The founder of a livestock, horticulture and agrotourism enterprise located on the outskirts of Montreal says many of the farm's visitors have virtually no connection to agriculture. Established in 1982, Quinn Farm is a 200-acre operation that produces a variety of crops including strawberries, blueberries, sweet corn, asparagus, pumpkins, sunflowers, more than 18 varieties of apples and Christmas and balsam trees, raises chickens, pigs and sheep, including many rare breeds, and houses a large farm store that features the farm's own produce, homemade pastries and a variety of local products.
Farm founder Elwood Quinn says most of the approximately 100 thousand people that visit each year come from an area within 40 kilometres and 80 percent would be urban, most having never visited a farm.
Quote-Elwood Quinn-Quinn Farm:
We haven't done a formal study on it but, from speaking to the visitors I've talked to, the fact that they can close to the animals, touch them, a good 25 percent of the visitors would be the fact that they get to see animals on the farm in a natural state, as near as possible to natural. The other 75 percent would be a variation of the freshest fruits and vegetables I can get and a large portion, the experience of picking an apple.We pick sweet corn. People go nuts.
It has been a new adventure to us but people just love to go down those rows of a crop that's up over their head knowing that they are enjoying something right up against them and yet the security of knowing it's controlled. And the sunflowers.Sunflower picking and cutting has been a huge deal.You get all kinds of interest.Anything of the ground, either in or on the ground is of interest. Quinn suggests it's all about connecting.
Source : Farmscape.ca