This week's news roundup: agritourism is flourishing

Each week's agritourism news seems to gather around a certain theme.  This week, the theme that's popping up in local papers around the U.S. and Canada is that agritourism is flourishing even in the recession, as agritourism farms are a good source of close-to-home, affordable family entertainment.  Agritourism has been in the news a lot this week!  I'll just give a roundup of linked headlines from around the country:

Morris agritourism weathering recession (New Jersey)

Area's agritourism offering low-cost options for entertainment (Missouri)

N.D. agritourism just getting started

Tourism sprouts from agricultural roots (B.C., Canada)

Durham pushes importance of agritourism (New York)


Agritourism workshops are also taking place in a few states:

Agritourism workshop set for interested entrepreneurs (Virginia)

Agritourism program planned for Nov. 19 (Missouri)

Seminar to offer 'food for thought' on local foods, agri-tourism (Indiana)

County plans for future farming (North Carolina)

And, because agritourism is so new, legal barriers often pose problems to farmers who want to bring people to their farms.  A couple of articles discuss changes in legislation that are making agritourism more accessible to farmers:

Wineries could mean windfall for local farmers (Maryland)

Growing an industry: legislation may boost agritourism (Oklahoma)