A Truck of Warm Produce and a $399 Season Pass: How Great Country Farms Keeps DC Families Coming Back All Year (12 Lessons Any Farmer Can Use)

4 days ago

23 min read

Family fun farm in the Virginia countryside with families picking strawberries, a wagon hayride, a jumping pillow and a red barn farm market, illustrating the Great Country Farms agritourism case study

The delivery truck should have come back empty.

In the early days of Mark and Kate Zurschmeide's 1993 farm share near Bluemont, Virginia, a delivery driver came back from his route with the truck still full. The produce inside was warm, and the members had already paid.

Kate feared those members would leave. So how did that young couple end up running a farm where families now pay $10 to $18 a head just to walk in, and can buy a $399 season pass?

They stopped selling boxes of vegetables. They started selling a day out, priced by the calendar, cheaper online than at the gate, with a festival nearly every month and a pass that rewards the families who return.

Short answer: Great Country Farms earns from the visit, not just the crop. In 2026 it charges $10 to $18 a person per visit. Tickets cost $1 to $5 less online than at the gate, and more on weekends and in October. A $399 family season pass and a festival in almost every month keep the same families coming back.

The members from that warm-truck day stayed. "They grew with us. That's the beauty of a CSA," Kate told Lancaster Farming in 2012. By then the farm share had about 1,500 members.

Then, in 2023, after 30 years, the family let the CSA go. In a Loudoun Now story about that change, general manager Andrew Taylor, a grandson of the family patriarch, explained that people weren't really coming for the food. They were "coming for the feeling," like the one families get walking through a sunflower field.

Read that line twice. It is the whole case study in four words.

Sell vegetables and you compete with every supermarket. Sell a feeling and you compete with the cinema and the trampoline park, an easier fight with better margins.

Great Country Farms at a glance

Place: Bluemont, Loudoun County, Virginia, about 56 miles from Washington DC

Founded: 1993 by Mark and Kate Zurschmeide; first opened to weekend visitors in 1994

Family: Three generations of the Zurschmeide family; grandchildren now hold leadership roles

Land: About 400 acres of family land at the foot of the Blue Ridge, with a 15-acre play area

What they sell: Day passes, pick-your-own, festivals, memberships, school trips, parties, food and hard cider

Price range: $10 to $18 a person per visit; $399 family season pass

Season: Nearly all year

Best known for: Fall pumpkins, the corn maze, pig races and cider donuts

The No. 1 thing to copy: Charge for the day, not just the produce, then give families a reason and a reward to come back

The Story: From a Fruit Truck to a Family Fun Farm

The family's farming roots go back to 1955. Bob Zurschmeide grew up farming in Indiana.

In the 1970s the family moved to Loudoun County, leasing land to grow for a family farm market in Leesburg. In the 1980s Bob sold produce and Christmas trees from a truck.

In 1993, Mark and Kate bought a 186-acre farm near Bluemont and launched a 50-member CSA. Their first marketing was a printed circular in the Washington Post and a newsletter they delivered by hand.

Buying land so close to a booming capital was hard. "Land prices were crazy," Kate told Fruit Growers News in 2012.

In 1994 they tried their first visitor experiment. They opened on weekends for pick-your-own and farm animals. In time, a CSA share also came with free, season-long farm admission for the whole family, which tied the box (the income) to the visit (the experience).

It worked. The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce named Great Country its Agribusiness of the Year in 1996 and 2007, for farming on instead of selling out to houses.

By 2012, the farm had monthly U-pick festivals, a 5-acre play area, hayrides, gem mining and school trips. The CSA had about 1,500 members, and the farm's income supported Mark, Kate and their two sons without outside jobs.

Hay wagon of visitors crossing a pick-your-own pumpkin patch below the Blue Ridge in Bluemont, Virginia — A hay wagon full of visitors crosses a pick-your-own pumpkin patch in Bluemont, Virginia, October 2009. Photo: Kona Gallagher (kona99) on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The family kept adding businesses: Bluemont Vineyard (2007, with partners), Dirt Farm Brewing (May 2015) and Henway Hard Cider, in a refurbished barn on the farm (September 2019).

Farmer Bob died in June 2022. His grandchildren's generation is now taking the lead, with Hailey Zurschmeide as Chief Vision Officer and her cousin Andrew Taylor as general manager.

