Fifteen years ago, Farm Stay USA launched with a big idea and a small website: to introduce Americans to the joy of staying overnight on a real working farm or ranch. But here’s the twist, when we showed up, we discovered something wonderful: many farm stays were already out there! They just weren’t called that yet. Some went by “farm vacations,” others by “working ranches” or “bed and breakfasts.”

Farm Stay USA gave these pioneers a home, a shared identity, and a place to be found by curious travelers. For others just getting started, we offered a framework, a sense of community, and a cheering section as they opened their gates to guests for the first time.

As part of our 15th anniversary celebration, we’re shining the spotlight on our 21 founding members. That’s a lot of inspiration to pack into one blog, so we’ve split their stories into four digestible parts.

We used a light-touch Q&A format to gather reflections, asking when and why they began hosting, what moments still stand out, what advice they’d give a new farmer-hoster, and how Farm Stay USA made a difference for them. In true farmer fashion, some followed instructions, some plowed their own path. And just like the farms themselves, no two answers are the same.

We’re starting this series with the mentors, those generous trailblazers who were welcoming guests long before “farm stay” was a buzzword. They laid the groundwork for everything that followed.

East Hill Farm in Troy NH started hosting guests in the mid 1940s. At the time it was a small dairy farm and the owner decided to add some lodging for extra income. He expanded the business over the years, adding animals and amenities until the farm became a year-round family resort. In the 1970s, the next generation took over the farm, adding educational aspects including raising rare breed animals, cow and goat milking for guests, horseback riding, and butter and cheese making workshops. Currently Jennifer Adams and her siblings, part of the 4th generation, run the farm. Generations run in guests as well with some families having come to the farm for over 50 years! As for favorite experience, Jen runs a Farm School program where the kids spend 3 days and 2 nights working with the animals and the farmers. She loves to watch them move through the steps from being tentative to confident and curious, knowing she is sending them home with a better understanding of what it takes to be a farmer. When it comes to Farmstay, the site gave the farm a place to list nationally and the opportunity within its community to be a mentor to others.

Liberty Hill Farm, run by Beth and Bob Kennett, is located in Rochester VT and has been a pioneer in the agritourism movement since opening its doors to guests in 1984. Their multi-decades-long commitment to sustainability was recognized in 2008 when the farm was designated as Vermont’s first certified Green Agritourism Enterprise. Guests from around the world have stayed at this 120-head dairy that is part of the Cabot Creamery Co-op. Beth cooks breakfast and dinner for guests, shared around the farm house table. At this point she counts repeat guests in generations and in friendships. With tours on top of stays, guests can watch the milking process and even try their hand at manual milking. Feeding the calves, playing in the hayloft, walking in the fields, and in fall visits for the leaf change are all part of the experience. Beth’s suggestions for farms considering agritourism: look at what you like to do and make sure hospitality can fit into your farming schedule. Break up the responsibilities so the load does not become too much and, if you are cooking, stick with your favorite recipes. For the Kennetts, Farm Stay USA was a place to be recognized as the quintessential New England farm and the barn was the masthead of the site for many years.

Grace Note Farm in Pascoag RI, also known as the Benjamin Smith homestead farm c. 1730, is nestled in the northwest corner of Rhode Island adjacent to the George Washington Management area. It is a horse farm and riders can enjoy over six hours of riding on wide, mostly sandy trails that connect to Connecticut and Massachusetts. The inn opened in 2001 after Virginia built stalls for guest horses. Two factors helped with this decision: Virginia’s son announced the farm should pay for itself and two guests from a horse club who just happened to pull into the driveway suggested she become a B&B. Since opening, Virginia has found that both grownups and kids love to wash the horses and, in terms of the children, they love the freedom to roam, to collect eggs with her in the morning, and to ride beside her in her 4×4. She would advise new farm stay operators to make sure they have a private space of their own to retreat to; that guests are strangers until  they have completed their first visit; and that the Internet is best for marketing. As far as Farmstay, she felt it gave her national exposure and credibility as a working farm with lodging, not just a vacation rental. Now in her 80s, Virginia is about to close the barn door on guests but the experience has been worth the effort for the people she has met and the lives she has touched.

