Guests pay to watch chores
Guests pay to watch chores
AMES, Iowa — Farmers have spent generations trying to earn a living by producing food. A new business model suggests they might do better by inviting people from cities to watch. For a reasonable nightly rate, a visitor can now experience the authentic agricultural lifestyle, including dawn, dirt and the unsettling discovery that chickens do not respect weekends.
Farm to Stay Grants Reach Up to $10,000
American Farmland Trust and Airbnb announced a Farm to Stay Grant Program, with grants of up to $10,000 for eligible farmers and ranchers developing agritourism. Applications open this winter. The organizers describe the program as a way to diversify farm income. The farmer’s version of that description is simpler: “Apparently, my daily suffering has become a destination experience.”
A Fence-Repair Experience Sells Out
In a pilot project, a corn grower offered visitors the chance to help repair a fence. Guests booked the activity immediately, praising its mindfulness benefits. After three hours in ninety-degree heat, the group asked whether they could upgrade to a more spiritual activity involving iced tea and watching the farmer finish the work.
Reviews posted by guests on the first weekend were glowing. “Mindful,” wrote one. “Mindful and also very hot,” wrote the same guest an hour later. A second reviewer awarded five stars for authenticity and one star for the lack of an elevator in the hayloft. A third wrote simply, “Chickens do not care about me,” and added a photograph of a chicken.
Another visitor paid for a premium sunrise experience, then complained that sunrise began too early. The host explained that agriculture had not yet signed an agreement with the hospitality industry. The guest requested a later sunrise, organic coffee and a waiver of all rooster-related noise.
The Business of Agritourism
There’s a real business opportunity here. Small farms often need revenue sources beyond commodity production, and agritourism can sell experiences, education and hospitality while keeping land in agricultural use. It also brings costs: liability coverage, sanitation, parking, zoning, guest management and the immense risk of a stranger opening a gate that was closed for a reason.
By the host’s own tally, the farm took in $3,450 over the first month from 23 paying guests, against $1,980 in expenses for insurance, a second gate, portable restrooms and a sign that reads PLEASE DO NOT OPEN. The balance, he said, was the first time in four years that the farm had cleared a month without selling anything at harvest. He kept the figures on a napkin.
Understanding Cash Flow, $150 a Head
The farm’s most successful offering was an executive retreat called “Understanding Cash Flow.” Guests were charged $150 to watch a producer spread invoices across a kitchen table and explain why a full grain bin didn’t necessarily equal profit. The visitors called it transformational. The producer called it Tuesday.
A receipt from the farm’s honor box on the second weekend lists: two egg collections, $12; one fence repair, $40; one hour of tractor-seat photos, $25; and “emotional support goat,” $18. A note beneath it, in the host’s handwriting, reads, “Goat is not emotionally available Tuesdays.” The total, with tax, is $97.65.
A second package, “Meet the Cows,” did well until one customer demanded that the animals sign a consent form before appearing in photographs. The cows refused, citing the absence of a negotiated appearance fee. The pig accepted immediately, provided the contract included lunch.
What Hosts Should Plan For
Farmers interested in agritourism should treat it as a real business, not an effortless cure for low commodity prices. A visitor who pays to collect eggs is also a customer with expectations, questions and access to online reviews.
The farmer’s accountant finally admitted the new operation had potential. “You’re selling the farm experience,” he said. “That’s right,” the farmer replied. “And for the first time, somebody seems willing to pay retail.”
Five Observations About Paying to Watch Farmers Work
- For generations farmers tried to make a living growing food. Turns out you can make more money letting city people watch. That’s not agriculture. That’s theater with mud.
- The guests asked for a more spiritual activity. Iced tea. While the farmer finishes the fence. That’s not a retreat, that’s a hostage situation with a gift shop.
- A guest wanted a later sunrise, organic coffee and a waiver of rooster noise. The sun doesn’t take requests. The rooster only knows one song and he’s very committed to the bit.
- ‘Understanding Cash Flow.’ $150 to watch a man spread invoices across a kitchen table. The visitors called it transformational. The farmer called it Tuesday. That’s what my therapist charges for, and she doesn’t have a goat.
- Somebody wanted the cows to sign a consent form before pictures. They refused unless there was an appearance fee. The pig said yes right away as long as lunch was in the contract. Every hotel has one guy like that.