Life on the Farm | 5

It is Wednesday, September 20th I stare out of the window to examine the lush forest that's right behind the local construction that never seems to end. From my perspective, the pillowy green tops seem to go on for miles and miles almost like an optical illusion. What's so different about these views is the fact that fall is finally creeping up on us in the Appalachian Mountains and the green tops are turning incredible shades of orange, yellow, purple, and auburn.

When we arrived to the farm we split up into groups of three to take care of the different tasks. Carley, Tristan, Evan, and I got the job of transplanting the lettuce for the seedling trays into the garden beds that the other teams weeded and prepared for us. This lettuce is a bit late for the season but it's being grown for the sole purpose of supplying fresh greens for an event that's taking place on the farm in the coming months. Fall is one of the most profitable seasons for farms and we rely heavily upon additional income through agritourism that the farm offers. We discussed potential issues with the current state of the farm and receiving the reaction that you want from the people that come out to the farm.

Aside from having greens for the event, we also discussed that people participating in the agrotourism would much rather see a bed full of planted crops vs an empty one or one full of weeds. Agrotourism is something that every farm can incorporate and it can help bring additional income to your farm without adding to expenses.

There are many ways you can do this, at the SD Farm we are hosting an open house on September 30th to promote the farm to the local community and to show how we operate things. This is a great way to market your farm, products, and the vision of you have for your farm and what you stand for. Another way could be pick and cut christmas trees with hayrides, hot chocolate and wreath making. You pick strawberries, blackberries and blueberries are another popular agritourism avenue that many farms can incorporate for some extra summer profit, while also broadening your customer base for your farm. I am looking forward to learning more supplemental incomes that you can have on the farm and how our open house turns out.