The Arkansas Farm Trail is back for its second season. It’s a program by the Arkansas Farm Bureau, created as a way to bring consumers directly to local food farms throughout the state.
John McMahon is the director of commodity economics and activities at the Arkansas Farm Bureau office in Little Rock. He’s also the organizer, founder and “brainchild” of the Arkansas Farm Trail. He says he likes to call the first year of the trail its pilot program.
“We sent out feelers within the Arkansas Farm Bureau membership to see if any of our farmers within the membership were interested in participating in the Arkansas Farm Trail program in its first year. We kind of wanted to keep it small. Again, it was a pilot program.
“We had 22 farms apply within Farm Bureau already, and all 22 were accepted within our requirements and parameters for farms. Those requirements last year were that you had to be a Farm Bureau member to apply, and you had to grow as well as sell a product on your farm.”
McMahon says the program was created with two things in mind — promoting local food and the farmers who make it, as well as educating the public about where their food comes from.
“We hope to grow the program in the years to come and just try to get as many farmers in the program as we possibly can across the state. Right now, we have one farmer in Northwest Arkansas, a handful in central Arkansas, and two down in southern Arkansas. We have some sprinkled throughout the west, but we still have some open corners.
“But we do want to capture as many producers as possible who want to participate in the program. This gives them an opportunity to have Farm Bureau help market them and their farms. It’s no cost to them other than the $40 annual fee to become a Farm Bureau member. We give them a giant marketing package, which includes signage that has Arkansas Farm Trail and their farm’s name on it. They get a bunch of stickers, koozies, T-shirts — it’s a great opportunity.”
He says they’ve had farms of all shapes and sizes participate this year, including a strawberry farm based in Cabot.
“They have a large consumer base, but we’ve already gotten reports back that they’ve had customers this year that they’ve never seen or met before just because of the passport program. We’ve had other farms that are smaller and just starting to grow, and they’ve seen an influx of participants because of the passport.”
The passport is a sheet that lists all of the participating farms. Consumers stamp these to receive prizes when visiting and purchasing an item from more than one location. You can get these passports at the farms themselves, print one off the internet, or get one from your county’s Arkansas Farm Bureau office.
“We have an office in all 75 counties in the state. You can go to that office and pick up a passport as well.”
There are a few different prize levels — three stamps, five, 15, and all 22. If you get at least three stamps, you receive a T-shirt, a koozie and a sticker.
“The next level will be five stamps. You’ll get a rain gauge, a garden spade, a tumbler-type metal cup, as well as the T-shirt, koozie, and sticker.
“The 10-level stamp package, I believe, is a gift card to any of the participating Farm Trail farms for $25. And then the next level would be an Arctic cooler with the Farm Trail logo on it, along with the T-shirt and others. And then the 22-stamp level — the highest level — the first three people that turn in their passport with all 22 stamps will win a fire pit, which is actually custom made by the Arkansas FFA students.”
McMahon says the requirements for this season are the same as last year’s, with one new rule.
“We’re not accepting any farms that are just selling out of their private residence, their home. You’ll have to have some sort of established — whether it’s a brick-and-mortar building, a farm shop, or some sort of farm stand. If that farm stand is a tailgate tent with a table, that’s perfectly fine.
“Any farm, as long as you’re growing and selling on the farm, can be a U-pick operation. It can be a farm stand where people just walk up and buy a product. It can be an actual store that’s on the farm. As long as you’re growing and selling a product on the farm, you’re eligible to apply for the program.”
When it comes to the importance of supporting local farmers, McMahon says education is the most critical factor.
“As tough times as it is for the ag community and the ag economy, promoting our farmers and supporting them, the people who grow our food. I try not to assume much, but I think I’m safe in assuming that we all like to eat.
“So, we really should support those who grow our food for us because they work really hard day in and day out. They don’t get weekends, they don’t get holidays, and they work 24/7, seven days a week, to provide a good quality product. So, any help, any support we can give to our farmers here in the state of Arkansas, but also across the country, is much needed.”
You can find more information on the Arkansas Farm Trail and how to participate when you visit farmtrails.com.
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