Hinchley Dairy Farm Tours
Cambridge, Wisconsin
Hinchley Dairy Farm Tours began at the Hinchley Farm, located about an hour west of Milwaukee and half an hour east of Madison, Wisconsin. The idea of offering tours began when Tina Hinchley brought her children’s school group to the family property so they could see what a working dairy farm is like and realized the need to provide accurate and realistic information about farming. Almost two decades later, thousands of international visitors come to experience a dairy farm and learn about how the milk gets from the cow to their refrigerator.
Hinchley described visits to her farm as “a good opportunity to meet a farmer and ask questions.” She starts tours by showing groups around the family farm and teaching them about the dairy and crops that are produced as well as providing other farm facts.
After the hayride, visitors are taken through the different areas of the farm, including the nursery and the milking barn, where they may even try their hand at milking cows.
Blue River Valley Pioneer Fair and the Grover Museum
Shelbyville, Indiana
The Grover Museum originated in the early 1980s as part of the Shelby County Historical Society in the Indianapolis suburb of Shelbyville.
The Shelby County Historical Society’s Blue River Valley Pioneer Fair started soon after the museum was established and was a popular event for more than two decades before hibernating for a period. Eight years ago, though, interest renewed, and the event was revived as an annual festival. Each September, fair attendees can explore what life was like during our nation’s westward expansion by interacting with people in period dress and by exploring a pioneer village. Various artisans perform historical demonstrations, including blacksmithing, period cooking and woodworking.
Visitors to the Grover Museum can also explore the Streets of Old Shelby exhibit to explore the full expanse of the area’s history and view artifacts and stories from the 1900s, or peruse the annual quilt show.
Bloomsbury Farm
Atkins, Iowa
Bloomsbury Farm, near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a fifth-generation farm that specializes in “agri-tainment” as well as agriculture. The Petersen family started out with 400 acres but has expanded its holdings to about 2,000 acres, 60 of which are dedicated to agritourism. The volume of visitors has grown along with the acreage, according to owner Karen Petersen. “We started out very small, but now we’re up to over 5,000 visitors a year,” she said.
Bloomsbury Farm features a variety of attractions, including hayrides, an animal petting area, obstacle courses and elaborate corn mazes. It recently added a new attraction called the Zip, a 50-foot-high zip line that takes participants soaring through a 2,700-foot-long course.
A favorite in the fall season is a visit to Bloomsbury Farm’s pumpkin patch and watching “punkin chunkin.” This growing nationwide phenomenon features pumpkins being launched from catapults or launched from air-powered cannons, often flying hundreds of feet through the air before exploding when they hit the ground.
