Whether you’re a nature enthusiast, a creative soul, or simply seeking relaxation, a farm stay has something for everyone. Remember that each farm is unique, offering different experiences. Inquire with the farmer on what is offered before you visit!

Immerse Yourself In Farm Life

• Snuggle up with adorable baby animals like goats, lambs, and piglets!
• Collect eggs and treat yourself to a fresh farm breakfast
• Join the farmer in their daily chores, from feeding the animals to milking cows, sheep, or goats
• Spend some quality time with horses, brushing and braiding their manes and forming a special bond
• Get your hands dirty and help the farmer with harvesting produce fresh from the garden
• Pick fresh berries and try to get more in the bowl than in your mouth
• Test your plant knowledge by identifying the various greens growing in the greenhouse
• Team up with the shepherd or cowboy and learn about herding with dogs
• Hop on a tractor ride if they offer one, and enjoy the scenic views of the farm
• Explore the farm store for unique items you won’t find on Amazon

Nurture Your Creativity

• Create beautiful bookmarks or picture frame decorations by pressing flowers or leaves you find on the farm
• Make a lovely bouquet of wildflowers and get creative with a hair wreath too!
• Bring a musical instrument along and play in different spots around the farm – by the campfire, in the barn with the animals, or on the front porch
• Cook up a delicious meal using ingredients sourced directly from the farm
• Don’t forget your camera! Capture the diverse flora and fauna you encounter during your farm adventure
• Unleash your artistic side and sketch your favorite scenes from your stay – try landscapes, still life, or even a portrait of your favorite travel partner
• Let your imagination run wild and build a charming fairy house using rocks, sticks, moss, and leaves. Hide it in plain sight for the next guests to discover
• Get artsy and paint a rock with a special message, then hide it just like the fairy house
• Document your farm experiences either in a personal journal or share them with your host in their guestbook
• Make the most of any classes or workshops offered on the farm – it’s a great way to learn a new skill to bring home with you

Relax and Recharge

• Get lost in a new book during your stay and leave one for the next guest to discover and enjoy
• Treat yourself to a glass of wine and unwind while watching the sunset
• Embrace the early morning mood, brew some coffee or tea, and catch the magical sunrise from your porch
• Take some time to meditate and fully immerse yourself in the farm’s natural surroundings, engaging all your senses
• Put pen to paper and write a letter to a friend or family member
• Take a leisurely afternoon nap on a cozy hammock, or if you’re feeling tired, just take a nap anywhere you please!
• Indulge in the joy of an outdoor shower or bath – if your farm has a pool, even better!
• Experience the cozy charm of a campfire and enjoy a wonderful evening fireside
• Try out traditional yoga or, for a fun twist, attempt some downward dog poses with a friendly goat as your partner!
• Experience Earthing by getting involved in planting or simply strolling barefoot around the farm. Just be mindful of where you step!

Embrace Outdoor Adventure

• Take a refreshing dip and go for a swim in a nearby pond, river, or lake
• Saddle up and go for a horseback ride
• Enjoy a leisurely walk, scouting for the perfect spot to have a picnic
• Set out on a scenic bike ride, exploring the charming country roads nearby
• Feel the wind in your hair and go for an invigorating run amidst the beauty of the countryside
• Grab a kayak or canoe and have a great time paddling on a nearby pond, river, or lake
• Bring along a pair of binoculars to observe the diversity of wildlife. You can use the free Merlin app to identify birds by their song and iNaturalist, National Geographic’s app, to identify plants and wildlife
• End your day with a stargazing session. The free Sky Guide app will help you find and learn about your favorite constellations!
• Explore the farm’s trails on foot and take in your surroundings
• If fishing is your thing, have some catch-and-release fun – or catch and cook your own meal!

Unleash Your Playful Side

• Play a game of horseshoes, bocce ball, cornhole, croquet, badminton, or any other outdoor games you love!
• Fly a kite high up in the farm’s open sky
• Perfect your stone-skipping skills by creating ripples across the nearby pond or river
• Play a fun round of “I Spy” and see what exciting things you can spot around the farm
• Listen for the night sounds on the farm and try to identify them
• Not just counting sheep before sleep, but counting the real sheep on the farm – they’re adorable!
• Catch fireflies, marvel at their glowing magic, and then set them free to light up the night
• Create an exciting scavenger hunt and let the adventure lead you all around the farm
• Relive your childhood days and enjoy a game of tag or a thrilling game of hide and seek
• Splash around in the mud on a rainy day – sometimes, the simplest joys are the best! (We think we’ve run out of ideas. lol)

The post 50 Ways To Experience Farm Life This Summer appeared first on Farmstay.

We are so excited to present our updated website! This has been a labor of love, time, patience, and outside support.

