Relax, learn and support agriculture

An agritourism story that first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News last month is continuing to make the rounds in U.S. media outlets, most recently in the San Diego Union Tribune and the Yankton Press-Dakotan.

The first paragraph sets the stage with sun gilded grass, a rickety rocking chair and a herd of angus cattle. The ranch where reporter Leslie Harlib did her research doesn't have a theme; said the owner, "We just are what we are and have been since the 1930s: a working family ranch.”

Sharing that heirloom existence with the public is helping some farmers make ends meet. Harlib spoke to the director of Marin County UC Cooperative Extension Ellen Rilla, who said the trend is driven for consumers by "a culinary evolution."

“People feel disconnected from where their food comes from, and they want to be reconnected,” Rilla was quoted. “They want to know the farmer and the rancher. Taking the family and the children to experience gathering eggs, being in a barn, seeing how cows are milked, is also very important.”

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