Ever since tourists have been venturing up the Hudson River, farms have been part of the draw. In the late 1800s, farm boarding houses were an escape from the city heat; in the 1930s and 40s, farms were a haven in stressful times. In midcentury, a wave of farm nostalgia gave rise to farm-adjacent petting zoos and dude ranches, and by the `80s, bed-and-breakfasts sprouted as the latest twist on farm boarding.
Around that time, the term “agritourism” came into common use—and in 2022, according to the state comptroller’s agriculture report, 947 of the state’s farms took in over $55 million in income from public-facing hospitality, from u-picks and hayrides to farm dinners and fancy dress events. In the Hudson Valley, 181 of the region’s 2,280 farms welcome visitors with some type of what is also called agritainment.
At Kelder’s Farm in Kerhonkson, visitors are greeted by Gnome Chomsky, for a time the world’s tallest garden home at over 13 feet. Chomsky may have been dethroned (though he still ranks third in the world) but the agritainment good times at Kelder’s continue to flourish, the latest chapter in a long story. “We’ve been farming here since 1779, and throughout history, my forebears changed as they needed,” says Chris Kelder, who bought out his parents in 1994. “Rye for paper, chickens for meat and eggs, dairy. When my wife and I got back from college in the late `80s, we added some strawberries and invited people to come and pick them, then added raspberries and pumpkins.”
In 1999, the decision was made to end the dairy operation and open a farm market and petting zoo on Route 209. “We found that people really enjoyed getting back to their roots and enjoying the outdoors, getting away from their computers. So we evolved by adding things every year to try to stay fresh and exciting. Hopefully we’re providing people with an enjoyable, healthy outlet.”
Kelder’s currently offers 30 on-farm attractions, from the petting zoo and corn maze to a jumping pillow and a candy cannon, and people are invited to pick whatever crop is in season for themselves. Kelder says it’s always fun to watch it dawn on a newbie that, yes, root vegetables come out of the ground dirty. This year’s updates include a relocated and refurbished petting zoo and a corn barn for kids, akin to a giant sandbox but with cool, silky kernels to dig in and pile up.
It’s impossible to completely quantify, but Kelder credits the farm’s evolution as something of a playland with its continued flourishing. “We’re making a living,” he says, “and my son and nephew are back in the business now. It feels sustainable. It all works hand-in-hand, giving people an extra reason to come here—in an age when they can get most of what we sell at a supermarket—helps us stay relevant.”
Besides helping the bottom line, agritainment helps Kelder’s create local jobs, and Kelder says lots of people whose first high school or college job was helping with the farm fun now bring their own kids back for a taste. And it’s just satisfying. “We want people to be taken back to their own childhood memories with something authentic, and leave with smiles on their faces.”
Farm to Fork on the Farm
At Soons Orchards in New Hampton, the fourth generation has been leaning into agritainment in their own way. “I couldn’t tell you the exact date the apple and pumpkin picking and the hayrides started; it’s been a long time,” says Sharon Soons. “I started the on-farm dinners in 2009. We have a fantastic CIA-trained chef, Anthony Acevedo, and he cooks in front of everyone and then my dad gives a behind-the-scenes farm update, which is fun. We have cocktail hour in the taproom, and then we have family-style tables in the farm store, with everything just moved out of the way. We typically get over 50 people. I didn’t realize at first that my whole family had thought I was nuts, but that was a long time ago now. At first, I was hustling to sell tickets, but once word got out, we now sell out 10 minutes after we post one.”
Farm dinners break even and raise awareness, but Soons says the fun of welcoming diners to a farmy feast is its own reward. “It’s important to me to keep it reasonable, which $75 absolutely is for the quality you get,” says Soons. “And if chasing money is your first concern, farming is probably not the right business for you anyway.”
Planting Seeds of Change
Seed Song Farm is located within the Kingston city limits, and farmer Creek Iverson welcomes about 850 kids a year to farm camp. “We’re evolving into a sort of agroecology community education center, where you can come and walk interpretive trails and see the regenerative farming we do,” Iverson says. “We have a Farm and Nature Detective Trail that kids and families can take when they come to our public events. We started the camp back around 2018 with four kids, and by the end of the season we had 12, and it’s evolved to include low-income and immigrant kids on scholarships who get free breakfast and lunch.”
Iverson’s background, before farming, was in progressive education; he tries never to miss a chance to spread the good word about the precious Earth. “Starting in April, our events happen just about every weekend. We just had a really great maple sugaring tour; people get to visit every part of a small, homegrown operation and then have a pancake lunch, and there’s live music. On May 3 we’re celebrating Pete Seeger’s birthday with lots of that.”
Iverson says that regenerative agriculture blends beautifully with education and with just plain fun. “We’re showing and teaching the very sustainable methods we use, and also just giving families a fun day out,” says Iverson. “Our land has such a story to tell: the Esopus Munsee were here planting the three sisters [corn, beans, and squash] together, we were the breadbasket of the American Revolution, growing grain. All the people who were considered property who worked the farms, all the immigrants.”
Building connections between people and land is something Iverson takes seriously, as an officially designated environmental center in an underserved area, he notes, Seed Song is the closest farm and nature experience a lot of people have, and he welcomes us all to enjoy it at whatever level fits.
“The same people who come pumpkin picking may not come to a Native American heritage or mushroom log inoculation workshop, but they all get to see how sustainable farming works,” he says. “If you just come to pick pumpkins or hear some live music, you’ll experience a little of what I think of as guerilla education. We sneak it in. And at the very least, you’ll have a beautiful day.”
Related Stories
This article appears in April 2025.
