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Diesel Now Costs Dairy Farms an Extra $10.91 Per Cow, Every Month. The Smartest Dairies Are Making Visitors Pay Them Back

Writer: Stephen Loke
Stephen Loke
36 minutes ago
20 min read
Dairy farm agritourism: diesel tank and milk tanker by a red barn on one side, a family bottle-feeding a calf beside a farm store with milk and ice cream on the other

Leroy and Barbara Shatto once shipped their milk to a co-op in Missouri. They struggled to get a price that covered their costs. At one point, the farm was losing 45 cents on every 100 pounds of milk it sold.


Leroy summed it up in three words: "That wasn't working." So in 2003, out of what one reporter called desperation, they started bottling their own milk. Today, families pay to tour their farm.


Here is why that story matters to you this week. A new American Dairy Coalition survey says higher diesel now costs the average dairy about $10.91 more per cow, every month. That's on top of harvest fuel and milk hauling. Your milk check can't absorb it, because you don't set the milk price. But the dairies that sell tours, calf feeding, ice cream and farm stays are earning money that was never priced per hundredweight in the first place.


The Short Answer


Diesel is up about 81% since early January 2026. A new 372-farm survey says everyday fuel now costs dairies $10.91 more per cow per month, and among farms that reported fuel surcharges, the surcharge per hundredweight is up 76% since January. The all-milk price is lower than a year ago. You can't raise your milk price, but you can sell something else from the same barn: tours ($5 to $10 a head), calf feeding ($15 to $25), ice cream, school trips and farm stays ($172 per adult per night at one Vermont dairy). Start on the cheapest rung, test it for 90 days, then grow.


What the American Dairy Coalition Survey Actually Found


The American Dairy Coalition (ADC) ran its Dairy Fuel Survey in late October 2026. In about ten days, 372 dairies answered anonymously, with herds from 50 to more than 5,000 cows. The average herd was 550 cows.


ADC's Sherry Bunting walked through the results on Mid-West Farm Report on November 4. Here they are in plain words.


No. 1: An extra $6,000 a month in everyday fuel. That's the average rise for daily work, which works out to $10.91 per cow per month. With US cows averaging 2,062 pounds of milk a month from July to September, that's about 53 cents for every hundredweight you ship.


No. 2: It sits on top of everything else. Read this twice. The $10.91 does NOT include harvest fuel or milk-hauling deductions. Those are extra.


No. 3: Fuel surcharges per hundredweight rose 76%. Farms that reported actual surcharges saw them climb 13.7 cents per hundredweight from January to July, then 6.6 cents more by October. That's 20.3 cents more on every hundredweight you ship.


No. 4: Stop charges rose $65. That's the fee just to pull into your yard, up $65 from January to July. Bunting expects bigger jumps in the later data.


Bar chart of the milk-hauling fuel surcharge, among farms reporting surcharges, rising from about 26.7 cents per cwt in January to about 47 cents in October 2026
Among farms that reported fuel surcharges, the milk-hauling surcharge rose 20.3 cents per cwt between January and October 2026, a 76% rise. January level derived from the survey's figures. Source: ADC Dairy Fuel Survey via Mid-West Farm Report.

Where does the diesel go? Manure handling was named by 97% of farms, everyday farm diesel by 91%.


You've seen it at the tank. The US Energy Information Administration put diesel at $6.292 a gallon on November 2, 2026, up from $3.477 on January 5. Prices spiked after the Iran war began on February 28, which choked shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and damaged Gulf refineries. USDA's farm fuel prices-paid index for September was 54% above a year earlier.


For how rising inputs squeeze every kind of farm, read 47% of Farmers Say This Is Their No. 1 Problem.


Why Your Milk Check Can't Absorb a $10.91 Hit


A trucking company can add a fuel surcharge. You can't. You're a price-taker, paid by federal order formulas built on wholesale commodity values. Those formulas don't care what diesel costs in your county.


Dairy cows standing together in a barn
Illustrative photo, not a farm named in this article. Photo: Suvrajit S on Unsplash.

While fuel climbed, the US all-milk price slipped to $19.50 per hundredweight in September 2026, about 90 cents below a year earlier, The Bullvine reported.


Bar chart comparing a 68% rise in diesel and a 54% rise in farm fuel prices with a 4% drop in the all-milk price
Over 12 months, diesel rose 68% and farm fuel prices 54%, while the all-milk price fell about 4%. Sources: EIA, USDA NASS, The Bullvine.