Hull-O Farms in Durham NY has been in the Hull family since its 1779 post-Revolutionary War founding. The farm has been recognized and designated by New York State as a National Bicentennial Farm. Sherry and her husband, Frank, started hosting guests in June 1994. Back then they were milking 80 cows and struggling financially. They decided, encouraged by a friend, to offer a farm “vacation” option in a cottage that stood on the farm grounds. Another friend who worked for a cable station on Long Island ran a free ad for them about this new vacation opportunity. Within 30 minutes of the ad running, the phone started ringing. Sherry has never looked back. While Sherry handles the hospitality end, farmer Frank oversees guests interaction on the farm. Top of these is collecting eggs, hand-milking the cows, playing with the barn cats, and enjoying s’mores and music around the campfire. Their advice to new farm stay hosts: welcoming visitors can be a lot of work but also incredibly rewarding. You must genuinely love people and be okay with sharing your personal space, so be flexible and do your due diligence about all the ins and outs of a farm stay. As for a particularly memorable experience, three years after the farm stay opened, a very excited 10-year-old boy ran into Sherry’s kitchen and said with great enthusiasm “Ms Sherry, this may just be the best day of my life.” In the end, Farm Stay USA helped to raise awareness about the novelty of a farm vacation by adding more farms into the travel niche,  even acting as a resource for other options Sherry could point to when they were full.

Labour of Love Landscaping and Nurserv, owned by Kate  Glover started hosting guests in 1985. Her nursery in Glover VT is known as a “local destination”, offering more than the typical small nursery with the addition of display gardens, tours, lodging in a restored 1800’s Greek Revival home, and a gift and craft shop that includes 30 varieties of homemade jams and jellies (from local fruits) and handwoven apparel and home items. Almost on the Canadian border, the farm routinely hosts international visitors. Not your traditional ‘farm’, Kate, the owner, grower and designer, takes the idea of growing plants and puts them in a retail setting so they can go home with you, while offering ideas for your own landscaping. Landscaping and growing is all there in farming, just by a different name. When it comes to advice for new farms starting out, Kate focuses on making her place look like somewhere she would like to visit and of all her “chores” she enjoys answering questions from visitors. One of her favorite visits was from a 6-year-old who told his parents to let him stay at the nursery because he liked it better than home! Just as many come across the border as international travelers, so Farm Stay USA sends Kate visitors from far and wide to share her little piece of heaven.

These early hosts were the quiet pioneers, the ones offering fresh eggs with their morning coffee and handing over pitchforks to eager guests long before “farm stay” had a name. Their creativity, grit, and love of sharing farm life set the stage for everything that’s followed. Without them, there would be no Farm Stay USA. We’re endlessly grateful they opened their barn doors and hearts, giving this movement its roots.

We hope you’ll stick with us in the weeks ahead as we continue this celebratory journey.

Next up: a few of our amazing ranches who’ve been with us from the start, where the stars are big, the hats are wide, and the hospitality is just as heartfelt.

(Header photo courtesy of East Hill Farm NH)

The post 15 Years of Farm Stay USA: Celebrating Our Roots and Honoring the Founders Who Helped Cultivate a Movement appeared first on Farmstay.

Goat Yoga hit the big time a few years ago. Started on a whim by Lainey Morse in 2016 when a yoga teacher suggested offering a class in the field with Lainey’s goats,  her Original Goat Yoga craze took off not only across the country but around the world. It was one of those silly ideas that livestock owners have known like… forever. Some of our animals can be down-right affectionate.

Not into yoga, but looking for a farm with friendly animals and farmers that allow some hands-on interaction? Farmstay has search filters beyond just location. Try the Activities filter and check off  Petting Paddock. You will find a number of farms or ranches around the U.S.. Or you can check off by the type of animal, recognizing that goats and donkeys are often used as ambassadors when they aren’t on brush duty, some milk cows are friendly enough, and baby animals (usually born in spring) are always cuddly.

Why do we even bring up livestock cuddling? It doesn’t sound very ‘farm-y’ but can be a side benefit of staying on a working farm. Call it “farm therapy”.  A chance to relax and slow down, to laugh and connect in a nonverbal way, to be in nature and recharge with something warm and furry under hand.

The caveat: it’s a unique farm (and farmer) that offers cuddling of their livestock, so don’t expect this on every farm you go to. If this is the experience you are looking for, call ahead to make sure you read the information correctly. There are plenty of farm and ranch livestock that aren’t treated like pets and will just as soon stomp on you as give you a kiss!

Just a sampling of farm stays allowing close-up-and-personal livestock interactions:

Bar SZ Ranch, Pacines CA. We figure when the description includes, “…walking a pig, snuggling a rabbit” along with photos of kids interacting with their horses, there’s got to be some cuddling going on . The ranch is all about interaction and learning new things with their own house full of kids.

Rockn Rowdy Ranch, Leona TX. The photos say it all but so does this list of animals, “…horses, ponies, zebra, donkeys, Scottish highlander cattle, longhorn, buffalo, llamas, goats, kangaroos , deer and so many more.” See some of these animals from horseback and you can take ‘learning to ride’ off your bucket list.

