was interviewed on the subject of agritourism by travel writer Rudy Maxa on his radio show. You can hear it here.

There’s a very cool little synergy that takes place in all this.

On one side, you’ve got small farms, dairies and the like, run by families who often can trace their labors back through generations. Many of those families today are struggling to survive in the suffocating shadow of corporate agribusiness, which is daily driving under small family farms around the world.

On the other side, you’ve got a lot of consumers out there who want to know more — a lot more — about where their food comes from. Some of them are “foodies” or people into the Slow Food Movement, but many others are just regular consumers trying to safeguard their long-term health.

They’ve heard a lot about the chemicals, hormones and genetic modifications in the foods we all eat — and it scares the hell out of them.

Agritourism has become the tie that binds — and benefits — both.

The family produce grower who can’t hope to compete with the corporate mega-farms can turn their farmhouse into a bed-and-breakfast that includes a close-up look at the operation, demonstrations, cooking classes — all of which helps them to keep going.

In turn, the visitors can learn and see firsthand how their food becomes “their food,” what it takes to bring it from a seed in the ground to a meal on their plate. They can get to know some of the people behind all those faceless product labels, which is always a good thing.

And they can remind themselves what real, fresh, unaltered food tastes like.

For those who’ve spent their lives eating whatever came out of a can, a bag from a fast-food joint or chemically treated supermarket produce, the flavor shock at a farm or a farmer’s market can be almost overwhelming.

In some countries, agritourism is viewed as a way of keeping not merely family traditions, but whole cultures, alive — to the point that the United Nations is starting to offer financial support to major agritourism projects around the world.

So if you’re looking for a travel experience that active, affirming and tasteful all at once, especially one that gies you almost endless options, consider giving yourself a taste of agritourism. Your palate will thank you.

IF YOU GO
Agritourism World has an extensive list of locations and activities from which you can choose.

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