Class III was $16.04. In the Upper Midwest, Bunting said, farms run about $2.20 below the national all-milk price, and about $2.75 behind by the mailbox price. Harvest Public Media reported this year that dairy producers usually want around $20 per hundredweight to turn a profit. You're under that line before the diesel bill lands.


What about the safety nets?


Dairy Margin Coverage paid out on September's $8.35 margin. But the DMC formula is milk price minus feed. Fuel isn't in it. Not a cent.


Harvest Fuel Relief, USDA's new $8 billion program, is built around planted crop acres. Dairy groups say it misses the fuel you burn every day of the year, and ADC is sending its data to USDA. I covered it in The $8 Billion Fuel Bailout Won't Save Your Farm.


USDA's October outlook forecasts an all-milk price of $19.90 for 2026 and $20.45 for 2027. Those are forecasts, not promises. Meanwhile, Wisconsin fell below 5,000 licensed dairy herds in August 2026 for the first time. If you're already selling below cost of production, every extra cost hurts twice.


What $10.91 a Cow Means for Your Herd


Here's my own illustrative math, using the survey's $10.91 per cow per month, or $130.92 a year.


Bar chart showing extra yearly diesel cost of $13,092 for 100 cows, $39,276 for 300 cows, $72,006 for 550 cows and $130,920 for 1,000 cows
Illustrative only: the survey's $10.91 per cow per month applied to different herd sizes. Excludes harvest fuel and milk hauling.

A 100-cow dairy pays about $1,091 more a month. The survey's average 550-cow dairy pays about $6,000 more.


Per cow, an average cow gives about 20.62 hundredweight a month. At $19.50, that's a milk check of about $402 before deductions. The extra fuel takes about 2.7% of it, for everyday diesel alone.


That hurts because milk is about 80 to 85% of gross revenue on a dairy, according to Compeer Financial. And small herds already pay more to haul: Federal Order 30 data for May 2025 showed Wisconsin's smallest shippers paying about $1.04 per hundredweight to haul, against about 33 cents for the biggest.


Reality Check: Cutting fuel use only goes so far


Tighten routes and park the thirstiest tractor. Do it. But cows don't stop making manure because diesel is expensive. At some point, you need more money coming in, not just less going out.


The Fix: Income That Isn't Priced per Hundredweight


The smartest dairies stopped asking, "How do I get more for my milk?" They started asking, "What else do people want from this farm?"


The answer is the farm itself. The calves. The parlor. The story of how milk gets from a cow to a glass.


People pay for that. White Hutchinson's 2023 national survey found 76% of households visited a farm or ranch for an agritourism activity that year. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 28,617 US farms earning $1.26 billion from agritourism and recreational services, an average of $44,004 each. And in a 2024 Farm Journal survey, 18% of dairies already earned money from bottling, cheese or ice cream, and branded beef and agritourism led the new income ideas dairies were exploring.


Here's the key. A visitor's ticket isn't set by a federal order formula. You set it, and you can raise it when diesel goes up, as I explained in the diesel shortage and agritourism ticket prices.


The Dairy Visitor-Income Ladder


The bottom rungs cost little and teach you a lot. The top rungs cost a lot and pay a lot, if you get them right.


Ladder diagram of six dairy agritourism income streams from farm tours at the bottom to an on-farm creamery at the top, with example prices
The dairy visitor-income ladder: start at the bottom, where it costs least, and climb as you learn.

Rung No. 1: Farm Tours


At Shatto Milk Company, visitors book a tour of about an hour and a half. They pet calves, watch milking, see the bottling line through a window and taste flavored milk. KC Parent listed the price in June 2025: $5 a person.


Five dollars sounds small. But the tour is the front door to a bigger business: bottled milk sold through grocery stores and a country store on the farm. By August 2008, Shatto's sales were up 65% on a year earlier, and the herd had grown from 80 to 300 cows.


Glo-Crest Dairy in Georgia charges $7. Happy Cow Creamery in South Carolina listed $8 in 2025. Sassy Cow Creamery in Wisconsin charges $8 per adult and $5 per youth, with a pint of milk included.


You need a safe route, a good story, a handwashing station and someone who likes people. My Farm Tour Formula shows you how to design one.


Field-Tested Play: End every tour at the cash register


Shatto has a country store. Sassy Cow hands every family a pint of milk. Make the last stop on your route the place where people can buy something to take home, while the calves are still fresh in their minds.


