Saving the Family Farm

Just about everybody has seen the movie “City Slickers”. It’s a favorite at our house. The main theme revolves around three grown men trying to find themselves and retain their youth, and ending up on a dude ranch. The underlying story is about how a couple manages to keep their ranch and make a living by diversifying into the tourist trade. Over fifty thousand farms and ranches across the nation supplemented their income through farm based recreation activities in 2008. Dude ranches were among the most popular drawing visitors from as far away as Europe. It takes a lot of grit, determination, and creativity in the effort to save the family farm or ranch. For many, that first thought of turning a ranch that’s been in the family for generations into a tourist attraction is met with a sense of trepidation, but that’s quickly replaced with the realization that not only are they managing to make ends meet and stay on the ancestral home but they’re giving visitors the opportunity of a lifetime, one that those who are raised on a farm or ranch may often take for granted, the chance to experience nature and sustainable living up close and personal.