FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Tourism can have a powerful effect on the economy. Here in Baldwin County we have scenic walking and biking trails, world class shopping, picture postcard views of Mobile Bay, magnificent beaches and expansive farms. Farms?

Yes, as hard as it might be to believe, farms have become a growing element of tourism across the United States. Just as ecotourism has emerged as an important piece of our economic pie, farms and related pursuits are adding more than one kind of green to our collective landscape.

To explore the interest in developing an Alabama Agri-Tourism Association, several agencies are joining forces to hold a series of meetings beginning next week in five areas of the state.

The meeting for southwest Alabama will be held Wednesday, at 10 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express on Greeno Road in Fairhope. There is no charge to attend.

The partnering agencies include the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, Alabama Tourism Department, Alabama Farmers Market Authority, Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama Farmers Federation. The hotel is providing the meeting space at no charge.

Developing a state agri-tourism association has many benefits, according to Dr. Tom Chesnutt, a tourism specialist with Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. He said it would enhance the agri-tourism industry in Alabama, serve as an industry networking group, enable industry members input into Alabama’s Agri-Tourism Trail program (www.alabamaagritourism.com), provide additional marketing opportunities and make possible the development of a state highway signage program and an accreditation program.

The agri-tourism experience could involve farm tours and stays, roadside stands and markets, U-pick operations, on-farm sales, festivals and fairs, guided crop tours, petting zoos, hay rides, corn, habitat improvement projects, bird watching and wildlife viewing, hunting dog training and competition, trap and skeet shooting, fee fishing and hunting, barn dances, corn and hay mazes, garden and nursery tours, winery tours, historical agricultural exhibits, exotic animal farms and other activities.

“It’s very broad,” Chesnutt said. “It does not have to take place on a farm, but has to be related to a farm product.”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2007 Census of Agriculture, farms in Baldwin County cover 103,036 acres, with 82,402 of those harvested that year. Produce and other crops are not the only harvest, however. Beef and milk cows, hogs and pigs, sheep and lambs and even alpacas are part of the mix.

There were a total of 1,139 farms in Baldwin County in 2007. Only a handful are already actively taking part in the state’s Agri-tourism Trail.

Chesnutt said, “When you consider how much agricultural land we have in the country, it could be almost as big as ecotourism. Everyone my age was born on a farm, or grew up near a farm. Everyone was trying to get away from the farm. This couldn’t have happened 20 years ago.”

He pointed out that even though many lost that connection with the land, some are now engaged in returning to their roots, with iPod and BlackBerry devices in tow.

But, development is quickly encroaching on the family farm. Chesnutt said, “It’s a problem everywhere. Alabama is not immune to that at all.”

The upcoming meeting will bring forth information that can help landowners afford to retain their acreage, he said, by offering solutions that will bring in additional revenue through agri-tourism.

Officials at Chambers of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureaus will also benefit by attending because they will learn how to attract tourists in areas outside of dominant municipalities within the county.

“They can provide additional activities to bring tourists in,” Chesnutt said. “It will help the farm — help the family hold on to their land if they want to.”

He noted other states are already way ahead of Alabama when it comes to agri-tourism, but he is confident we can catch up.

Since 1990, Chesnutt has served on the faculty of Auburn University and in the Extension’s Community Resource Development section. When Extension CRD merged with EDI in June 2006, he became part of the new ECDI staff. He has more than 30 years of teaching and practical experience in tourism and leisure services.

For more information, about the meeting or Alabama’s Agri-Tourism Trail, e-mail Dr. Tom Chesnutt at chesnjt@auburn.edu.