Dufferin County is home to good food and great farmers, and for one day each fall a select few Dufferin farms open their doors to the public.
This year’s Dufferin Town and Country Farm Tour will take place on Sept. 29 in central Dufferin.
For 18 years Dufferin farmers have invited the public onto their farms.
This is an opportunity to see agricultural production in action, participate in educational activities, talk with farmers and learn how food is grown or raised, harvested and marketed.
Rain or shine, it’s always a great day for the family to meet local farmers on their own farms, officials say.
The Farm Tour provides an opportunity to see farming as it happens and understand more about how food gets to the dinner plate.
“This is one of my favourite days of the year. I always learn so much about our local farmers and come away with such respect and appreciation for them,” commented a past Farm Tour visitor.
With this year’s host farms, visitors will get to see milking goats, a market garden and greenhouse, sheep, new and antique farm equipment, heavy horses, purebred Herefords (beef cattle), Jersey cattle (dairy) and much more.
Dufferin is home to over 520 farms covering almost 50 per cent of the land in Dufferin County. Agriculture is the largest economic contributor in Dufferin.
In 2013, Dufferin County farms produced $25.6 million of beef, $16.9 million of dairy and $15.4 million worth of potatoes, among many other products.
The tour is self-guided and is free with a donation to local food banks. The tour passport is available on the Dufferin Farm Tour website or pick one up in person at Orangeville Visitor Information.
There will be additional activities at each farm, including the opportunity to purchase fresh produce and fresh food, so bringing cash and a cooler is encouraged.
Visit www.dufferinfarmtour.com to sign up for tour updates.
To find the tour on Facebook visit facebook.com/DufferinFarmTour, Twitter at @DufferinFarms and Instagram at @DufferinFarmTour,
The tour runs Sept. 29 from 9am to 4pm, rain or shine.
For more information contact learn@dufferinfarmtour.com, or call 519-939-7486.