Rung No. 2: Calf Feeding and Calf Cuddling


Calves are the stars of every dairy. Some farms sell time with them as its own ticket.


South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, Maryland charges groups of 10 or more $15 a person for a tour plus calf feeding, and calf-feeding tickets are limited each day. Its help page tells visitors the money pays for the host, the booking system and farm improvements like a new playground. People don't resent paying when they know where the money goes.


Then there's calf cuddling. At Curious Cows and Company, a 120-cow dairy in Corcoran, Minnesota, visitors pay $25 for 30 minutes brushing and feeding calves. It started in summer 2024 with a handful of sign-ups. Interest exploded in summer 2025, a few months after a Dairy Star story, and people began booking months ahead, The Washington Post reported.


Quinci Schmidt told MPR News why: "Dairy isn't always a consistent form of income."


Be honest about scale. Cornell's Christopher Wolf told The Washington Post this money might not make a huge difference to large farms but could help small ones. For a 100-cow dairy, my illustrative math says about 44 sessions at $25 would cover the extra $1,091 monthly fuel bill, before costs.


Three young spotted calves standing together
Illustrative photo, not a farm named in this article. Photo: Phil Hearing on Unsplash.

Reality Check: Calves carry germs, and little kids are most at risk


The national animal-contact compendium published by NASPHV and the CDC says children under 5 should not have direct contact with preweaned calves. Young animals shed harmful E. coli more often, even when they look healthy. A Minnesota educational farm's calves were linked to a Cryptosporidium outbreak that sickened 31 students, then 37 more people several months later. Set an age rule and make handwashing compulsory. My handwashing and animal contact guide shows you how.


Rung No. 3: The Scoop Shop and Farm Store


Rocky Point Creamery in Tuscarora, Maryland is the classic case. In 2009 the Fry family lost a turkey contract, and milk prices were trending lower. Paula Fry suggested ice cream, and a scoop shop opened at the farm entrance in fall 2011.


They planned on about 10 cones a day. Within four years, they served more than 700 people a day on summer weekends. By 2021, Chuck Fry put it simply on a Horizon Farm Credit podcast: "the creamery pays for the cows."


A display case filled with different flavors of ice cream
Illustrative photo, not a farm named in this article. Photo: hai_gea on Unsplash.

In England, the Stable family expanded their dairy in 2013. A year later the milk price plummeted and their income fell. They spent £60,000 turning their dairy into an ice cream parlor and café, opening in May 2016. By 2019, Farmers Weekly reported, Cumbrian Cow served about 80,000 customers a year at £2.40 a scoop.


The surprise: it used only about 1% of the farm's milk. You don't have to turn your herd into ice cream. A tiny slice of your milk brings people to the farm, and they spend on the visit.


At South Mountain Creamery today, a single scoop costs $4.25. That's about 22% of what you'd get for 100 pounds of milk at $19.50.


Reality Check: Ice cream is a summer business


Sassy Cow sells about three-quarters of its ice cream in summer. Plan for the slow months before you borrow a cent. And selling food means permits, so read what permits you need to sell food on your farm first.


Rung No. 4: Field Trips and Farm Dinners


School groups fill weekdays. Sassy Cow charges groups of 15 or more $5 a person, including a 45-minute tour and a dish of vanilla ice cream. Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana offers school groups from $4 a student.


The ticket is small, but children go home and tell their parents. A Michigan State University Extension survey found 19% of Breakfast on the Farm households bought more of at least one dairy product afterward. Dinners work the other way: fewer guests, higher price. See my guide to farm field trips.


Rung No. 5: The Dairy Farm Stay


Liberty Hill Farm & Inn in Rochester, Vermont began welcoming guests in the winter of 1984. The early 1980s were a volatile time for the dairy economy, and the Kennetts needed the money. In 2022, Beth Kennett estimated they had easily hosted 40,000 people from every continent.


Today the rate per person per night, with lodging, breakfast, dinner and farm activities, is $172 per adult, $98 per teen and $88 per child, plus tax, with a two-night minimum. My illustrative math: two adults and two children for two nights pay about $1,040 before tax.


Beth knows what guests are buying: "It's really not about the bed, and it's not about the pancakes."


One adult night equals about 8.8 hundredweight of milk at $19.50. Six or seven adult nights would cover a 100-cow dairy's extra monthly fuel bill, before costs.