Mary’s Land Farm, Ellicott City MD. Priding themselves on “beyond-organic standards and regenerative practice”, this farm has chickens, cattle, goats, pigs, sheep and ponies. Since they show a photo of a lamb being held, it looks as if there is some excellent baby animal cuddling in season.

Heritage Farm, Flora IN. Specializing in alpacas, one of the softer woolly animals we know, this is the place to meet and learn all about them. The farm has other animals too, including a recent addition of KuneKune pigs. Cuddle up!

We pulled these few farms off the search results for Petting Paddock. There are about 25 more choices. Of course you can always just search on Goats or Sheep and be pretty much assured there will be babies in the spring to hang out with. Dairies will have cows. Some farms will have donkeys. The list goes on. Oh, and if you search on Yoga, it’s likely there might be a goat or two on your matt.

The post The Joys of Livestock Cuddling: A Unique Farm Stay Experience appeared first on Farmstay.

Valeria shared with us that although the farm has a “way out” feeling, due to being nestled among approximately 1,000 acres of cropland, wooded areas, and other family farms, it’s actually quite close — only 2 miles — from the city limits of Henderson. The farm, farm stay, and their animal inhabitants live on the front 25+ acres of the property, while the rest is considered hay fields and natural habitat.

This “back 100+” acreage is an excellent place for a hike or golf cart ride, and, after being assessed by a semi-local ornithologist, Valeria says they can boast a good population of birds whose species are rated as in-decline. (Bring your binoculars!) Other wildlife in the area are deer and wild turkeys in abundance, an occasional coyote, and once in a great while visitors to the farm may see a red fox, an armadillo, or even otter or bobcats.

When asked what guests typically do when they visit the farm, Valeria said, “while many of our guests arrive with a list as long as their arm, most emerge from the Cottage after a couple of days with hair sticking every which-way, coffee mug in hand, stating — emphatically — that they can’t remember when they’ve rested so well!”

Aside from all that wonderful rest, guests receive “critter tours” to get to know the inhabitants and landscape of the farm, any questions they have are answered, and from that point on, they decide what they’d like to do. Guests are welcome to join in whatever farm activity is happening, whether it be hay season, bringing in the crop, animal feeding and/or grooming, trimming time for horses, gardening, animal babysitting, nature hiking and photography excursions, flower collecting, and much more.

The farm occasionally hosts artist’s workshops, where they prepare and paint gourds that are raised on the farm. Off farm activities can include visits to Civil War monuments, such as Shiloh National Battlefield Park, a pearl farm attraction, Casey Jones Village and Museum, a minor league baseball park, and several state parks within an hour’s drive. Guests may also enjoy horseback riding, canoeing, visiting the nearby Amish community of Lawrenceburg, or attending events at the West Tennessee State Fairgrounds. The town of Henderson boasts a new day spa, only 4 miles from the farm, where guests can find services like massage, facials, manicures, and pedicures.

Local food enthusiasts can make their way to the West Tennessee Farmer’s Market in Jackson, where dozens of vendors sell a wide variety of produce, grass-fed meats, arts, crafts, and products from Stillwaters Farm. The farm itself also has “The Silo”, their very own on-farm store featuring their handcrafted artisan soaps, soy candles, art, photography, and more.

Guests staying at Stillwaters Farm enjoy a free-standing 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 1,000 square foot cottage at the leading edge of the farm. It’s climate-controlled with central heat and air, and it offers an outdoor lounge area with views of the diverse gardens and pastoral vistas. A private drive leads to the private parking for Cottage guests.

Inside, Valeria tells us, “the Cottage is furnished in period antiques, albeit touchable antiques, along with a 1917 cast iron claw foot tub for soaking.” The bedrooms are spacious and the beds have premium mattresses for guests’ comfort. There is a television and DVD/VCR player, along with a small library of videos, and a stereo hidden away in the living room, but there is no satellite, cable, or Wi-Fi service. A small, but eclectic, library is maintained for guests to use.

Guests self-prepare their meals, and the kitchen is outfitted with all major appliances, cookware, tableware, and flatware necessary. The Cottage is stocked with coffee, soaps, and essentials like cooking oil, salt and pepper, and spices for guests to use, and guests are encouraged to partake of the fresh, in-season produce from the farm’s garden.

To learn more, we invite you to visit the Stillwaters Farm listing here on Farm Stay U.S., as well as their website and Facebook page.

(All photos courtesy Stillwaters Farm)

The post Stillwaters Farm: Escape the hustle and bustle at this farm stay in the heart of West Tennessee appeared first on Farmstay.