2024 report from the state comptroller’s office<\/a>, agritourism revenue in New York jumped nearly 80 percent between 2012 and 2022. Nearly 950 farms now earn a combined $55 million a year through pumpkin patches, corn mazes, farm tours and festivals.<\/p>\n ![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758192879_374_\"\/)
<\/p>\n
From a report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller<\/p>\n
From 2012-2022, agritourism and recreation experienced the fastest rate of growth for farms throughout the state.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s still a small share compared to food sales, but Pashow said the income is often essential. That was especially true during the pandemic, when families sought safe outdoor activities and farms scrambled to expand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always feel like agritourism is not for the faint of heart,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have customers from all walks of life coming onto your property. It takes someone who enjoys communicating with the public and sharing their farm experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
From roadside stand to family destination<\/b><\/p>\n
On another farm east of Rochester, Dale Wickham is that someone.
\u201cIt’s amazing to see people light up,\u201d he said. \u201cTo touch something with your hand, to pick an apple, it’s a really cool thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Dale](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758192880_424_\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Dale Wickham a co-owner of Wickham Farms, stands for a portrait on Mon, Sept 1, 2025 in Penfield, NY.<\/p>\n
Wickham\u2019s parents started with a roadside pumpkin stand in the 1980s. The farm moved to its current location in 2019, and now spans 120 acres, employs about 250 seasonal workers, and draws more than 100,000 visitors each year, according to Wickham.<\/p>\n
Families pay for entry\u2014 and sometimes purchase season passes \u2014 for wagon rides, apple cannons, and themed play zones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll always be trying to improve,\u201d Wickham said. \u201cBut while we do that, we want to stay true to our agricultural roots. That\u2019s at the core of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Jess](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758192880_692_\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Jess Robert plays with a bubble maker at Wickham Farms on Mon, Sept 1, 2025 in Penfield, NY.<\/p>\n
For Webster resident Laura Karger, those roots and new experiences keep her family coming back.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy kids love it. The corn pit, the zip line, the big slide, the jumping pillow,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s great that they keep adding things that work for both older and younger kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Competing for free time<\/b><\/p>\n
With so many farms entering the agritourism space, competition is becoming fierce. Stokoe said she\u2019s not just in competition with other pumpkin patches and orchards, but also Rochester\u2019s festival scene, youth sports, and other weekend events.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re competing for people\u2019s free time,\u201d Stokoe said.<\/p>\n
Back at the Roo Ranch, she tucked baby Arlo into a pouch slung over her shoulder and looked out across her family’s thousands of acres.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a great life,\u201d she said. \u201cWho else gets to look out your back door and see your Christmas trees, your farmland, your heritage? It\u2019s a good life. Hard sometimes, but it\u2019s a good life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Suzanne Stokoe stood on the edge of her family\u2019s 3,500-acre farm in Scottsville, New York, cradling a baby…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":236179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-236178","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115224934452690155","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}