You don't need an inn. Airbnb says the typical US farm stay host earned about $8,000 in 2025. New Day Dairy in Iowa, a 120-cow farm, rents a guest room it built in its barn. Start with my step-by-step farm stay guide.


Rung No. 6: The On-Farm Creamery


The top rung can change everything, or break you.


South Mountain's Sowers family shipped to a co-op for about 20 years before buying processing equipment in 2001. Farm Show Magazine reported in 2004 that direct sales returned about $48 per hundredweight, while co-op milk sometimes netted as little as $10 after deductions. By 2025, the farm delivered to nearly 10,000 home customers.


Sassy Cow started with 50 cows and a parlor and has grown into a 900-cow operation. Its creamery opened in 2008, and it took about five years to feel stable. James Baerwolf told Dairy Herd: "As a farmer, you're not trained to run a food manufacturing business."


A Farms.com report put an average Ontario on-farm plant at easily more than $1 million, though processed milk can earn 20 to 25% more per litre. That's why the creamery is rung six. Learn on tours and calves first, and see From Dairy Barn to $2.8 Million for what an old barn can become.


The Big Benchmark: Fair Oaks Farms


Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana shows dairy agritourism at full scale. It isn't a model for a family dairy. It's proof people will pay to see where milk comes from.


A one-day ticket costs $27. Visitors ride a bus to a 72-cow rotary parlor and watch calves born in a barn with stadium seating. Feedstuffs reported more than 500,000 visitors a year in 2016.


Reality Check: When you open your gate, people see everything


In 2019, an undercover video showed calf abuse at Fair Oaks, leading to a sheriff's investigation. Before you invite the public in, make sure every corner is one you'd be proud to show.


One Cow's Milk, Two Ways


Here's an illustration, my own arithmetic, gross before costs.


Way No. 1: The milk check. One average cow's 2,062 pounds a month at $19.50 is about $402. Then subtract hauling, surcharges, stop charges and $10.91 in extra fuel. You set none of those numbers.


Way No. 2: The visit. That same cow and her calf become the reason a family drives out. Every sale is a price you set.


Bar chart showing one ice cream scoop equals 0.22 cwt of milk, a tour with calf feeding 0.77 cwt, a calf cuddle 1.3 cwt, a Fair Oaks ticket 1.4 cwt and an adult farm-stay night 8.8 cwt
Illustrative only: one visitor sale measured in hundredweights of milk at the September 2026 all-milk price of $19.50. Gross, before costs.

None of those prices fall when Class III falls. Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin says about 12 pounds of milk makes a gallon of ice cream (estimates vary), so one cow's month could make about 172 gallons, before cream, sugar, labor and licenses.


The lesson isn't "turn every cow into ice cream." It's to use a small slice of what you have to earn money the milk market doesn't control.


Real Prices From Real Dairies


Use these real prices as a starting point for your own.


Farm

State or country

What visitors pay for

Price

Source date

Shatto Milk Company

Missouri

Farm tour with calves, milking, bottling, samples

$5 per person

KC Parent, June 2025

Glo-Crest Dairy

Georgia

Farm tour, from milking to bottling

$7 per person

Explore Georgia, 2026

Happy Cow Creamery

South Carolina

Small-group tour with samples

$8 per person

Farm website, 2025

Sassy Cow Creamery

Wisconsin

Family tour with a pint of milk

$8 adult, $5 youth

Farm website, Nov 2026

South Mountain Creamery

Maryland

Group tour (10+) with a scoop of ice cream

$10 per person

Farm website, Nov 2026

South Mountain Creamery

Maryland

Group tour (10+) plus calf feeding

$15 per person

Farm website, Nov 2026

South Mountain Creamery

Maryland

Single scoop of ice cream

$4.25

Farm website, Nov 2026

Sunset View Creamery

New York

30-minute cow cuddle

$15

Washington Post, Dec 2025

Curious Cows and Company

Minnesota

30 minutes with calves

$25

MPR News, Nov 2025

Fair Oaks Farms

Indiana

One-day general admission

$27

Farm website, Nov 2026

Liberty Hill Farm & Inn

Vermont

Farm stay with two meals and activities

$172 per adult per night

Farm website, Nov 2026

Cumbrian Cow

England

Single scoop of ice cream

£2.40

Farmers Weekly, Sept 2019

Dumble Farm

England

About four-hour cow cuddling and farm tour event

About $150

Washington Post, Dec 2025


Reality Checks Before You Open the Gate


Reality Check: Creameries can close


Clark Farms in Delhi, New York opened an on-farm creamery in 2020 and closed it in January 2026, saying running both farm and creamery had become too much. The dairy kept milking. Processing is a second full-time job.


