OHIO — It’s no secret that farming is hard. The days are long; the work is strenuous, and there is never a guarantee that you’ll make a profit. However, it’s a passion that people love.
Farmers are always looking for ways to connect to their customers and find addition revenue streams.
A hot topic for agritourism these days is the role RV campers can play in helping to give farmers and landowners a financial boost.
Christians Rudolf owns Tanglewood Farm in Fayetteville, Ohio.
She’s 84, runs the farm by herself, and gets along great with her ten alpacas, but she’s not necessarily always alone.
For four years she’s welcomed RV campers on her land through a unique RV membership program called Harvest Hosts.
“Sometimes they bring children and grandchildren. I let them ride the tractor, I let them feed the alpacas, so they always have a good time,” Rudolf said.
Harvest Hosts CEO Joel Holland said there are more than 11 million RV owners in the country.
“Ten percent of households own an RV. That population is even higher in Ohio. Ohio is a big RV-ing state,” said Holland.
Sixty miles up the road in New Carlisle, Ohio, Ed Evans owns the Evans Family Ranch.
“I’ve been in the cattle business for, I’d say, 20 years. Right now it’s right at 1,500 acres. We’ve cut the size of the herd down to adult animals about 170, in the 300 range altogether,” he said.
It’s a much larger operation, but just like Rudolf and her alpacas, Evans has found himself enjoying the perks of hosting RV campers.
“A big part of our program is that members, when they visit a business they usually purchase the produce, or buy the wine, or do a farm tour or some sort of visit, and our members will spend 50 million dollars this year directly with the small businesses in our program,” Holland said.
“One of our first guests came in and bought steaks for the evening for their dinner and before they left, they bought $600 worth of meat. So it was very helpful, much of a blessing, and that seems to repeat itself over and over again,” said Evans.
From a kids’ area, to a bar, and store, when Evans has guests on a weekly basis, they can go almost anywhere on the property.
Produce for purchase is grown on site, and even breads are baked fresh on the farm.
“It’s really nice. I’ve met a lot of nice people and they always purchase stuff from me, so that’s a good thing too,” said Rudolf as she talked about her barn full of alpaca fiber and fleece.
A standard membership costs an RV owner about $100 a year and they have unlimited access to more than 5,000 hosts across the country, including 2,000 farms just like the ones owned by Evans and Rudolf.
“Businesses in Ohio, the entire Ohio winery association, has endorsed Harvest Hosts as a good program for their wineries. So we love the state of Ohio,” Holland said.
Ohio specifically has more than 300 spots.
Farmers have earned up to $30,000 a year by RV campers buying what they offer on-site.
“The people we met have been incredible. We’ve met people from California to New York and we really enjoy having them here,” said Evans.
“I enjoy doing it. It keeps me going because if I just sat in a rocking chair, I think I’d. Be dead by now. My goal is to be 100 or more. So it keeps me going,” added Rudolf.
The concept for Harvest Hosts is modeled after popular RV programs in Europe.
Farmers aren’t bogged down by fees or contracts and they don’t pay anything to be a host.