Oceana Conservation District and Oceana County Farm Bureau are hosting a farm tour on Tuesday, August 14.  Anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. Participants will have the opportunity to tour up to six farms by bus. 

There will be two tours with dinner provided at the Fox Barn Market & Winery at 5:30pm between the two tours.

The first leg of the tour starts at 3:30 pm and leaves from Fox Barn. Guests will visit three farms in Benona Township. We will see a native wildflower planting at Joyce Reames Farm, a new cold storage facility at Rabe Orchards, and environmental stewardship practices at Byl’s Lakeview Orchards.

Guests will then be bused back to Fox Barn Market & Winery for a complimentary dinner and a tour of the vineyards and facilities. Wine is available for purchase.

The second leg of the tour starts at 7:00 pm and guests will visit three farms in Claybanks Township. We will see a wetland restoration at Ramthun’s, a chestnut tree farm at New Era Chestnuts, and reforestation efforts at Bartley’s. We will arrive back at Fox Barn at 8:30 pm.

The annual farm tour is an opportunity to showcase the diversity of agriculture in Oceana County and it’s also an opportunity for the Conservation District to demonstrate efforts made by local farmers to protect groundwater, provide wildlife habitat, and restore wetlands.

Guests are welcome to attend either the Benona Township or the Claybanks Township leg of the tour, or both. Event is free of charge, but an RSVP is required by August 3. The tour meets MAEAP Phase I requirements and one RUP credit is available for each tour. Please call (231) 861-5600 ext 3006, or email lynda.herremans@macd.org to reserve your spot.