Reality Check: More profit doesn't always mean a better life


In a small Penn State Extension survey of 39 Pennsylvania value-added dairy processors, 69% said profitability improved. Only 46% said family quality of life improved.


Reality Check: Not every farm makes money


A University of Vermont survey found about 20% of agritourism farms made no agritourism profit, or a loss, in 2018. Price for profit from day one. My guide to what it costs to start an agritourism business helps you budget.


The Legal, Insurance and Paperwork Questions to Ask First


I can't give legal advice for your state, but I can give you the right questions. Take them to your insurer, lawyer and state agriculture department.


Question No. 1: Can visitors touch my animals, and who can't?


Follow the NASPHV/CDC animal-contact compendium: no direct calf contact for under-5s, no food or drink in animal areas, soap-and-water handwashing over sanitizer, staff at the exits, and no public contact with newborns or birth by-products.


Question No. 2: What biosecurity do I need in the bird flu era?


H5N1 was found in US dairy herds in spring 2024. University of Vermont Extension suggests boot covers, handwashing stations, set visitor parking and no visitor travel between feeding areas, feed storage and milking facilities. Be ready to cancel if risk rises.


Question No. 3: Can I sell or serve raw milk?


The CDC found the raw milk outbreak rate was 150 times greater than for pasteurized milk. Milk crossing state lines must be pasteurized, and states set their own rules within their borders. Serving raw milk to visitors is a risk most dairies shouldn't take.


Question No. 4: Does my state have an agritourism liability law?


An Ohio State fact sheet counted 31 states with agritourism immunity laws in 2019, including Wisconsin, New York, Minnesota, Indiana and Missouri. Vermont, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Michigan were not on that 2019 list. Laws change, so check today's rules. Most require warning signs, and the most common exceptions remove protection if you are negligent or ignore a known danger. See my guide to agritourism laws by state.


Question No. 5: What license do I need to make dairy products?


Making ice cream, bottled milk or cheese to sell needs a dairy plant license. In Wisconsin, DATCP's 2015 fee schedule lists an $855 license fee for a small Grade A plant, plus a $250 reinspection fee. Ask your state before you buy any equipment.


Question No. 6: Am I insured for visitors?


Your farm policy may not cover paying guests. Ask in writing. My agritourism insurance guide lists what to ask about.


Grants: Watch for the Next Round


As of November 5, 2026, I found no major dairy grant open to individual dairy farmers, though one farm stay grant is due to open this month. Get ready now so you can apply fast when the next round opens.


USDA Value-Added Producer Grant. The 2026 window closed in April. Planning grants reach $50,000, working capital $200,000, with a 1:1 match. See my Value-Added Producer Grant guide.


Dairy Business Innovation centers. USDA announced about $12.65 million for the four regional centers on September 30, 2026; they pass grants down to dairy businesses. The Midwest alliance's fall Dairy Business Builder grants for on-farm diversification went up to $100,000, or $150,000 for large equipment (closed September 30). These grants have funded dairy agritourism before: in 2021, the Northeast center gave Maple Bottom Farm in Pennsylvania $24,685 for a dairy trail map, farm dinners and camps.


Wisconsin Dairy Processor Grant. Up to $50,000 for licensed plants. The latest round closed November 3.


Airbnb Farm to Stay grants. Up to $10,000. Airbnb said applications open in November 2026, so check now. See how to apply.


Your 90-Day Starter Plan


You don't need a million-dollar plant. You need 90 days and the courage to try something small.


Three-column plan for dairy farm agritourism: days 1 to 30 check and plan, days 31 to 60 test small, days 61 to 90 open and sell
A simple 90-day plan to add visitor income to a dairy without spending big.

Field-Tested Play: Days 1 to 30, check and plan


Call your insurer about paying visitors. Read your state's agritourism and food rules. Pick one safe route away from machinery, manure pits and newborns. Put a soap-and-water handwashing station at the exit.


Field-Tested Play: Days 31 to 60, test small


Run two or three free trial tours for friends, a school class or a church group. Time every stop. Watch where people linger. Then ask: "What would you have paid for this?"


