Originally published March 17, 2016. Updated April 6, 2016
— Kay Whatley, Editor
Piedmont Farm Tour Returns with Spring!
The 2016 Piedmont Farm Tour is scheduled, rain or shine, for April 23-24, 2016. The tour runs 2-6pm on both dates. The tour offers the opportunity for NC residents to meet local farmers, and have a fun day with friends or family walking around local farms.
This farm tour, now in its 21st year, is co-sponsored by Weaver Street Market and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA). The tour is an educational event produced by the CFSA. According to their website, “Weaver Street Market has been an essential partner in building the Piedmont Farm Tour into a Triangle institution.”
The tour is self-guided. Choose the farms you want to visit on the interactive map at www.carolinafarmstewards.org/pft/ or follow one of our suggested Piedmont Farm Tour Adventure Trails. Visit any farm in any order. And, don’t forget to take a cooler so that you can bring home some of the farm fresh products for sale at many farms!
Sorry, but no pets are allowed on the tour. These are working farms, often with their own animals, or restricted areas for processing food and produce.
Complete information about the tour and the farms, with interactive maps and tour tickets: www.carolinafarmstewards.org/pft/.
Questions may be directed to Leah Joyner, CFSA’s Education Coordinator, by email or by calling 919.542.2402.
Register for the Farm Tour
The tour button fee is $35; but, advance tickets are $30 per car (not per person) for all farms, all weekend long. Purchase a button, which becomes the car’s pass and is good for however many people fit in the car.
Tourists may also choose to john the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, and then as a member save $5 on advance button purchase.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.carolinafarmstewards.org/pft/, at Weaver Street Market at their locations in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough NC, and at many other convenient locations throughout the Triangle area. To register online, or locate a button-sales location, visit www.carolinafarmstewards.org/buy-your-tickets-for-the-piedmont-farm-tour.
Volunteer at a Farm during the Tour
Farms take work, and extra hands are needed to assist farm workers and tourists during the Farm Tour. To volunteer during the 2016 Piedmont Farm Tour, visit the tour’s volunteering page.
Volunteers take the tour for free and receive a limited-edition Piedmont Farm Tour tee-shirt.
Take the Piedmont Farm Tour
Load up a car with family and friends of all ages. Choose which farms to visit, and then follow the tour map or their “Adventure Trail” to farms located in Alamance, Chatham, Orange, and Person Counties.
Be sure to have the tour button handy, as that is the car’s pass and the way to gain entry to these local farms. The farm tour is “rain or shine” — just like farming! Farms expected to be included in the 2016 Piedmont Farm Tour are:
- Cedar Grove Windy Hill Farm, Cedar Grove NC — Facebook page
- Maple Spring Gardens, Cedar Grove NC — www.maplespringgardens.com
- Open Door Farm, Cedar Grove NC — www.opendoorfarmnc.com
- Chapel Hill Creamery, Chapel Hill NC — chapelhillcreamery.com
- Eco Farm, Chapel Hill NC — www.ecofarmnc.com/
- Peaceful River Farm, Chapel Hill NC — peacefulriverfarm.com
- Perry-winkle Farm, Chapel Hill NC — growingsmallfarms-perrywinkle/
- PlowGirl Farm, Chapel Hill NC — Facebook Page
- Transplanting Traditions Community Farm, Chapel Hill NC — www.transplantingtraditions.com
- Avillion Farm, Efland NC — www.avillionfarm.com
- Dancing Pines Farm, Efland NC — www.dancingpinesfarm.com
- Fickle Creek Farm, Efland NC — www.ficklecreekfarm.com/
- Minka Farm, LLC, Efland NC — minkafarm.com/
- Turtle Run, Graham NC — useyerfoot.com
- Cates Corner Farm, Hillsborough NC — www.catescornerfarm.com
- Coon Rock Farm, Hillsborough NC — coonrockfarm.com/
- Ever Laughter Farm, Hillsborough NC — everlaughterfarm.com
- RambleRill Farm, Hillsborough NC — www.RambleRillFarm.com
- Two Chicks Farm, Hillsborough NC — twochicksfarm.com/
- Woodcrest Farm, Hillsborough NC — www.woodcrestfarmnc.com
- Parker Farm and Vineyard, Hurdle Mills NC — Facebook Page
- W.C. Breeze Family Farm (Farm Incubator), Hurdle Mills NC — 919.245.2063
- Rocky Run Farm, Mebane NC — rockyrunfarmnc.com
- The Winery at Iron Gate Farm, Mebane NC — irongatevineyards.com
- CCCC Student Organic Farm, Pittsboro NC Campus — www.cccc.edu/agriculture/
- Farm Boy Farms, Pittsboro NC — www.farmboybrewery.com/
- Granite Springs Farm, Pittsboro NC — www.granitespringsfarm.com
- Harlands Creek Farm, Pittsboro NC — www.harlands-creek-farm.com/
- Piedmont Biofarm, Pittsboro NC — www.piedmontbiofarm.com/
- Screech Owl Greenhouses, Pittsboro NC — Facebook page
- Down 2 Earth Farms, Rougemont NC — www.d2efarms.com/
- Four Leaf Farm, Rougemont NC — www.fourleaffarm.org
- Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farms, Roxboro NC — www.sunsetridgebuffalo.com/
- Cane Creek Farm, Saxapahaw NC — canecreekfarm.us
- Haw River Ranch, Saxapahaw NC — hawriverranch.com
- Celebrity Goat Dairy, Siler City NC — www.celebritydairy.com
- Braeburn Farm, Snow Camp NC — braeburnfarm.com
- Flat River Nursery and Farm, Timberlake NC — www.flatrivernurseryandfarm.com
For more information on the Piedmont Farm Tour, and other events by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, visit www.carolinafarmstewards.org/events. A farm tour brochure (PDF) is available on this link.
Ed. Note: Details above are from the CFSA event website; check that site for updates as the event dates near.
