Farmers learning to open gate to foodies
TASMANIAN farmers are ready to capitalise on agritourism opportunities when borders reopen as the paddock to plate movement continues to grow.
Agritourism organisation Open the Gate is holding field days across the state to provide information to farmers looking to open their properties to tourists through accommodation, tours or other new pathways to market.
Guide Falls Farm, at West Ridgley, has recently opened a new restaurant called Grazings and already diners are coming from Hobart and other parts of the state to eat produce from the farm.
“We already had a trickle of traffic coming to West Ridgley because the property used to be an animal park so we decided to value-add to that,” owner Rachel Lacey said.
“All the meat served is from our farm.
“Tasmania really does have the potential to be known for agritourism the same way the Barossa Valley is known for its wineries.”
Field day organisers said the top two reasons people visited Tasmania were to explore nature and connect with the food produced here and those who produce it.
“We know when the borders open people will return to Tasmania in serious numbers,” Allison Clark from Optimum Standard said.
“As recently as March this year, we had 80 per cent occupancy.
“Open the Gate will allow farmers and producers to plan, innovate and be ready to capitalise on the agritourism opportunity when our borders are fully reopened. We know developing our Tasmanian agritourism sector will keep visitors in our regions for longer.
“Visiting farms and producers connects visitors from the plate back to the farm. It doesn’t matter what your farm size or agritourism idea is, you just might have a great experience that visitors are craving for.”
Rose Wright from Regionality said consumers wanted to know the provenance of their food, drink and textiles.
“The Opening the Gate program will help producers to explore alternate pathways to market, embrace new opportunities and tap into their potential to diversify or add value through agritourism ventures that build upon their core farming business,” she said.