Welcome to Safe Agritourism

Visitors on farms and ranches…let's keep them safe.

Agritourism – activities that bring visitors to a farm or ranch – is seen more often today than ever before. Types of agritourism operations vary: corn mazes, pumpkin patches, pick your own operations, dude ranches, and more.

  • Almost 30 million children visit farms and ranches each year.
  • Most visitors are unfamiliar with the agricultural environment – and the hazards found there.
  • Owners need to ensure the safety and health of all guests visiting their operations.


This website contains a variety of walkthroughs“Walkthrough”

A “Walkthrough” refers to “walking through” or looking through a series of pictures, and deciding if they show hazards and/or safety items, or if safety items are lacking. After evaluating the pictures and giving an answer, a new page will come up with an explanation. This page may also contain additional guidelines, recommendations and resources. , based on the type of operation, to help owners identify health and safety hazards and provides resources that can be used to help fix these hazards. It’s a great tool that can be used to help keep children safe when they visit farms and ranches.

* For more information on childhood agricultural injuries and fatalities, see: 2012 Childhood Agricultural Injury Fact Sheet.

Play Areas for Children

Many agritourism operations have areas dedicated for child play. Safety in these areas can present a challenge to owners, especially as children tend to be curious and will often look at the whole farm as a huge playground. Creating or improving the safety of play areas is easier when information is readily available: both ideas for play and the key elements needed to help keep children safe.

 

For more information on creating or improving a play area, see the Safe Play page by clicking the SafePlay link in the menu or click here.  
Disclaimer
This website and the documents associated with it are intended to provide recommendations for protecting the health and safety of children visiting farms. The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) makes no claims that these guidelines will prevent all illnesses and injuries. Every farm is unique, so the users of this website are encouraged to adapt the information to their situations. NCCRAHS cannot be held responsible for adverse events resulting from following (or not following) the recommendations on this website.