Agritourism Allowed Pt 2
I’m Bob Larson. A change of heart from Governor Jay Inslee is allowing corn mazes, pumpkin farms, Christmas tree farms, and other agritourism businesses across the state to restart their operations.
Tom Davis, with the Washington Farm Bureau, says its great news because for these smaller, family owned businesses, this is their livelihood …
DAVIS … “The bottom line is, these family farms they are farmers that operate these agritourism opportunities, but they’re also business women, business men that have to pay the bills.”
That’s because, Davis says they’ve already made the investment …
DAVIS … “You know, they planted these corn mazes months ago and then were told very late into August that they weren’t going to be allowed to operate. It’s just been devastating for these operators.”
Last week’s decision, Davis says has to be a huge relief …
DAVIS … “And, so it’s the emotional toll, I can’t even imagine, so thankful that they’re able to actually be able to operate and maintain the economic viability of their farms which was in questions up until yesterday.”
Davis says the State’s heart was in the right place, but they should have asked for help …
DAVIS … “And, it would have been nice had they called in experts into the conversations much earlier in the process because I think it could have sped things up and it would have made them much more realistic than what we ended up with.”
Indoor activities like haunted houses, bouncy houses, and animal petting are still off limits.
Listen tomorrow for more.
