Farm Tour gives a closer look at local agriculture

Visitors can get a hands-on feel for Wooster area farms as part of the Wayne County Farm Tour, coming up Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 13 from 1-6 p.m.

The tour is sponsored by the Wayne County Farm Bureau and is a self-guided driving tour of Southwestern Wayne County. Included are Franklin, Wooster, Clinton and Plain townships with stops at both family farms and businesses centered on serving agriculture in the region. The tour is free and open to the public.

Wayne County Farm Bureau organization director Lindsay Shoup said it’s “an opportunity to tour a farm, learn about agriculture, and hear about how food and other agricultural products are produced straight from the farmer. In this day and age where many people go to the internet for answers, some of which are not true, this tour gives folks a chance to go out and ask questions for themselves.”

The tour will begin at Hillside Feed and Hay Supply on Reedsburg Road in Wooster. The store is a new addition to the local agricultural economy and opened earlier this year. Visitors can see the Lingle family’s 50-head herd of goats.

Also just outside Wooster on Old Lincoln Way is the second stop on the tour, Lincoln Way Vineyards winery, which uses both grapes from the Borton family 6-acre vineyards and imported varieties. Vineyard wines are available for tasting for a small fee on Saturday.

Next on the tour, visitors can spend time among the large collection of seldom-seen antique and primitive farm equipment housed at the JR Acres Farm on Old Columbus Road. Owner Ron Grosjean has been collecting such equipment for decades and often uses the implements from the collection in caring for the farm’s crops, cattle and sheep herds.

Next there is the Zido Valley Dairy on Jefferson Road in Wooster. The 670 head of dairy cattle and 100 acres of corn and alfalfa fields will give a close look at an operating dairy farm, co-owned by John and Lois Douglass and Josh and Sarah Zimmerly.

At this stop visitors will have the opportunity to tour the farm as well as visit multiple vendors from the dairy industry. Wayne County dairy youth will sell milkshakes, and the Cheezylicious food truck will have sandwiches available for purchase.

Next on Moreland Road is the Moreland Fruit Farm, open Saturday only. Another relatively new business on the tour, the farm began operation in 2018 under the current ownership. Before that the farm had been in operation for more than three decades under Fred and Marilyn Finney and was originally founded in the 1930s. A corn maze and a petting zoo will be available.

The next stop is the Moreland Historical Society on James Road. A barn dating to just after the Civil War still stands on the farm, originally laid out in 1825. This stop has a variety of activities available including the Cedar Valley Cloggers, a Smithville Stars vintage base ball game, a kiddie tractor pull, a petting zoo, hay rides and a John Schmid concert both days at 4:30 p.m. Numerous displays will focus on farm life in the 1800s and early 1900s, according to farm owners Gail and Gwen Miller.

The last on the tour is the Green Field Farms Co-op on Fredericksburg Road. This stop will bring an understanding of the farm-to-market process. Also available at the final stop is a food tent to benefit the Martin’s Creek Valley School, pony rides, pumpkin painting and a bounce house. All of the Green Field Farms products will be available at the Farm Market tent with fresh vegetables and maple syrup.

Participating farms and businesses have planned many activities and demonstrations for visitors. Food trucks, snacks and refreshments will be available at most stops along the tour.

Shoup said the tour will move to Southeastern Wayne County in 2020. “We begin looking for host stops in the winter, and we welcome anyone who has a farm or agricultural business that is interested in being on the tour for next year to call the Wooster Farm Bureau office.”

A full guide for the entire Wayne County Farm Tour is available at www.ofbf.org with complete addresses for all stops (two are scheduled for Saturday only), a map, driving directions and details for each. Further information also is available by calling the Farm Bureau office at 330-263-7456.