Farmers offering on-site vacation rentals, turning to tourism to combat rising costs of agricultural operations

As farmers across the country face rising costs, some are turning to tourism to bring in money beyond their traditional agricultural operations.At Lynette Ralph’s horse ranch in Missouri, vacationers can spend the night in a small cabin, wake up to views of the horses and get a firsthand look at ranch life.Guests can explore the property, pet and feed the horses or pay extra for horsemanship and riding lessons.“You have access to the farm life, the horses, the barns,” Ralph said.For Ralph, welcoming guests is about more than offering a unique getaway.The income from offering short-term vacation rentals on site has allowed her to keep her ranch operating.“If I didn’t have the short-term rentals associated with the riding program, I would have to probably liquidate, sell the horses, sell the property,” she said.Airbnb and American Farmland Trust are launching a new grant program to help farmers earn extra income through tourism, the organizations told Fox News exclusively.According to USDA data cited in Airbnb’s report, households associated with intermediate farms, a category of smaller operations where farming is the principal operator’s primary occupation, reported a median loss of approximately $2,800 from farming in 2024.David Haight, vice president of programs at American Farmland Trust, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting farmland and supporting farmers, said finding additional sources of income could help some farm families navigate financial challenges.“Many families are looking for ways to diversify income, and so bringing people out to the farm or ranch for some is a way to help bring in other dollars,” Haight said.Demand for farm stays is growing, according to Airbnb, which reported that online searches increased 61% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year.The company says the typical farm stay host earned approximately $8,000 in 2025, while U.S.

farm stay hosts collectively earned nearly $120 mil...