Family farms get added protections with new agritourism bill

Rep Sam Low's agritourism bill protecting family farms signed into law

In a victory for Washington’s family farms, Governor Bob Ferguson on Tuesday signed House Bill 1261 into law—a bipartisan effort led by Representative Sam Low (R-Lake Stevens) to protect farmers who engage in agritourism from losing their open space tax classification. Governor Ferguson (center) signs Substitute House Bill No. 1261, April 22, 2025, relating to providing tax relief for certain incidental uses on open space land. Primary Sponsor: …

The objective is to install an agritourism development in the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa with a capacity of 38 beds, distributed over 14 accommodation units. Last week, a project for the installation of the Vineyard Hotel Vilacetinho, the new 5-star hotel in Marco de Canaveses, received favorable opinions from several entities and was recognized as a municipal public interest. Now, a week later, there is another project worth highlight…

Data Delves into Agritourism Trends - Southern Farm Network

It is among the increasing harvests for agritourism operators and the communities they serve. Data to help them better understand and recognize some of the trends in their industry. Audrey Coverford of Oregon State University Extension notes some agritourism-oriented information gleaned from USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture, including… “1.9 million US farms were estimated to basically report and one and a half percent reported themselves being …

Family farms get added protections with new agritourism bill

House Bill 1261 is slated to take effect in late July