Farm Zoning Ordinance Passed by County Commission
I am often contacted by farmers frustrated by their County Commissioners not wanting to allow them to conduct certain agritourism activities on their properties. It seems that it is easier for these commissions to want to take land out of agricultural production and hand it over to the developers rather than work with the farmers to create a sustainable farm business.
Take a look at this recent article about the Minnehaha County Commission in Oregon who unanimously passed an amendment to include provisions to make it easier for people to apply for ag related zoning uses, such as developing a corn maze, petting farm, winery etc.
As the types of agritourism enterprises expand, we often go beyond selling our crops to providing experiences for our urban friends to enjoy. From hunting, fishing, company picnics, farm lodging and even weddings, people are coming to our farms to get out of the city and enjoy our land and the beautiful scenery and habitat we own.
I certainly hope that as farmers we will educate those folks on our County Commissions about the value of keeping farm land (they call it “green space” on the east coast) in their county and in our country. Because in order to keep some family farms viable, agritourism activities have become their only option. What do you think?
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