Wisconsin agritourism takes a hit from COVID-19
Farms are reporting some rebound in on-site events
The cancellation notices speak volumes about the effect of COVID-19 on Wisconsin agritourism. Breakfast on the farm, county fairs, fall festivals, even winery tours, nixed to curb the spread of the virus.
The widespread cuts are unheard of in a state that celebrates its rural heritage with fun and sometimes quirky events like the Cabbage Chuck World Championship in Shiocton — where contestants use catapults to shoot cabbages at an old school bus parked in a field.
The cabbages weigh about 8 pounds, and some of the catapults are cannons powered by compressed air. So far, anyway, the festival is still on for Sept. 19, its organizers said last week.
Just going for a ride in the country, watching farmers cut hay and animals out on pasture is what many folks still do on summer weekends.
But this fall, they won’t be hanging out at events like the Soil Sisters farm tour, in Monroe, that normally attracts thousands of people from across the Midwest.
“Canceling it was a big financial hit for all of us,” said Kriss Marion with Circle M Farm near Blanchardville.
Her farm’s bed and breakfast is shut down until 2021. Her classes in organic gardening, spinning wool and making herbal soaps have been canceled.
“We pretty much lost our entire income for the year,” Marion said.
Across the state, farms that normally open their doors for tours and public gatherings are struggling.
“I usually start booking some school groups right about now, but no one is really reaching out,” said Jacki Moe
genburg, who runs Roden Barnyard Adventures near West Bend.
Still, she’s been able to host a summer camp where children get to feed calves and learn about life on a dairy farm. And maybe this winter, for the first time, Barnyard Adventures will have sleigh rides.
“I would love it if we could get back to doing the tours,” Moegenburg said, but the farm is following COVID-19 guidelines and people are nervous about gathering in groups where social distancing isn’t always practical, like in the confines of a barn or a milking parlor.
This spring, Govin’s Farm, in Dunn County, lost 60% of its operating capital for the year when it couldn’t open its “lambing barn” to the public.
The farm improvised, offering a drive-thru tour of a lambing tent. But it wasn’t the same experience people from Eau Claire and the Twin Cities were accustomed to for the last 15 years.
“The irony is that most of us in agritourism got into the business to be insulated from the ups and downs of conventional agriculture, and now we’ve been clobbered by a pandemic that wasn’t even foreseeable,” John Govin said.
His farm’s next event was pick-yourown strawberries in June, and that went quite well. Attendance was about 75% of normal, and the farm even offered wagon rides to the fields.
“People were really itching to get outside and do something with their families,” Govin said. “Some chose to walk, rather than ride on the wagon, but maybe only 5% felt they needed to wear a mask.”
Farms that have turned old barns into fancy digs for weddings and other gatherings have also felt the sting of coronavirus, especially this spring under the state’s safer-at-home order.
“We lost breakfast with the Easter Bunny, Mother’s Day, banquets and weddings,” said Kyle Vesperman with Vesperman Farms in Lancaster.
Slowly, some of that business has come back. And Vesperman, like many in agritourism, has found other ways to make money, turning a former cablebusiness truck into an ice cream wagon he takes to towns like Mineral Point,
Jacki Moegenburg, owner of Roden Barnyard Adventures, talks with 10-year-old Nora Ressler, right, as they walk to feed the calves at Roden Barnyard Adventures Farm Camp at Roden Echo Valley.
Platteville, Dodgeville and Dickeyville.
He’s booked some weddings and special events for his barn that can handle up to 250 people but won’t have that many now because of social distancing.
“I am constantly optimistic,” Vesperman said. “We are pushing along as if we are going to be as normal as possible and will make adjustments as we go. There’s no sense worrying about it months in advance.”
Hinchley’s Dairy Farm, in Cambridge, was going to host Dane County’s annual Breakfast on the Farm in August. But COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the event where guests would have met Bessy the Dane County Dairy Cow.
Normally, by now the farm would have booked most of its school-group tours for the fall. But, so far, only one has signed up.
“Everything is down now. We’re in unknown territory,” Tina Hinchley said.
However, her family’s farm is open for guests three days a week, and people have come from as far as Montana. And there was a handful of Wisconsin college students from Africa, Haiti and Hungary who toured the dairy operation.
“We’re in the same boat as everybody else; staying safe and trying to keep the business afloat,” Hinchley said.
Sassy Cow Creamery, in Columbus, is busier than ever with guests, said owner James Baerwolf.
Before the pandemic, the creamery’s location north of Madison was a hindrance to business. “But this summer, people are looking for an excuse to get in the car and go somewhere. Things off the beaten path a little bit are doing better,” Baerwolf said.
The Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center, in Manitowoc, is now open for walkin traffic on weekends and private tours during the week. It has 10,000 square feet of interactive farm exhibits and a birthing barn where guests can watch the birth of a calf.
However, bus tours of a nearby dairy farm have been canceled and replaced with a video in the Discovery Center’s theater.
This fall will be a critical time for hundreds of Wisconsin agritourism businesses as they decide whether to host pumpkin patch events, corn mazes and pick-your-own apple harvests.
Farmers are being innovative, coming up with entertainment while keeping their guests safe. And folks in the city want to return to the countryside, said Sheila Everhart, president of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association.
“It’s what many families used to do on a Sunday,” she said.
The average age of a Wisconsin farmer is around 58, and some are being cautious about allowing guests during the pandemic. If the farmer gets sick, there may not be anyone to do the work on an operation that runs 365 days a year.
Still, something like fresh donuts on a farm will sell out on a Saturday morning.
Marion, with Circle M Farm, says she’s looking forward to hosting guests next year. In December, she’s going to start taking reservations for her bed and breakfast in 2021.
There’s sourdough bread, a waffle bar, eggs from the henhouse, sausage from the farm’s hogs. Get up early enough and you can help pick the raspberries, peaches, plums and strawberries for the meal. You can even help milk the goats.
During the pandemic, some farmers are using the time for projects like remodeling a barn for special events. Marion is putting in a sauna at her place, and she knows of a winery in Richland Center that’s rejuvenating its vineyard.
COVID-19 government assistance has helped some in agritourism weather the downturn.
“There are some pretty cool stories out there,” Marion said. “If we can keep businesses afloat, and give them some cash to make improvements, I really think it will pay off in the years to come.”