Brant Farm Crawl: New agri-tourism initiative gives visitors behind-the-scenes look at farm production
Diane Baltaz
Grant Haven Media
A new agri-tourism initiative organized by the County of Brant enabled local residents to try everything from harvesting hazelnuts, sampling local haskap wine and talking directly with farmers about how they grow and market their crops.
The County launched the “Brant Farm Crawl” on September 12 as a self-guided, ticketed driving tour of five farms. These stops provided greater, behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how local food and agricultural products are produced and marketed, and to discover how and where to buy Brant-produced products.
This year’s event was organized with mentorship from Farm Crawl Hamilton, which has run farm crawls since 2012. It was supported with funding through the regional tourism association, RTO3 – Hamilton Halton Brant under the 2026-2027 Partnership Fund Program.
The participating farms were: Glenridge Hazelnuts, Glen Morris; Moore Farms, Paris; Brantview Apples & Cider, St. George; Browndale Farm, Paris; and Blue Gables Acres, Paris.
These farms already had established sales venues, such as farm stores, wine and hard cider tasting facilities, or online sales. Most of the host sites provided samples of their products as well as opportunities for the “farm crawlers” to purchase locally produced goods. Some farms offered field tours with tractors pulling visitors in wagons, provided games or play areas for the kids, and picnic areas.
Moore Farms added talks by local producers of bottled milk and honey and a nutritionist; they hosted a local artisan market in addition to selling lunches from their food trailer, the Longhorn Smokehouse.
Kimmy and Delano Osmond of Blue Gables opened their event tepee where visitors sampled their haskap and other berry wines or enjoyed a haskap cheesecake that Kimmy created.
Browndale Farms opened their Holstein barn with robotic milking facilities for families to view their dairy cows and calves.
Glenridge Hazelnuts made pick-your-own hazelnuts available for the first time since their trees began producing approximately five years ago.
All the crawl hosts answered multiple questions about growing and marketing their crops and provided educational information to visitors.
“Agri-tourism has been getting more popular in the last few years as well so I wanted to plan an event similar to Doors Open where people could visit farms while getting more background info on where their food comes from,” said Brant Tourism Development Officer and Farm Crawl planner Tia Chisholm in an email.
Hamilton’s Farm Crawl model fit the bill; therefore the County approached its organizers.
“We wanted a variety of farms so each one could offer a unique experience; so between hazelnuts, apples/cider, dairy, cattle and a haskap orchard, I believe we succeeded in finding a variety.”
The County sold 225 tickets prior to the Farm Crawl, said Chisholm. Admission as free for children under five.
Stephanie Sharp of Glenridge Hazelnuts organized her family’s Farm Crawl venue, set in an open field between their 16,000-tree orchards.
“The County reached out to us in the spring about the Farm Crawl, and we were so excited to participate,” said Sharp. “We always enjoy having groups tour the orchard and educating people on hazelnut production in Ontario… We aren't yet open to the public on a regular basis, so this seemed like another great opportunity to share our story, what we do, and the products that we have available.”
“We have also followed the Farm Crawl Hamilton for some time and think it is such a great initiative to connect community with farms and provide agriculture education,” added Sharp.
At the region’s first haskap estate winery, Delano and Kimmy Osmond of Blue Gables fielded many questions about the wines, jams and other products derived from their haskap bushes. “I like the exposure of the products,” Delano said.
Brad Little of Brantford tried his hand at harvesting hazelnuts using an implement provided by Glenridge Hazelnuts. “It’s a fantastic idea,” he said about the Farm Crawl concept. “We get closer to experiencing where and how they’re grown. You hear about the 100-mile diet, but it’s amazing how much you can get locally.”
Ten-year-old Ali Hall of Paris visited all five sites with her parents. “I like the places with the animals,” she said, referring to the Holsteins at Browndale and Moore Farms’ Black Angus and Longhorn cattle.
Chisholm said the County aims to expand the Brant Farm Crawl in 2027.
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