Farm Fresh Appalachia Farm Tours

Farm Fresh Appalachia – a partnership between Appalachian Resource Conservation & Development and Appalachian Sustainable Development, and funded via a grant from the USDA – has announced the 2nd Annual Farm Fresh Appalachia Tours which will span two states and two seasons. The farm tours are slated for late spring in Northeast Tennessee and mid fall in Southwest Virginia. By hosting two tours this year, Farm Fresh Appalachia hopes the “farm tourists” will be able to experience a wider variety of farm goods while taking in mountain and farm land vistas in their gorgeous spring and fall color palettes.

The Tennessee Tour is set for Saturday, June 22. There are 15 farms participating.

The Virginia Tour is set for Saturday, October 5. Farms are still being lined up; the list of farms will be finalized and publicized later this summer.

A single-tour car pass is $20, or a double-tour car pass is $35. Both single and double car passes are on sale now via the Appalachian RC&D’s website. Full details including the farm list and descriptions can be viewed on the event information page, here.

Each farm has the opportunity to provide guided or self-guided tours, demonstrations, hands-on experiences, animal encounters, and many will have goods for sale. Since there are an abundance of farms participating, Farm Tourists choose their schedule for the day and how many farms they wish to visit. All farm experiences are family friendly and appropriate for all ages.

On the Tennessee tour, lunch or dinner will be provided at no additional cost for all Farm Tourists. Serenity Knoll, a working farm that offers cooking classes, catering, and hosts events like yoga and dance, will be open earlier and later than all the other farms, and will provide a farm-fresh lunch and dinner. In the interest of maximizing time for touring farms, guests who begin the tour in Washington County are encouraged to have lunch at Serenity Knoll, while guests who start their tour in Greene County are encouraged to end the day at Serenity Knoll with dinner. Either lunch or dinner is included with the purchase of every car pass for all who ride together.

The regional Farm Fresh Appalachia Farm Tours are held through a partnership between Appalachian RC&D Council, Appalachian Sustainable Development, the Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association, and Jonesborough Locally Grown. The event and related promotion is funded by a Farmers Market Promotion Program grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. Because of this grant, Appalachian RC&D Council and the Farm Fresh Appalachia partnership are able to fund the annual farm tours, produce marketing materials for every market in our region, hold training for farmers market managers, and more.

If you would like to learn more about Appalachian RC&D, farm tours, the Farmers Market Promotion Program, or additional programming please visit arcd.org. To volunteer as a Farm Docent or learn more, please contact Rachel Wheeler, rachel@arcd.org.