In Utah, agriculture tourism is more than a once-a-year visit to a pumpkin patch. According to a new study and several Utah farmers, “agritourism” is a way to keep agriculture alive, connect people to local food sources and build community.
“People want to be closer to the food they consume,” said Hannah Neeleman, who owns Ballerina Farm in Kamas with her husband, Daniel. “I don’t think it’s just a Utah thing — I think everyone everywhere is trying to make that connection back to the farm.”
“Agritourism” refers to the growing industry that invites the public to agricultural operations for entertainment, recreation and education.
Even if you haven’t heard the term, you’ve likely experienced it. Ever been to a corn maze, fall festival or U-pick peach orchard? Do you frequent a local farmers market for fresh raspberries? How about a school trip to a nearby farm?
In Utah, there’s also Highland cow petting, goat milking, farm dinners and more year-round in both rural and urban areas. This industry generates approximately $44.8 million annually in Utah, according to a new report from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and the Utah Office of Tourism — representing education for families and economic hope for farmers and ranchers.
“Agriculture is inspiring,” Daniel Neeleman said. “You connect with nature. You get out of the city. You get to feel dirt beneath your feet. I think these are all just basic human needs.”
How a desert state became a hub of agritourism
Utah is a dry state with alkaline, clay-heavy soil, which poses challenges for farmers and ranchers. Meanwhile, agriculture across the nation is suffering from changing climates and the steady decline of farms.
Despite that, agritourism in Utah is thriving. According to the new economic impact study, agritourism and recreational services income saw more than 600% growth between 2002 and 2022.
Caroline Scheidell, director of the Marketing and Economic Development Division at UDAF, said this proves agritourism’s legitimacy.
“Sometimes people don’t take agritourism seriously as a true component of agriculture,” Scheidell said. “From our department’s perspective, we see it as a key piece of keeping farmers farming, which is what we’re all about.”
Chris Argyle, who owns Argyle Acres in Liberty with his wife, Amanda, focuses on regenerative agriculture. By replenishing soil with organic matter, he says he’s able to make Utah soil fertile and drought resistant. The Argyles wanted to share what they’d learned, so they opened their farm for school trips.
“These kids come away with so much knowledge,” Chris Argyle said. “I feel like the more people we can get on board with this, it’s just going to better the future for our kids.”
Agritourism in Utah is heavily community-based. According to the new study, Utah agritourism mostly attracts visitors from within the state: 48% of visitors come from within the same county and another 33% come from elsewhere in Utah.
Why are people excited about agritourism?
Ballerina Farm is one of the most well-known faces of agritourism in not just the state but perhaps also the world, with over 10 million followers on Instagram alone.
Hannah Neeleman attributes the world’s interest in her family’s farm life to an innate desire humans have to get back to the land.
“We all feel it, whether it’s at the ocean or in the mountains or on a farm,” she said. “I feel like you feel closer to God in his creations.”
People have stressful lives, she added, and while farm life requires a lot of work as well, the farm feels like an “escape” to many, especially to busy families and overstimulated kids.
Ballerina Farm opened for public dairy tours earlier this year and hosted greenhouse tours during a recent Spring Days event. Hannah Neeleman said one guest teared up after the greenhouse tour because the guide was “so passionate about growing food for his community.”
The Neelemans pointed out that Utah’s fast growth in recent years has paved over a lot of farmland — and once it’s developed, it doesn’t return to agricultural land. Daniel Neeleman said he’d love to see a conservation easement placed on farmland in populated areas of Utah to ensure it is used for agriculture in perpetuity.
Hannah Neeleman’s family spent years visiting other farms before they started their own, and she says opening Ballerina Farm to visitors feels like giving back.
“They’ve done it for us,” she said. “(Now) it’s our turn to do it for our community.”
More than economics
Although agritourism can diversify a farmer’s income, it’s no get-rich-quick scheme. Heather Limon, who runs Cross E Ranch in Salt Lake City with her brother, Dalon Hinckley, called it a “labor of love.”
Limon and her siblings are fifth-generation cattle ranchers, but she and Hinckley were the first to consider agritourism for their ranch. They began with spring field trips — Limon is a teacher by trade — and added a fall festival a decade ago.
The startup costs were high, and their other siblings thought they were crazy.
“It might look like people are making a lot of money (in agritourism) because you get a lot of visitors,” Limon said. “But by the time you pay for insurances and taxes and payrolls and deal with all of the regulations ...”
Cross E now has a spring festival, sunflower festival and fall festival. Visitors can buy fresh beef, sit with goats, pet alpacas and ride a tractor through the grazing fields. The festivals have grown each year, allowing the family to keep the land they’ve been ranching on for decades even as their cattle herd shrinks.
For most, agritourism isn’t about the economics, Limon said. Farmers get into it because they want people to learn.
“You need to know where your food comes from,” she said. “People should have confidence in farmers. And when time comes for voting and political things ... maybe you remember a little bit more about the farmer.”
The future of agritourism in Utah
Cities and counties in Utah are starting to take notice of agritourism’s benefit to local communities.
Visit Ogden, for instance, has launched a website with seasonal agritourism itineraries that include farm-to-table eating and hands-on experiences. And the Ogden Farmers Market brings fresh meat and homegrown produce to the heart of downtown, closing several blocks of Historic 25th Street every Saturday morning in the summer.
“We are really focusing on getting local agriculture and local makers here,” said Taylor Hartman, Visit Ogden’s director of marketing and communications. “The future is small-batch farms taking care of neighbors. And we see neighbors taking care of neighbors at the farmers market.”
The state government is also taking steps to support Utah-grown food. Gov. Spencer Cox announced Tuesday that more than $9 million in grant funds will be awarded to Utah farmers and ranchers this year as part of an expanded program to help strengthen the state’s food supply.
The 2026 Utah agritourism study is just the first step for solidifying agritourism in Utah, Caroline Scheidell said. Additional funding and research is set to help the team work with Utah communities, and Scheidell said UDAF and the Office of Tourism want to help consumers and producers.
A new Utah Agritourism program and website (agritourism.utah.gov) offers a directory for consumers and provides farmers with an “agritourism resource hive.”
Beyond that, Scheidell said, it’s up to Utahns to take advantage of the agritourism opportunities they have in their own backyard.
“We want to encourage people to get out there,” she said. “Get their hands in the dirt, have your kid muck out a stall ... it doesn’t just have to be the corn maze or pumpkin patch that gets visited once a year. There are really cool activities happening year-round.”
