More time to enjoy diverse operations on 2024 Farm Tour
By Burton Cole
The second annual Pendleton County Farm Tour will be held July 6 and promises more time to travel between farms with fewer stops to make.
But those stops will highlight just as well the diversity of operations — from crops to critters to crafts — flourishing in the area, according to Jen Short of Pendleton County Tourism.
“It’s going to be a wonderful experience, and it will be different at every farm,” she said. “And even the farms on the tour will do things differently than last year.”
“Folks from urban areas have a great curiosity about farms,” she said. “We had a good mix last year of folks from all over the greater Cincinnati area and lots from Northern Kentucky.”
Plus, there were plenty of locals looking to visit their neighbors and pick up fresh farm products.
DISPELLING MYTHS
While Cincinnati is a drive of 60 minutes or less from Pendleton County, “there is a great divide in that one hour of distance — it’s a different way of life an hour from here,” she said.
“It’s just a different lifestyle here. It’s a chance to get to see a day in the life of a farmer,” Short said.
“We’re getting people to leave the city and get out to the country,” she said. “We hope people do take away from this the connection between food and farm: This is how your food is grown; this is where your meal comes from; this is what farmers have to do,” Short said.
“We’ve all heard misconceptions that paint farmers and rural dwelling folks unkindly,”, Short said. But farmers have to be among the smartest people around, she said.
Farmers need to understand horticulture, meteorology, biology, veterinary sciences, mechanics, engineering and other skills.
At Short’s farm, BlackSheep Farmstead, she is setting up an animal health area to demonstrate tools, medications and methods she uses to care for her livestock.
She’s also going to display a beekeeping education area.
That’s part of the idea of the tour — to dispel stereotypes and shine a light on who farmers — particularly Pendleton farmers — really are, Short said.
THE FARMS
There are seven stops on the self-guided tour this year.
The official host of the tour is the Pendleton County Farmers’ Market in Falmouth, which is the first stop listed on the tour.
But, of course, it’s a self-guided tour, so people can stop at as many of the sites in whatever order they choose, Short said.
“We really want folks to stop at the Farmers’ Market at some time during the day,” she said.
With its fresh produce, meat, eggs, baked goods, soap, crocheted goods and other artisan products, all made from local farm commodities, the market represents the diverse products produced in Pendleton County.
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