US farmers turn to Airbnb, corn mazes to outlast agricultural downturn
US farmers turn to Airbnb, corn mazes to outlast agricultural downturn
BLANCHARDVILLE, Wisconsin, Feb 8 (Reuters) - A dead-end dirt road cutting through rural Wisconsin leads to a pasture dotted with shaggy-coated Highland cattle, fluffy Icelandic sheep and a vintage Airstream trailer that farmer Brit Thompson turned into an Airbnb to capitalize on an explosion of urbanites looking to spend time in the countryside.
Her guests, mostly Chicago-area professionals, offer a steady flow of income in an increasingly unstable agricultural economy.
Thompson, who also raises animals for meat at her farm, Pink River Ranch , opens new tab, is one of many farmers turning to the $4.5 billion agricultural tourism industry, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, and offering activities and overnight stays as consumer demand for rural experiences grows and farm income declines.
Farm income has dropped 23% from 2022 in one of the biggest declines in history, according to the USDA, and the American Farm Bureau says the agricultural economy is in a recession.
Even while grocery prices have risen to painful heights. It's almost as though there's something between the people who supply the food and those who pay for it, taking more than their fair share.
Not only that, but actively working to destroy anyone who doesn't want to play ball. Want to sell at a farmer's market? Oh, sorry, you'll need a USDA sticker, and gosh darn it, you'll need to go through one of our partners / oh sorry you can't label that as organic / oh gee you can't grow that without renewing your yearly license / hey your contract to sell your beans just expired, we'd like to renegotiate / boy that all sounds rough oh by the way your payment is due / oh you're selling out? what a coincidence, one of our partners would be happy to buy out your / I know it's less than you expected but
Cory Doctorow was right. These people are committing crimes, on an incredibly massive scale. We need to stop looking at it any other way.
USAID closing will bankrupt more farms that were providing food for the program.
Even when they can't sell their corn they keep growing corn.
Heaven forbid you diversify your crops. And I don't mean switching to soybeans.
Keep in mind, these people don't need more money.
The farmers? They don’t actually make very much money if they are independent. The middlemen and the corporate farms are the big winners.