Oregon farmer Scottie Jones led the creation of Farm Stay U.S., a website dedicated to linking consumers with farms and ranches around the country that offer accommodations. Farm stays—overnight lodging on a working farm—has been a successful model for income diversification for farmers and ranchers in Europe, and is growing in popularity in the United States among both producers and vacationers.
Launched in June 2010, the website added nearly 1,000 farms to its directory by the end of the year. A survey of participating farmers and ranchers found that 50 percent got more requests for information because of the website, and 60 percent got more nights booked.
Farm Stay U.S. also includes information for vacationers on what to expect when staying on a farm, and for producers interested in starting a farm stay business.
Want more information? See the related SARE grant:
- Development of a Northwest Farm Stay Website (FW10-029)
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.