Hosting School Tours and Field Trips on Your Farm
Thank you for your interest in helping us teach the next generation about the importance of agriculture for providing our needs, creating jobs, and boosting rural communities.
This webinar and guide was created to help farmers, agribusiness professionals, and farm enthusiasts provide engaging and academically robust learning experiences on farms and in classrooms.
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us:
Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom - (855) 921-2625
Kentucky Department of Agriculture Ag Education and Outreach - (502) 782-4125
Information adapted by TeachKyAg from the Green Mountain Farm to School and Kentucky Department of Agriculture Kentucky Farms Are Fun Planning Guide.
Field trips are an excellent way for students to apply skills they have learned in the classroom to real-world situations. What better place than a farm? Offering educational programs on your farm reconnects children to their heritage and opens doors to future citizens who care about farming and food. Farm field trips can be a source of income if there is a market in your community.
Here are some suggestions to encourage the most successful trip possible.
Preparing Your Farm for Visitors
Building/Zoning Permits
Before marketing your farm for schools, remember to check for local zoning requirements. Many towns do not include “events” in their definition of “agriculture,” but farmers can seek a “conditional use permit,” which would make exceptions to the zoning bylaws. If you are using buildings - In Kentucky, the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction administers building code enforcement and inspections of existing public buildings for compliance with the state fire safety codes.
Local Building Requirements
The Planning and Zoning Commission regulates the use and development of land by issuing permits for new construction and by adopting and enforcing zoning regulations. Not every county in Kentucky has a Planning and Zoning office. Contact your local county clerk, city clerk, planning/zoning office for information on zoning and building codes in your area. Zoning is a local issue, and the requirements can vary substantially in different locations.
Roadways
Getting school buses to your farm can be a challenge, and checking with the State Transportation Cabinet or your local County Road Superintendent may be a good place to start to prevent problems before they occur. Things to consider:
Proper road signage
Narrow bridges
Weight limit for bridges
Additional entrance/exit to your farm
Parking Considerations
Driveway/entrance is visible from either direction on road.
Parking spaces are adequate for your peak number of visitors – there will likely be parents and chaperones driving separately.
Overflow parking areas are available.
Internal (farm) traffic lanes are wide enough.
Areas for drop-off/pick-up for buses are available (if needed).
Guests are prevented from parking on public roads.
There is a separate entrance and exit to ease traffic flow.
There is adequate lighting between dusk and dawn (if needed).
Parking is easily identifiable and safe for pedestrians.
Workers help direct traffic and wear bright/reflective safety colors (as needed).
Contingencies are in place in the event of weather conditions (rain/mud/snow).
ADA Accessibility
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that businesses improve accessibility and/or eliminate or compensate for architectural barriers (such as doorways, stairs, water fountains, restrooms/bathrooms, eating accommodations, seating, curbs, sidewalks, parking, etc.) to the disabled in all commercial and public buildings and transportation systems.
Buildings and Bathrooms
Be aware and in compliance with all building codes that apply to the property.
Bathrooms should be clean and well-stocked or you have regularly maintained Port-O-Lets that are placed in a cool and dry area.
Think about how bathroom visits and the location of facilities will impact your programming. One toilet or Port-O-Let per 50 to 100 adults/children may be a good rule of thumb.
Have properly functioning handwashing stations, especially if animals or food are part of the program.
Visitor capacity limits have been set for attractions and buildings.
Fire Prevention
Regularly inspect and maintain working smoke detectors in buildings.
Properly store flammable and combustible materials.
Maintain fire extinguishers strategically throughout the farm.
Be sure workers are trained to use a fire extinguisher.
Enforce a strict no-smoking policy.
Post “In Case of Emergency” signs with contact person, emergency phone numbers, farm address, and farm phone number.
Provide emergency vehicle access.
Arrange a farm walk-through with fire/EMS personnel.
Remove brush, cobwebs, and other combustible materials from buildings
Properly dry all hay before storing it.
Liability Signage
KY State Law, KRS 247.8091 provides KY agritourism destinations with limited liability protection. The law requires agritourism venues to warn visitors that they are assuming the risk of participating in the operation’s activities. KDA sells Warning Signs at a cost. The order form is located here: http://www.kyagr.com/marketing/documents/AT_LLWarningSign.pdf
Emergency Management Services
Keeping everyone safe and secure while visiting your farm should be at the top of your list. Having an Emergency Response Plan can provide you with a sense of security for you, your employees and your visitors. County Emergency Management Services: https://kyem.ky.gov/Who%20We%20Are/Pages/CountyDirectors.aspx
Food Safety
Comply with all health department regulations. Your local Department of Health sanitarian can assist with questions on planning your operation and the specific details of regulations.
Animals and Visitors Together
If animals and visitors will come into contact on your farm, make sure that you keep the animals clean, monitor them daily for health problems, are up-to-date on their vaccinations, and keep good health records on them.
Decide on the level of contact between guests and animals and reinforce guidelines with appropriate signage. If using horses to pull a wagon, hitch them before people enter the wagon.
Inform visitors (visually and verbally) about animal behavior and ask them to wash their hands (or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer) after touching animals. Make sure that food and drink is prohibited in the animal areas and that the eating/ drinking area is well separated from animals. Closely supervise all visitors’ interactions with animals.
Insurance
There are four broad ways a business or its owner may be found liable of negligence:
if something on the premises hurt somebody,
if a product hurt somebody,
if the property is causing an issue, or
if an individual personally hurt someone.
Liability means that you are legally responsible for your actions or inactions that could harm others. If what you did or did not predictably do leads to harm, you are negligent.
Premises Liability
Product Liability
Property Liability
Contact your insurance agent to discuss proper coverage for your farm and hosting events.
Please note that the number of visitors can impact your insurance.
Aesthetics
When you host the public to your farm, you represent Kentucky agriculture and the farming community. Prepare your farm as if you were preparing a house to sell. Having a non-farming friend or relative take a tour and provide feedback may be helpful.
Educational Content
Talk with teachers and parents when planning the lessons and activities available on your farm. Students of different ages will be learning different subject matter and instructed using various methods. Providing a menu of lessons from which teachers may choose could be helpful in marketing your school tours.
There is a large library of lessons and activity suggestions available at www.teachkyag.org/curriculum organized by grade level and theme. Webinar and demonstration videos are also available with helpful hints on teaching different age groups.
Group Management and Safety Considerations
In addition to items listed below, review our best event best practices on page 5.
Rules
The farmer should set rules ahead of time in order to ensure a safe and fun field trip. Ask the teachers for help or to set the expectations for you. If rules are not set in place, the students could put themselves at risk or unknowingly hurt the farm. The rules should be reviewed in class and then again on the farm.
Some recommended student expectations:
Stay in the areas set by the farmer/field trip leader.
No running through the area unless you are told you can run.
Listen to the farmer and teacher when they speak.
Watch where you are walking!
Be respectful.
Have fun.
Group Size
It is a good idea to break a class into groups of 5-6 students. This is key to having a good experience. Recruit parent chaperones, other teachers or school staff, and other farm workers so there are enough adults to be in each student group. The groups will be looked after by the supervising adult. Each group can be part of the whole group or each group can rotate through several activities on the farm.
Safety Concerns
Know about and prepare for any health or safety risks that might come about on the farm field trip.
Things to keep in mind:
Allergies to insects, plants, and food
Prolonged exposure to the sun
Wildlife
Farm animals
Dangerous and exposed farm equipment
You can prepare for these unexpected events by having a fully stocked first aid kit, sunscreen, bug spray, extra water, and knowing allergies of the students.