Great Country Farms timeline from a 50-member CSA in 1993 to a year-round family fun farm in 2026 — Great Country Farms timeline, 1993 to 2026. Sources: Lancaster Farming, Loudoun Now, farm websites.

How Great Country Farms Prices a Day Pass

Most farms pick one price for a sign. Great Country pulls four levers: the day, the month, how you buy, and what's on that weekend.

Here are the real 2026 prices from the farm's own pages, checked on 8 November 2026. Children 2 and under get in free.

When you visit (2026)	Online, child	Online, adult	At the gate (age 3+)
September weekdays	$10 + $1 fee	$12 + $1 fee	$14
September weekends	$12 + $1 fee	$14 + $1 fee	$18
October weekdays	$12 + $1 fee	$14 + $1 fee	$16
October weekends and Columbus Day	$14 + $1 fee	$16 + $1 fee	$18
Strawberry Jubilee weekend (May)	$13 incl. fee	$15 incl. fee	$16
Peach Fuzztival (August)	$12 + $1 fee	$14 + $1 fee	$16
November general admission	Not shown	Not shown	$14 weekdays, $16 weekends
Adult Corn Maze Night (21+)	n/a	$45	$49 if any are left

Great Country Farms 2026 day pass prices comparing online and gate admission for September and October weekdays and weekends — Great Country Farms 2026 day-pass prices per person. Source: greatcountryfarms.com, checked 8 Nov 2026.

How the price has grown

From dated press reports:

Year	Child	Adult	Source
2012	$8 regular days, $10 festival weekends	$10 regular days, $12 festival weekends	Lancaster Farming
2014	$8 weekday, $10 weekend	$10 weekday, $12 weekend	DCist
2017 (fall)	$8 weekday, $10 weekend	$10 weekday, $12 weekend	Loudoun Now
2022 (summer)	$11	$12	Washingtonian
2024 (fall)	"A few dollars less" than adults	Around $15	Mommy Poppins
2026 (October weekend)	$14 + $1 online	$16 + $1 online, $18 at the gate	Farm website

An adult on a peak weekend paid $12 in 2012. In October 2026 it's $16 online plus a $1 fee, or $18 at the gate: up about 33% on the base online price and 50% at the gate in 14 years, with far more to do.

The buyer psychology behind the prices

The gate is the anchor. When the gate says $18, an online ticket at $15 for a child feels like a win. The farm uses the same trick on its pass page: "Regular Farm Admission is $50+ per family of 4 for 1 visit."

Dated tickets create commitment. Online buyers pick a date. Once a family has paid for Saturday, they come on Saturday, even under a grey sky. Arrival times stay flexible, so it never feels like a strict time slot.

Rain or shine, with a paid safety net. Tickets are non-refundable and the farm is open rain or shine. Nervous buyers can add optional Purchase Protection at checkout, which turns a refund headache into one more small sale.

Weekdays and September are the release valve. Lower prices pull families away from crowded October weekends, spreading the load on staff and parking.

One gate price for everyone 3 and up. At the gate, there's no arguing about whether a child is 11 or 12. Online, children pay less, which is one more reason to buy ahead.

Carter Mountain Orchard, another Virginia farm in our Carter Mountain case study, also charges at the gate, not just for the fruit. Our agritourism pricing guide shows one corn maze charging $16 on a Monday and $38 on a weekend, and our guide to setting entry fees and ticket prices walks you through the numbers.

The Repeat-Visit Engine: A $399 Pass, Quarterly Plans and a Festival Every Month

Selling one visit is good. Selling the next six is where a farm becomes a business. Great Country sells four memberships in 2026:

Plan	Price	What you get
Fan of the Farm Season Pass	$399 a year, family rate	Unlimited visits for your household, 25% off produce, 10% off drinks, free winter indoor play
Farm Membership	$119 a quarter	Free admission for your household, 25% off fruit and vegetables, priority U-pick alerts, drink and cottage discounts
Flock Membership (drinks)	$79 a quarter	3 growlers a quarter, a free cider flight each visit, 15% off food and cider; farm admission not listed
Flock & Farm ("Best Value")	$159 a quarter	Both plans together, with 2 free cider flights each visit

The farm's FAQ says the pass covers up to six immediate family members. Field trips are excluded.

Does the $399 pass pay off?

Take a family of two adults and two children on October weekends.

