Agritourism blossoms in Robertson County
Looking for a barn wedding locale, a place to go zip lining or fresh apple cider?
The Robertson County agritourism scene has you covered with Red River Farms, Honeysuckle Hill Farm and Shade Tree Orchard and Farm offering different specialties as well as family fun in spades.
The farms also play a huge role in local tourism and give the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce the opportunity to promote their yearly events, Vice President of Chamber Operations Jordan Osborne said.
“Red River, Honeysuckle Hill and Shade Tree Farm and Orchard bring visitors to Robertson County and help tell the story of ‘Where does my food come from’ to an ever growing population of uninformed consumers,” Osborne said.
Each farm helps educate students and community members on the role agriculture plays in the local economy, she said.
“This form of education is vital to the preservation of rural farm land,” Osborne added.
Tyler and Margo Sneed have been running Red River Farms in Springfield since 2012. They produce tobacco, grain crops, corn, soy bean, wheat, fruits and vegetables on 70 acres, Tyler Sneed said
In 2015, the couple built an event barn and were the first to get married in it, they said.
The idea to turn the farm into a wedding venue came after suggestions from friends and the rise in popularity of barn weddings, he said.
“We picked up on it and we just decided it would be a good time,” he said. “We actually booked our first wedding before we ever even built the barn."
Besides being a full-time working farm and a wedding venue in the spring and summer, the Sneeds host several special events throughout the year. They host barn shows twice a year, a bridal fair once a year, a family Easter egg hunt in the spring and a family fun day in July, they said.
“Our farm is built on family,” he said. “We’re all about family and any type of family events,” Tyler Sneed said.
Red River Farms was also the first to host a farm to table dinner in Robertson County. The first dinner was in 2014 and featured Red River Farms’ produce and other local farmers’ produce, he said.
The goal of the dinner was “to support and promote the local farmer,” Margo Sneed said. The proceeds benefited Robertson County Future Farmers of America chapters, she said.
Honeysuckle Hill Farm in Springfield has been in business for 15 years and specializes in kid-friendly activities, Owner Jeff Alsup said.
It is the largest tourism attraction in Robertson County, Osborne added.
“We have three business lines, we’re a fall festival, we’re a haunted attraction and we have an adventure park,” Alsup said.
The adventure park includes a rock wall, bungee trampolines, ziplines and a summer tubing attraction that’s opening this spring, he said, noting that once the tubing run is ready, it will be the first and only of its kind in the state.
“We started as a pumpkin patch with a hay ride and it evolved into what it is today by just thinking ‘what do kinds want to play with,’” he said.
The farm produces pumpkin and corn.
It's October fall festival includes a haunted house and woods along with a variety of concession stands and activities for all ages, Alsup said.
Educational tours for students start in April, and students can learn about plant life, rocks and minerals in a hands-on experience, such as planting a plant or panning for gemstones in the farm's gemstone mine, he said.
About 15,000 students visit per year, Alsup added.
The best part about owning the farm is seeing smiling faces on the kids and parents as they’re making memories, he said.
Shade Tree Orchard and Farm in Adams started out as a personal orchard in 1995, when owner Tom Head decided to plant some apple trees, he said.
Head and his wife Sarah opened the orchard to the public in 2008 once they started producing more apples than they needed, Sarah Head said.
“It was a hobby and kind of turned into a business,” Tom Head said.
Shade Tree has beef cattle, apples, peaches, blueberries and blackberries, his wife said.
The couple started hosting school tours in 2009, offering students a four-part field trip that includes a wagon ride, educational talks about apples, apple-themed crafts and an apple cider demonstration, Sarah Head said.
Daycares, churches and senior groups have also visited the farm and orchard, she said.
“We try to appeal to all ages,” she added.
In an effort to expand their season, the Heads have added a spring festival to their fall festival. They plan to have a quilt show and vendors, music and food, Sarah Head said.
Unlike Honeysuckle Hill and Red River Farms, Shade Tree is known for their apple cider slushies and fresh honey from their beehive, Sarah Head said.
The three farms co-exist in Robertson County because they are each different in their own way, she said.
“Even though we’re all three agritourism, we all three are so different,” she said. “I think that’s why we coexist so nicely…we all have a different angle."
Reach Brittney Jackson at bljackson@gannett.com or 615-384-3567.
