Bringing visitors to the farm can be a great way for farmers to add income, but it comes with additional responsibilities. Protecting the safety and health of farm visitors is essential to providing a great experience and protecting your assets. Learn how to plan and prepare for hosting visitors to your farm whether it’s to enjoy a corn maze, apple orchard, pumpkins patch, petting zoo or any other activity you might think of!

If you will be serving or selling food on the farm, you may need a license. Check with the Department of Health and Department of Agriculture in your state. Regulations can be confusing but are in place to keep everyone safe. Talk to your local agencies ahead of time and avoid fines or forced closures.

People from the cities are not exposed to the same germs as farm workers so they might be more likely to get ill from germs found on the farm. Infections passed from animals to humans can make people sick and sometimes cause lifelong problems. Make sure that visits to your attraction won’t make anyone sick by providing plenty of well-stocked handwashing stations.

UMASH, in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, has developed a variety of resources to help farmers and agritourism operators keep their visitors safe.

For more information and resources on agritourism visit: umash.umn.edu/agritourism

Watch the embedded video below, or download mp4 (right click and save file).

This video is provided for informational and educational purposes only. The video contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of CDC/NIOSH or any other funders.