Online: $16 + $16 + $14 + $14 = $60, plus $4 in fees = $64 a visit
At the gate: 4 x $18 = $72 a visit
Online on September weekdays: $13 + $13 + $11 + $11 = $48 a visit

At $64 a visit, the pass pays for itself on the 7th visit. At the gate price, it pays off on the 6th. A family visiting on cheap September weekdays needs 9 visits, unless they also count the 25% off produce and the free winter play.

Great Country Farms season pass break-even chart for a family of four comparing day tickets with the $399 pass — When the $399 season pass pays off for a family of four. AgritourismSuccess estimate using 2026 posted prices.

The $119 quarterly Farm Membership covers about two October weekend visits for that family ($128 online). Paying annually saves 15%, which by our arithmetic (4 x $119 = $476, less 15%) is about $405, close to the $399 pass. The farm doesn't publish that figure.

A reason to come back every month

A pass is only worth buying if there's something new to see, so Great Country fills the calendar with named events.

Great Country Farms festival calendar showing events in every month of the year — Great Country Farms 2026-27 event calendar. Source: greatcountryfarms.com festivals page, checked 8 Nov 2026.

Three more tools keep families coming back:

A free U-Pick Alerts list. Members get priority alerts, so they hear first when strawberries or peaches are ready.
Prizes that bring people back. Strawberry Jubilee contest winners get a quarterly membership, peach pie-eating winners get a season pass, and parade entrants get a free ticket for a future visit.
Free admission in summer weeks for teachers (June 15 to 30), healthcare workers (July 25 to 31) and realtors (August 3 to 14), each with $5 drink specials at the family's cider barn, brewery and vineyard. Military families get in free on fall weekdays and every day in November.

A Virginia Cooperative Extension study (using 2015 data) found that about 61% of visitors take more than one trip a year that includes a Virginia agritourism venue. The repeat visitor already exists. Great Country just gives them a reason to make the next trip to Bluemont.

The Money Map: Every Way One Visit Pays

Great Country doesn't publish revenue, visitor numbers or staff counts, and we won't guess them. Here is every way it earns, with its posted price. The cost and difficulty columns are our rough view, not the farm's figures.

Income stream	Real 2026 price	Rough running cost	Start difficulty
Day admission	$10 to $18 a person	Gate staff, insurance, play upkeep	Medium
Fan of the Farm Season Pass	$399 a year per family	Subscription software, email	Easy, once you have visitors
Quarterly memberships	$79 to $159 a quarter	Same as above	Easy
Pumpkins	$0.59 to $0.69 a pound	Seed, field work, wagons	Medium
Sunflowers	$1 a bloom	Seed, one field	Easy
Animal feed cups	$3	Feed and cups	Easy
Gem mining	$6.99 to $29.99	Bought-in gem bags, sluice	Easy to medium
Cow train	$2 a ride on weekends	Train, driver, fuel	Medium
Adult Corn Maze Night	$45 online, includes one pour	Licence, music, staff	Big build
School field trips	$10 to $14 a person	Guides, covered areas	Medium
Birthday parties	From $250 for 15 guests	A host, a shaded space	Easy
Picnic and company venues	$250 to $1,850	Shelters, tables, staff	Medium to big
Breakfast with Santa	$25 adult, $15 child	Kitchen, Santa, staff	Medium
Winter Indoor Play	$10 a child	Heated building	Big build
Bakery, food and hard cider	Cider donuts, meals, cider	Kitchen, licences	Big build
Stays and weddings (sister businesses)	Not public	Buildings, staff	Big build

Great Country Farms money map showing six groups of income streams with 2026 prices — The Great Country Farms money map. Source: greatcountryfarms.com, checked 8 Nov 2026.

Great Country Farms farm market produce display with baskets of apples, tomatoes and asparagus — Inside the Great Country Farms market: every basket is a second sale after the gate. Photo: Walt Stoneburner on Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

AgritourismSuccess estimate: what one family spends on an October Saturday

Tickets bought online for 2 adults and 2 children: $64

Two $3 feed cups: $6. One $6.99 gem bag: $6.99. Two $2 cow train rides: $4. One 15-pound pumpkin at $0.69 a pound: $10.35

Total: about $91, before any food, donuts or cider. That's about $27, or 43%, on top of the tickets.