We launched our first website in 2010 to introduce the term ‘farm stay’ into the American vernacular of travel and to give our farmers and ranchers a place to promote their experiential offerings. Looking back over those years, we know we were successful.

But, now the brand of real working farms and ranches offering lodging is being diluted on sites that don’t verify the authenticity of their operations. Anyone can tick the box for farm stay on many of the best known booking engines.

We have worked too hard to let this go unchallenged!

What you will find on the Farm Stay USA website are only farms and ranches that meet our Accreditation Standards. Our member partners promise an immersive experience in their rural lifestyle, whether it be a chance to help with chores, see food production first-hand, or experience the warmth of rural hospitality.

Want to milk a cow or goat? Want to help herd cattle? Want a private bath or to eat organic? We’ll show you which farms and ranches offer these things.

Unlike other sites, we don’t only promote by location, but rather by the activities you can get involved with, the amenities you require, the food you would like to eat. Want to milk a cow or goat? Want to help herd cattle? Want a private bath or to eat organic? We’ll show you which farms and ranches offer these things.

Only 2% of the U.S. population still lives on farms and ranches. That means the other 98% reside in
suburban/urban areas, disconnected from our rural countryside, the natural world… and ultimately each
other.

We would like to invite you to stay with us. It won’t be dirty; it won’t be boring; we won’t make you work; and it will be fun!

What you may not realize, but of utmost importance, your visits help us reduce the agricultural risk of
our operations by diversifying our income, gives us on-farm jobs for our kids, and brings money into our
rural communities. So, thank you!

Insight: This site and our nonprofit trade association (The US Farm Stay Association) are operated by two farmers who have their own farm stay business. We love being involved with our members from all over the country. We are proud to be part of the farm stay movement. And, ultimately, we love to show off to travelers the best authentic working farm and ranches vacations in America, ever!

We would like to invite you to stay with us. It won’t be dirty; it won’t be boring; we won’t make you work; and it will be fun!

The post Authentic Farm and Ranch Stays. What’s in a Name? appeared first on Farmstay.

My husband and I bought our Oregon farm 14 years ago. We were Phoenix urbanites looking for water and a change of pace. That’s about as far as we delved into what exactly being a farmer entailed. Our farm came with a mixture of smaller livestock, some rusty equipment, a century-old apple orchard, and a peacock. It seemed like an idyllic life choice with beautiful scenery and the requisite historic barn. We thought, “How hard could farming be?”

In hindsight, a business plan might have squelched that naiveté, but idealizing farming isn’t new nor are we the only ones to have gone down that path, even marketing the myth (Does Pepperidge Farm really exist?) Regardless, this is actually a great reason to visit a farm. After all, this is where the food in your fridge starts out – be it livestock or produce, even something simple like eggs (Fair warning: egg-laying chickens are well known as a “gateway livestock”!) Farming is physically demanding; it requires skill and education, and even a bit of luck. It’s a risky business. It’s also a 7-day-a-week job that some will joke is a lifestyle, not a living. But it also brings clarity to pricing at your local farmers’ market. Exactly how much time and labor does it take on the part of the farmer to get those eggs to your fridge?

Most small farms ($100K or less in sales) require off-farm jobs to support the family. We were no different. Which leads me to the creative thinking required to make a living on a farm, also known as ‘value-added’ (thanks USDA). That would be the jam, goat cheese, wool, or soap you’ll find on Etsy, at the farmers’ market, or at the roadside farm stand. For us, it was the addition of a ‘farm stay’ to our operations. Farm stays – overnight lodging provided on the farm for a fee – are as varied as the farms offering them. You might find yourself in a tent on the back-40, a cabin, a yurt, even a room in the farm house; and, often your stay includes a farm-fresh breakfast and a rooster alarm clock.

Yup, we farmers are looking at diversification strategies (wow, we sounds like hedge fund managers) that include the hospitality business and inviting strangers to experience our lifestyle. It helps pay for tractor maintenance, but it also allows us to share our vistas as well as our challenges with urbanites and travelers, often disconnected from the natural world in ways that would have our grandparents shaking their collective heads. We know. We were those urbanites – until we weren’t.

And, it’s not dirty and boring the way you might think. Okay, well the lodging isn’t dirty, although helping around the farm might involve some dirt. Boring never factors in because… farms aren’t boring. Maybe you’ll help collect eggs, brush the donkey, even hold a baby lamb. Maybe you’ll sit on the farm house porch and read a good book, drink the local brew, unwind and unplug. You’ll be our guest for a weekend or a week and you never had to buy the farm!

This is why you would want to stay on a farm. It’s a bridge to the country. It’s a boon to the farm (it saved ours). It’s fun and unexpected, and your friends will think you are crazy, until you return home with tales of feeding a baby goat, and then they will want to go too. You’ll be protecting small-farm America that at one point built this country. You’re a patriot! Okay, bit of a stretch, but at least you have found a unique, relaxing vacation spot… and are now contemplating chickens for the back yard!

