Our Focus
Farm Stay USA® is here to foster support for farms, ignite curiosity in travelers, and cultivate connection between the two. Period.
Since 2010, we have been at the forefront of establishing farm stays as a distinct and immersive travel niche in the United States. Our initial mission was to introduce and popularize the term and concept of farm stays to both American travelers and, surprisingly, even farmers themselves.
While we have achieved significant progress, the term has unfortunately been diluted and misinterpreted as it gained wider recognition. Therefore, we are now embarking on the next phase of our journey: amplifying the genuine farm stay experience to set our members apart from simply a place to stay in the country. We are passionate about sharing the real farm stay stories and why we think it is so important to tell them, for both the farmer and the guest.
What’s a Farm Stay?
While farmers markets bring fresh food to the city, farm stays invite guests to stay overnight in the country and experience the lifestyle – for a night, for a weekend, or more. Here at Farm Stay USA you will find working farms (livestock, crops, flowers, or trees) , ranches, vineyards, and animal sanctuaries – from small homesteads to large operations and everything in between. Lodging ranges from rustic to luxury; from tents to inns. Some farms allow help with chores, meeting the animals and egg collecting; others only observation. All encourage taking a deep breath (and a nap!).
How It All Started
A long time ago, in a desert city far, far away, two romantically deluded urbanites decided they wanted the “simple life”, so they bought a sheep farm in the Pacific Northwest. The delusion ended quite abruptly after several attempts at livestock diversification that could never compete with “big ag”.
In search of sustainability, they decided to emulate the European agritourism business model of a ‘farm stay’. This switch in models had unintended benefits: meaningful connections made by sharing their home, food, animals, unique landscape, and hard-earned knowledge with people once like them – city folk.
Their success was the impetus that spurred the creation of Farm Stay USA: a place where travelers could easily access a directory of immersive farm experiences in the U.S. The rest, as they say, is history.
(If you want to read about the start to their sometimes hilarious and often times hard-knocks journey into farming, check out their published ‘farmoir’, Country Grit).