Assumptions: our own example basket using posted 2026 prices. It is not the farm's figure. Real spending can run higher: one 2024 reviewer said their group of adults paid more than $100 just to get out to the orchard, then over $60 for apples.

The journey below shows why: every step is a small chance to earn, and the last sets up the next visit.

Great Country Farms visitor journey flowchart from finding the farm to buying online, playing, eating, shopping and coming back — The Great Country Farms visitor journey. Based on the farm's ticket, festival and membership pages.

12 Lessons Any Farmer Can Use

Lesson No. 1: Sell the feeling, not the box

What they did: The farm grew its CSA from 50 members in 1993 to about 1,500 by 2012. Then in 2023 it ended the CSA to focus on pick-your-own, farm education and family fun.

Why it works: A box of carrots is judged against the supermarket price. A day out is judged against memories. Parents don't compare a child's first hayride with the supermarket.

How a small farm copies it: You don't need 15 acres. You need three or four things a city child has never done: feed a goat, ride a wagon, pick a pumpkin. Start-up cost: $200 to $500 for hay bales and signs. See our farm activities for kids for more.

Field-Tested Play: This week, walk your farm with your phone and photograph five things a six-year-old would love. Those five photos are your first "what's included" list.

Lesson No. 2: Price the calendar, not just the person

What they did: In 2026, an adult online ticket costs $12 + $1 on a September weekday and $16 + $1 on an October weekend. Columbus Day is priced like a weekend.

Why it works: People pay more when demand is high and expect a deal when it's quiet. A peak price earns more on busy days and nudges some families to calmer ones.

How a small farm copies it: Two prices on a chalkboard: weekday and weekend. Cost: $50 for the board and paint.

Field-Tested Play: Look back at last season and circle your three busiest days. Next season, price those days $2 to $4 higher than your weekdays and watch what happens.

Lesson No. 3: Make the gate the most expensive way in

What they did: Online tickets cost $1 to $5 less per person than the gate, which charges one flat price for everyone 3 and up.

Why it works: Money arrives before the visit, and you know how many are coming. The flat gate price keeps the line moving.

How a small farm copies it: Use an online ticket tool and pass its fee to the buyer, as Great Country does with its $1 fee. Look for one that charges per ticket rather than a monthly fee, so you pay only when you sell.

Field-Tested Play: Put next weekend on sale online at $2 below your gate price. Post the link on your Facebook page and in your Google Business Profile today.

Lesson No. 4: Spell out what's included, and what isn't

What they did: Every festival page lists what the ticket covers. The November ticket page says plainly that the ticket "does NOT INCLUDE a pumpkin or apples or other produce."

Why it works: Surprise extras feel like a trick; announced extras feel like a choice. Paying extra on top of admission is the most common complaint in the reviews we read, so clear lists are your best defence.

How a small farm copies it: Two short lists on your website and one sign at the gate. Cost: nothing but an hour of your time.

Field-Tested Play: Write "Your ticket includes" and "Extra, if you want it" on one page of your website. Then copy both lists onto your gate sign word for word.

Lesson No. 5: Add small extras that children ask for

What they did: Feed cups are $3, sunflowers $1 a bloom, cow train rides $2 and gem bags $6.99 to $29.99. Feed and gems are offered at online checkout too.

Why it works: Small prices sit below the "let me think about it" line. A child asks, a parent says yes, and in our estimate above, extras added about 43% to the ticket spend.

How a small farm copies it: A $50 bag of animal feed and a stack of paper cups can become dozens of $3 sales. Watch the animals, though: one 2023 review complained that the goats were overfed. Set a daily limit on feed cups.

Field-Tested Play: Pick one add-on under $5 for next weekend: feed cups, a cut flower or a bag of apples. Put it at the gate where children see it first.

Lesson No. 6: Sell a season pass that pays off around the sixth visit

What they did: The Fan of the Farm Season Pass costs $399 a year for the family. The farm sets it against the $50-plus a family of four pays for a single visit, and adds 25% off produce and 10% off drinks.

Why it works: Once the year is paid for, every visit feels free. Pass families come more often, bring friends who pay full price, and spend on extras.

How a small farm copies it: Price a family pass at roughly six visits' worth of tickets. If a family of four pays $40 a visit, about $200 to $240 (five to six visits) is the zone. Add one perk, such as 10% off produce.