The post Why Stay on a Farm? appeared first on Farmstay.

Easter is coming up this weekend, and that brings up the annual issue of cute baby animals given as gifts for the occasion.

Baby bunnies (known as kits), chicks, ducklings, and other cute creatures require a big commitment. They need special diets and housing and… well… these types of animals tend to poop wherever they feel like it. Ask anyone who lets chickens free-range in their back yards! Just no decorum, I tell ya.

Instead of risking the need to re-home these animals when they grow out of the cuddly baby stage and turn into a long-term responsibility, we highly recommend visiting animals on a farm instead. (Of course!) Create memories that will last a lifetime… not a lifetime of chores.

The post Easter Animals: Are you ready for the commitment? 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.

1. Could you tell us about the history of your farm?

2. Could you tell us about your animals?

I have at any time as many as 35 to 45 head of trail horses, boarding horses, rescued thoroughbreds, and I still have my old barrel mare, Star. She is 26 now and still gets excited when she hears a gate clank, like in the arena. We have several barn cats, so no mice! We have a couple of stocked ponds for the guest to fish, on a catch & release basis. We have chickens for eggs, guineas, pheasants, & turkeys for gumbos, and a pot-bellied pig, along with milk goats and sheep. If I could get my nannies to have girls instead of boys, we could make goat cheese.

3. Why did you choose to breed and raise dachshunds?

Dachshunds (long haired) are gorgeous dogs, very smart and funny. They are small for your lap, but big with loyalty. I love all hounds, but Dachshunds’ different shape and almost-shaped eyes are too hard to resist. The first time I saw a Dachshund, I was in a stationary store, and when I took a seat, the red pillow next to me moved and I jumped! I looked down and saw these gorgeous brown eyes and long flowing red coat. I didn’t even know what kind of dog it was until the owner told me. Then, a week later, I was at Louisiana Paralegal Seminar in New Orleans, and during a break I was walking through the hotel lobby and a lady came off the elevator with two long haired black & tans on a double leash. Their gait was just breathtaking for such short legs, and I was hooked. I rescue many dachshunds from animal shelters and breeders. Sometimes they simply show up in my neighborhood!

4.  Do you have a favorite vegetable or fruit, either to grow or to eat?

Strawberries and tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, hands down! We are lucky in Louisiana to be able to grow both in several plantings almost year around. A greenhouse has been a great addition to my food supply. We can start our tomato seeds in December and plant in pots in February and in the ground in early April, for early spring tomatoes in May. Strawberries are wonderful, too. Two plantings a year, and they have more vitamin C than oranges, plus they freeze outstandingly well.

5. What is the setting of your farm like?

 

Our farm is pastoral, with woods to explore and lots of animals to visit. Our farm is prettier to most guests in the spring and summer when the plants and flowers are out, but fall is my favorite time! We may not have the foliage changes like up in the northeast, but to me Louisiana is beautiful in the fall.  It could also be that after our hot summers, we are charmed by the cooler weather.

Our pool area is very nice and can feel very private, as it’s surrounded by hibiscus, but you can be floating in the pool and look out and see beautiful horses grazing 100 feet away. We have herb gardens and raised beds with seasonal veggies to admire and when we have an abundant crop, we are more than happy to let you pick some to take home with you.

6. What do most of your guests do during their stay?

They walk around the farm, get to know the petting zoo animals, pick veggies in high season, take a hike on the horse trails through the 45 acres, trail ride after breakfast, read a book on the patio, swim, fish the stocked ponds, or take a nap in a hammock (my favorite when I have time!)  They also get to choose what they are going to have for breakfast the next morning.  Every guest gets a menu with four to five items to choose from. No generic breakfast casserole is served in my dining room!

7. Your B&B includes three guest bedrooms – “The Queens’ Suite,” “La Louisiane,” and “Ponderosa.” You also offer a furnished guest apartment with six bunk beds. Could you tell us about the décor and your decorating philosophy?

My decorating philosophy is really about comfort. I use 1000+ thread count sheets, down comforters, and thick towels. We iron all the sheets. It’s luxurious even though you’re on a farm. We also offer flat-screen TVs, DVD players and board games. There’s so much to do here!

8. Anything more you’d like to add?

I am very blessed to be living my dream — being in the country, surrounded by animals, cooking for people, decorating for the seasons, and having a very wonderful husband and children who support my dream and like my mother-in-law told me, “You have vision!  I am so proud of you!”  I am proud of me, too, and of Splendor Farms!

—-

Photo credits: Carl Bordelon Photography

The post Splendor Farms: A Louisiana B&B fit for cowgirls and queens appeared first on Farmstay.