A new grant will provide eligible farmers with up to $10,000 to start or expand an agritourism venture
A new grant program is available to help American farmers tap into agritourism.
Airbnb and American Farmland Trust (AFT) through its Brighter Future Fund, launched the Farm to Stay Grant Program.
This program offers up to 30 grants worth between $5,000 and $10,000 each to help farmers interested in adding agritourism to their business, or established agritourism operators looking for capital to expand or renovate.
“With interest in farm stays increasing, our partnership with Airbnb could not happen at a better time. For over four decades, our mission has been to protect America's farmland and help sustain the livelihoods of our farmers and ranchers,” Ashley Brucker, AFT’s senior manager of grantmaking, said in a statement. “The opportunity to develop new revenue streams, in this instance through stays and experiences, has become essential to that work.”
Indeed, interest in agritourism seems to be growing.
Data from Google Trends indicates searches for some terms related to agritourism are up over the last five years.
- “Farm stay” is up 90 percent
- “Barn camping” is up 50 percent
- “Farm hotel” is up 50 percent
- “Agritourism” is up 40 percent
- “Farm camping” is up 30 percent
The typical farm stay host earned about $8,000 from hosting in 2025, Airbnb data shows.
And there can be a domino effect for the rural community.
“Rural areas that gain a farm stay see total Airbnb earnings for all local hosts grow roughly 15% faster than similar areas without one,” the company said.
Airbnb and AFT are hosting an online webinar on Friday, Nov. 13 at noon EST for farmers interested in learning more.
The webinar will cover the grant program and how to apply, best practices for an Airbnb farm stay, and how to launch an agritourism experience.
Agritourism is prevalent across the U.S.
About 57 percent of counties reported an agritourism income in 2022 with the median county income at $161,000, USDA data shows.
Overall, U.S. agritourism generated $1.26 billion in income that year.
Italy is recognized as the global leader in agritourism, generating about $2.28 billion annually.