Field-Tested Play: Offer 20 "Founding Family Passes" to your best customers first. Limit the number so it feels special, and ask each buyer which month they'd visit most.

Lesson No. 7: Give people a smaller way to say yes

What they did: Not everyone wants to spend $399 at once, so there's a $119 quarterly Farm Membership, a $79 drinks-only Flock plan and a $159 Flock & Farm plan labelled "Best Value".

Why it works: A smaller first payment lowers the fear of commitment, and a "Best Value" label makes the top plan look like the smart choice.

How a small farm copies it: One quarterly plan is enough to start, sold through a subscription tool that charges automatically. Our guide to turning seasonal footfall into recurring revenue shows other ways to set it up.

Field-Tested Play: Write a three-line quarterly plan: price, what's included, when it renews. Show it to five regular customers and ask, "Would you pay this?"

Lesson No. 8: Name a festival for nearly every month

What they did: The 2026 calendar runs from Baby Dino Days to Strawberry Jubilee, Pickle Fest, Peach Fuzztival, Pumpkin Chunkin' and Great Country Christmas.

Great Country Farms pumpkin-eating dinosaur show with a pumpkin in its mouth — A pumpkin-eating dinosaur show at Great Country Farms, October 2009. A show like this gives families a reason to come at a set time. Photo: Kona Gallagher (kona99) on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Why it works: A named event creates a deadline. "Strawberry Jubilee, May 30 to 31" goes on the fridge calendar; "open daily" does not. Each new event also gives pass holders a reason to come.

How a small farm copies it: Start with four festivals, one per season, each tied to what's ripe or born. Our list of year-round events to keep your farm busy has plenty to choose from. If fall is your big season, read our guides on how to start a pumpkin patch and how to start a corn maze.

Field-Tested Play: Pick your next ripe crop and give its weekend a name with a fun word in it. Put the name and dates on your website and Facebook page tonight.

Lesson No. 9: Fill quiet weeks with free admission, then sell drinks

What they did: Teachers, healthcare workers and realtors each get a free-admission week or two in summer. All three get $5 drink specials at the family's cider barn, brewery and vineyard, and realtors also get a business-card raffle and happy hours.

Why it works: An empty weekday earns nothing anyway. Free entry fills it with people who buy food and drinks and talk to many families: teachers book school trips, and realtors meet families new to the area.

How a small farm copies it: Pick one group your area respects and invite them free for one quiet week. Cost: the tickets you weren't selling anyway.

Field-Tested Play: Email or call one local school, clinic or estate agency this week. Offer their staff and families a free visit on two of your slowest days next month.

Lesson No. 10: Give the grown-ups their own night

What they did: Adult Corn Maze Night runs on eight October nights for ages 21 and up. It costs $45 online, including one pour of cider or wine, live music and fire pits, and the farm warns it "does SELL OUT."

Why it works: The maze is already built. At night the same field sells to a new customer at about three times a child's day ticket.

How a small farm copies it: The $500 version: a bonfire, string lights, a local musician and hot cider without alcohol. Serving alcohol brings licence and insurance questions, so ask first.

Field-Tested Play: Choose one Friday evening next season for an adults-only bonfire night. Sell 30 tickets online and stop when they're gone.

Lesson No. 11: Book groups on your slow weekdays

What they did: School trips run Tuesday to Friday at $10 to $14 a person, with one teacher free for every 15 students. In 2012, Fruit Growers News reported up to 500 children in one day. Birthday parties start at $250 for 15 guests.

Why it works: Schools fill the days families can't come. Each child also goes home with a story, and that story can bring paying parents back on a weekend.

How a small farm copies it: One 60-minute tour, a covered spot for lunch and a simple per-child price. Our farm field trips guide shows how to build it.

Field-Tested Play: Write a one-page field trip offer with a price per child and one free teacher for every 15 students. Send it to three nearby primary schools before their planning season.

Lesson No. 12: Build an alert list, and tell it the truth

What they did: Visitors can sign up for free U-Pick Alerts. After an April 2025 freeze destroyed much of the apple crop, the farm told visitors there would be no apple picking that September or October. After an April frost in 2026, a farm blog post told visitors that "about 60% of our apple crop made it through."

Ripe pick-your-own strawberry on the plant at Great Country Farms in Virginia — A ripe pick-your-own strawberry at Great Country Farms, May 2013. Alerts tell families the day picking opens. Photo: Kevin Chin (kungfu_kc) on Flickr, CC BY 2.0.

