As rising costs continue to put pressure on agricultural operations in Missouri and around the country, some farmers and ranchers are getting creative to bring in extra income.
USDA data show Missouri had about 88,000 farms in 2022, down more than 7,000 from five years earlier. A growing trend known as "farm stays" allows rural property owners to open their land to visitors.
Lynette Ralph is a former nurse who owns Catch the Dream, a horse ranch in Pacific. She said that after a health issue forced her to retire from nursing, she needed a new source of income, so she turned her property of more than 40 years into an Airbnb offering horse riding lessons.
"I prayed about it, got an idea. I used my savings to build a guest cabin, and while it was being built, I gave free riding lessons to anybody that I could drag in off the street to develop the riding program," Ralph recounted.
As interest in farm rentals grows, American Farmland Trust and Airbnb are launching the Farm to Stay Grant Program. About 25 to 30 grants of up to $10,000 will help working farmers and ranchers create or expand similar income streams. Applications open in late November.
Ashley Brucker, senior manager of grantmaking for the American Farmland Trust, said the program is not limited to farmers and ranchers offering overnight stays. They can also create experiences that make sense for their operations and bring in extra income.
"This could also be experiences like a farm-to-table dinner, maybe a local cooking class, a flower picking session, or a you-pick at a blueberry farm," Brucker outlined. "This is really a broad range of opportunities."
For Ralph, who said horse feed costs are up at least 30%, the additional income has become a lifeline.
"If I didn't have the income to feed the horses and to pay the taxes, I honestly would have to sell the property, and I don't know what I'd do, but I'd have to go live somewhere else," Ralph acknowledged.
Missouri News Service originally published this story.
