HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A growing number of Georgia farmers are trying to encourage tourists to come for a visit.
Drew Echols says change can be good.
“I am slowly beginning to like growing pumpkins more than anything else,” Echols said.
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Jaemor Farms in Hall County is probably best known for its 150 acres of peaches.
But this year they will harvest 175 acres of pumpkins.
That’s half a million pumpkins.
It’s one piece of the puzzle that has helped make this place much more than a farm.
“We pick our pumpkins here. We do the corn maze. The hay ride. I mean, it ‘is’ a tourist attraction,” visitor Jessica Smith said.
Jaemor’s annual Harvest Celebration is expected to draw more than 150,000 visitors to a working farm.
It’s just what the Georgia Department of Agriculture has encouraged more growers to try - find more ways to bring in revenue in case the weather turns against your cash crops.
Echols says he has suffered through more seasons than he cares to remember where a freeze or drought ruined a peach harvest.
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But Agritourism, as it is called, is not as dependent on Mother Nature.
“It’s kind of a perfect scenario for the state of Georgia. The number one and number two industries in the state are agriculture and tourism. Our farms and farmers have so much to offer,” Echols said.
Echols says 60 percent of his pumpkins will be sold in Georgia.
The remaining 40 percent are being trucked to Florida and as far north as Virginia.
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