Why it works: A list you own beats any algorithm. Honest news protects trust: a family warned about a short crop comes back, but one that drives an hour to bare trees may not.

How a small farm copies it: A free email or text list with one sign-up form at the gate. Our guide to email marketing for agritourism shows what to send.

Field-Tested Play: Put a clipboard or QR code at your gate that says "Get a text when the strawberries are ready." Send your first alert the day the crop is ready.

Fit for Your Farm

"Yes" means start now, "Small" means start small, and "Later" means wait until you have regular visitors. Lessons that suit every farm type are left out of the second table.

Lesson	5 acres	50 acres	500 acres
1. Sell the feeling	Yes	Yes	Yes
2. Price the calendar	Yes	Yes	Yes
3. Gate costs the most	Yes	Yes	Yes
4. What's included	Yes	Yes	Yes
5. Small extras	Yes	Yes	Yes
6. Season pass	Small	Yes	Yes
7. Quarterly plans	Later	Small	Yes
8. Monthly festivals	Small	Yes	Yes
9. Free quiet weeks	Yes	Yes	Yes
10. Adults' night	Small	Yes	Yes
11. Weekday groups	Small	Yes	Yes
12. Alert list	Yes	Yes	Yes

Lesson	Crop	Livestock	Orchard	Dairy
5. Small extras	Flowers, produce	Feed cups	Apples, cider	Milk, ice cream
6. Season pass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
8. Monthly festivals	By harvest	By birth season	By fruit	Calf days
10. Adults' night	Yes	Small	Yes	Small

Reality Check: What Didn't Work, and What to Ask Before You Copy

Great Country has dropped things, been criticised and been hit hard by weather. That's the useful part.

Reality Check: The CSA was once the backbone of the farm, with about 1,500 members in 2012. The family still ended it in 2023 after 30 years. Be willing to drop the thing that built your farm if visitors want something else.

A campground that never happened. In 2021 the farm floated a plan for 35 cabins and 15 campsites on about 50 acres. Neighbours raised traffic, noise, light, fire-pit smoke and the nearby Appalachian Trail. The applicant said they would not pursue it.

Price complaints. The most common complaint in the reviews we read is paying to get in, then paying again for apples, feed, pumpkins and some rides. In 2012, one reviewer said they would never have paid the entry fee if it hadn't come with their CSA share.

Crowds. In October 2023, one reviewer couldn't see the pig races or get food and cider donuts, and another called the farm overcrowded. A June 2026 reviewer said it gets quite crowded when school groups visit.

Wear and tear. A July 2025 review mentioned splintered play equipment and a mini-golf course left unplayable by tree debris. Others raised overfed goats, flies and, in 2023, ticks near the play area (the farm refunded that visitor).

Weather. The April 2025 freeze wiped out September and October apple picking, and a late freeze closed peach U-pick for the 2026 Peach Fuzztival. With non-refundable tickets, a clear bad-weather policy matters.

Reality Check: Military families get free admission on fall weekdays, but not on fall weekends. One 2023 reviewer complained that meant taking leave to use it. If you offer a discount, think about who can actually use it.

Insurance, permit and zoning questions to ask

This is not legal advice. Take these questions to your lawyer, insurer and county office first.

Virginia has an agritourism liability law (Va. Code sections 3.2-6400 to 3.2-6402). It limits an operator's liability for injuries from the "inherent risks" of agritourism, but only if a warning sign is posted. The sign must start with "WARNING" or "ATTENTION" in black letters at least one inch tall, at the entrance and at the activity. The same notice must appear in written contracts. As of November 2026, these sign rules (section 3.2-6402) were last amended in 2016, so check the current text before you print a sign.

It does not cover negligence or willful or wanton disregard for safety, failing to warn of a danger you knew or should have known about, or intentional injury. See our guides on where to post agritourism warning signs and agritourism laws by state.

Great Country also uses a release at checkout. Online buyers accept that they assume the inherent risks, release the farm from claims except gross negligence or wilful misconduct, and agree to pay any emergency medical costs. A parent accepts for minors. Whether a release like that holds up varies by state, so read do liability waivers protect your farm?

