A Long Table, Four Wines, and a Big Beginning for Agritourism in Alberta
September 25, 2025
Written by Kathryn Dragowska, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement, Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association
Photos by Barry Rasch, Board Member and Secretary, Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association
By the time the sun slid behind the treeline at Prairie Gardens on September 16th, the farm felt like a living postcard. Lanterns glowed, laughter drifted, and a long table stretched like a promise. We didn’t just gather for dinner, we gathered to launch something bigger: the Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association’s (AFFPA) Agritourism Initiative.
If you were there, you could feel it. This wasn’t just a one-night celebration; it was a line in the sand. From here on, Alberta’s farm experiences aren’t just “nice to have.” They’re central to growing local economies, strengthening rural communities, and helping people rediscover where their food, and their sense of belonging, comes from.
Why this initiative matters (and what we’re doing)
Agritourism in Alberta is brimming with possibility. But growth has been held back by a few stubborn barriers, chief among them, the headache of finding fair, accessible liability insurance when you invite the public onto your farm. Our initiative exists to change the conditions, not just cheer from the sidelines.
AFFPA is focused on a few clear goals:
● Shine a spotlight on Alberta’s direct-market farms and agritourism businesses so visitors can actually find them and plan entire days around them.
● Build practical tools and training, from visitor-experience templates to safety resources, that make welcoming guests easier, safer, and more profitable.
● Tackle the tough stuff by working with insurers, municipalities, the provincial government, and partners so producers can get reasonable coverage and consistent guidelines that
make sense on the ground.
● Measure what matters so we can prove agritourism’s value, track growth, and keep improving with real data, not just good vibes.
In other words: more discovery, better experiences, fewer barriers.
Prairie Gardens set the scene and the tone
It’s hard to imagine a better host than Prairie Gardens & Adventure Farm in Bon Accord. Owner Tam Andersen led a tour that felt like a masterclass in what agritourism can be when it’s done with heart and grit. You could see it in the greenhouses and pumpkin fields, the tucked-away event spaces, and the thoughtful little touches that make a place feel like home. Tam’s message, without ever spelling it out, was simple: this is what it looks like when a working farm opens its doors and welcomes people into the story.
That story continued at the table with a five-course dinner built around ingredients freshly picked from her farm that morning. It was generous, delicious, and absolutely memorable. The long table did what long tables do best, turning strangers into seatmates and seatmates into collaborators. You could feel new alliances forming between bites.
Four Alberta wineries, Five distinct voices
The evening’s pairings came from four Alberta standouts, each bringing its own personality:
● Barr Estate Winery poured red rhubarb-forward sips that make you rethink what “fruit wine” means: bright, confident, and very, very Alberta.
● Field Stone Fruit Wines, industry pioneers, showcased the patience and finesse it takes to build a market from scratch and keep delighting people year after year.
● Reveresque brought fresh energy and craft, hinting at how quickly this scene is evolving and how much is yet to come.
● Our Roots Delidais Estate Winery anchored the lineup with deep family roots, orchard know-how, and a knack for turning harvest into hospitality.
To round out the experience, Heather Edwards of Pottery by Heather displayed her handmade pottery. She reminded us that agritourism is a team sport. Friendly competition is part of business, but collaboration is essential. When visitors come to her gallery, she points them to nearby farms and products. When farms welcome guests, they send people her way. That’s agritourism at its best: a network.
Course by course, the conversation circled back to one realization: together, we’ll go further.
About that liability question
Plenty of conversations that night drifted into real talk about insurance. It’s been an anchor in the sector for years. High premiums, uneven policies, or no coverage at all for certain activities, so farms hesitate to open their gates to the very experiences visitors want.
There are workable models. In 2024, Ontario passed the Growing Agritourism Act (Bill 186), which limits liability for injuries tied to the inherent risks of visiting a working farm when operators provide clear risk warnings (through posted signs or written notices). It doesn’t excuse negligence or unsafe conditions, but it does create clearer expectations for both visitors and hosts. Early signals suggest it’s helping operators access insurance with more confidence.
AFFPA is putting Alberta’s situation front and center, gathering stories, mapping pain points, and working with partners on practical, made-in-Alberta solutions inspired by approaches like Ontario’s. The goal: to let farms welcome the public without risking their livelihoods.
The bigger picture: jobs, joy, and staying power
Here’s the ripple effect: a family heads out for a pumpkin festival. On the way, they stop for gas, grab coffee, maybe pop into a local shop, and have lunch or dinner before heading home. They post photos. Their friends plan a trip. Before long, you’ve got real economic movement. Money stays in rural communities, farmland is protected by making it productive in new ways, and kids learn that potatoes don’t come from a bag.
And it’s not just economics. Families and friends connect. Fresh air, fresh food, shared laughter… it lingers. That spark gives people energy, and energy is contagious. Imagine what that ripple means in schools, workplaces, and communities. It’s not a cure-all, but it’s a powerful start. That’s culture change, one farm visit at a time.
Our initiative is designed to help that momentum stick. We’ll amplify farm stories province-wide, make it easier to plan trips, expand producer training, and keep beating the drum with partners across tourism and agriculture. The aim is simple: more farms hosting, more visitors returning, more communities thriving.
Where we go from here
Launching at Prairie Gardens set the tone we’re carrying forward: grounded, generous, and ambitious. With an energized network of producers and partners, Alberta Farm Fresh Producers Association is moving from inspiration to infrastructure, storytelling and training on the front end, policy and insurance solutions on the back end, and real measurement tying it all together.
So here’s to the start we made at that long table: good food, Alberta fruit wines, vibrant art and culture, honest conversations, and a shared commitment to make agritourism work for farmers,
visitors, and the communities that hold us all together. From this opening chapter, the rest looks bright.
If you’ve faced challenges with liability insurance related to agritourism activities on your farm, we’d love to hear your story. Please reach out to us at info@albertafarmfresh.com
