Agritourism on the rise.

• Author: Kretschman, Bob
• Position: TRAVEL

Colorado farmers and ranchers can have a difficult time making ends meet by only producing crops and livestock. Many are turning to agritourism--providing an authentic farm "experience" to tourists.

"It's about more than the food or the product. It's about the experience," said Brent Warner, an agritourism expert with the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture who was on hand for the Governor's 2007 Colorado Tourism Conference, held in Grand Junction in October.

The event attracted ranchers like Duke Phillips, who runs a guest operation on the 87,000-acre Chico Basin Ranch that he and his wife, Janet, lease southeast of Colorado Springs. The couple began inviting people to the ranch to teach them about ranching, horsemanship, and the complex ecosystem of Colorado's Great Plains. The result is a guest operation that co-exists with the cattle ranch and helps Phillips make the lease payments on the property.

"My goal is not to create a guest ranch that overtakes everything we do," Phillips said. "We're in ranching because we love it, and it's what we want to do."

As society becomes increasingly urban, people lose their connection to the land. As a result, giving people an opportunity to spend time on a working farm or ranch has become a sellable...