Questions to ask:

Does my state have an agritourism law, and what exact sign wording does it require?
Does my policy cover a jumping pillow, wagon rides, animal contact and night events? Our guide on agritourism insurance coverage lists what to ask.
Do I need liquor liability cover and a licence for an adults' night?
Does my zoning allow events, camping or a play area, and are there caps on events? Loudoun County is reviewing rural rules on events, noise and traffic for farm wineries and breweries in 2025 and 2026.

Your 30-60-90 Day Copy-This Plan

Starting from zero? Do one box at a time.

Days 1 to 30: Price and sell ahead

☐ Write your "what's included" and "extra" lists
☐ Set an online price $2 below your gate price
☐ Add a lower weekday price
☐ Start a free alert list at the gate
☐ Ask your insurer the questions above

Days 31 to 60: Add the extras

☐ Add three small add-ons under $5, at the gate and at online checkout
☐ Name one festival weekend around your next crop
☐ Post your state's warning sign, if it has one
☐ Add a liability release to your online checkout, checked by a lawyer
☐ Invite one local group in free during a quiet week

Days 61 to 90: Build the comeback

☐ Test a season pass with 20 founding families
☐ Plan next season's four festivals
☐ Email your list a week before each event
☐ Ask every guest for a Google review
☐ Count visitors and spend each day so you know what works

Copy Great Country Farms in 90 days checklist with price, extras and comeback steps — Your 30-60-90 day plan to copy Great Country Farms. Not legal or insurance advice.

A Note From My Own Farm

At my durian farm, Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia, we welcome visitors from all over the world, and many companies send their staff and management to us. Our durian seasons run roughly December to February and June to August, so we can't sell the crop all year. One of our most reliable incomes is a WhatsApp list of loyal customers who buy whenever durians are available. It works like Great Country's U-Pick Alerts and season pass: build the list once, and it brings people back every season.

FAQ: Great Country Farms

How much does Great Country Farms cost?

In 2026, day admission is $10 to $18 a person. In October, online tickets are $12 a child and $14 an adult on weekdays, or $14 and $16 on weekends, plus a $1 fee. The gate charges $16 on weekdays and $18 on weekends for everyone 3 and up. Children 2 and under are free; produce costs extra.

How did Great Country Farms start?

Mark and Kate Zurschmeide bought a 186-acre farm near Bluemont in 1993 and started a 50-member CSA. In 1994 they opened on weekends for pick-your-own and farm animals. The CSA grew to about 1,500 members before the family ended it in 2023 to focus on on-farm family experiences.

Who owns Great Country Farms?

The Zurschmeide family. Mark is "Chief Farm Operator", Kate is "Farmer of Fun", and Mark's sister Debbie Zurschmeide-Schoeb runs guest experience. Andrew Taylor is general manager, and Hailey Zurschmeide is Chief Vision Officer across the family's businesses.

Is the Great Country Farms season pass worth it?

The Fan of the Farm Season Pass costs $399 a year for your immediate household. For a family of two adults and two children buying online for October weekends ($64 a visit), it pays for itself on the 7th visit. Families who also buy produce get 25% off, which brings break-even sooner.

How far is Great Country Farms from Washington DC?

About 56 miles, according to Washingtonian. Family guides put the drive at roughly an hour to an hour and a quarter, depending on traffic.

Can a small farm copy Great Country Farms?

Yes, in small steps. Online tickets cheaper than the gate, a weekday price, a "what's included" list, a $3 add-on and an alert list cost little and work on 5 acres. Save big builds like a cider barn for later.

Your Next Step

Want to know which of these 12 lessons fits your farm first? The Farm Readiness Quiz takes a few minutes and points you to your best starting move.

Take the Free Farm Readiness Quiz

Want more ideas like the $3 feed cup and the season pass? My free ebook, 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm, gives you 150 ways to earn more from the land and equipment you already own, sorted by category so you can find the ones that fit your farm. Each idea shows how hard it is, how you might price it and what it could earn, so you stop relying only on unpredictable harvests.

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P.S. Remember that truck full of warm produce? Kate feared it would cost them their members. Instead the members stayed and grew with the farm, and 30 years later the family's manager said visitors come for the feeling. Your farm already has that feeling. Start charging for it.

Written by Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This case study is for education only and is not legal, tax or insurance advice. Prices were checked on 8 November 2026 and can change; always confirm on the farm's own website.