Field-Tested Play: Days 61 to 90, open and sell


Set your price using the table above. Open simple online booking. Collect every visitor's phone number or email. Then add one paid extra, like calf feeding.


What a Durian Farm Taught Me About Commodity Prices


I'm the founder of Bloopy Durians, a durian farm in Bentong, Malaysia. Our durian seasons are short, about four to five months a year, from December to February and June to August.


If you only sell fruit at whatever the market pays, you live and die by that price.


Visitors give us another way to earn. Bloopy Durians welcomes visitors from all over the world, and many companies send their staff and management. Guests arrive on a four-wheel-drive adventure ride. We supply durians for corporate events too. We also supplied durians for a Mayor of Kuala Lumpur tourism event, and Kuala Lumpur City Hall gave our team a plaque of appreciation.


And we built a WhatsApp list of loyal customers who buy whenever durians are available. That list is a reliable source of income, season after season.


The lesson for your dairy: visitors and a loyal customer list give you income the commodity price doesn't set. You can't control what the market pays. You can control the experience you sell and who you sell it to.


Durians aren't cows. But the principle is the same on every farm.


Frequently Asked Questions


How much more is diesel costing dairy farms in 2026?

The American Dairy Coalition's survey of 372 dairies found everyday fuel costs up about $6,000 a month on average, or $10.91 per cow per month. Harvest fuel and milk hauling are extra.

Why can't dairy farmers just raise their milk price?

Dairy farmers are price-takers. Federal order formulas use wholesale commodity values and don't adjust for your local fuel costs.

Does Dairy Margin Coverage help with fuel costs?

Not directly. The DMC margin is the all-milk price minus feed cost. Fuel isn't in the formula.

How much should I charge for a dairy farm tour?

Real dairies charge about $5 to $10 a person for a basic tour, and $15 to $25 for calf time. Test your price with trial tours, and make sure it covers your time and costs.

Is calf feeding safe for visitors?

It can be, with rules. Keep children under 5 from direct contact with preweaned calves, keep food out of animal areas and make soap-and-water handwashing compulsory.

How much does it cost to start an on-farm creamery?

A lot. A Farms.com report put an average Ontario plant at easily more than $1 million, and a University of Tennessee model estimated about $2.5 million for building and equipment. Start with lower-cost rungs first.

Can a dairy farm stay make money?

It can. Liberty Hill Farm & Inn in Vermont has hosted guests since 1984 and charges $172 per adult per night with meals and activities. Airbnb says the typical US farm stay host earned about $8,000 in 2025.

Are there grants for dairy farm agritourism?

Most 2026 dairy rounds have closed. Watch for the next USDA Value-Added Producer Grant and your regional Dairy Business Innovation center, and check the Airbnb Farm to Stay grant, which Airbnb said opens in November 2026.


The Diesel Bill Won't Wait. Neither Should You.


You can't control what diesel costs. You can't control the Class III price. You can't control what the hauler charges to pull into your yard.


But you can control what happens at your farm gate. Shatto, South Mountain, Rocky Point and Liberty Hill each turned to customers and visitors when milk alone wasn't enough. Each found people willing to pay for what they already had: cows, calves, a barn and a story.


Start small. Run one tour. Charge for one calf session. Learn, then climb.


Not sure if your farm is ready for visitors? Take the free Farm Readiness Quiz. It helps you see where your farm is strong and what to fix before you open your gate.



Want more ideas than one article can hold? Get my free ebook, "150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm." It gives you 150 ideas to earn from what your farm already has, from your animals and buildings to your land and your know-how. The ideas are sorted so you can quickly pick the ones that fit your farm, your time and your budget.



P.S. Remember Leroy Shatto, losing 45 cents on every 100 pounds of milk? He didn't wait for the milk price to save him. He started selling his own milk, opened his gate to visitors, and the herd grew from 80 cows to 300. Your first $5 tour could be the start of your own story.


Sources



Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is for general information, not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Check rules with your state and your own advisers before you open your gate.

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About Stephen Loke and Agritourism Success

Stephen Loke runs Bloopy Durians, a small durian farm in Bentong, Malaysia, that welcomes visitors from around the world. His work has been featured in Bloomberg News , Asahi Shimbun, The Business Times, The Straits Times, Travel And Tour World, VNExpress International. Today he teaches farmers how to earn a better income, or a second income, from visitors. Click the links to read the stories.

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