A variety of rural destinations from working cattle ranches to corn mazes to organic farms are growing in popularity, say tourism officials in rural states.

And farmers and ranchers in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana, are among those across the United States who are taking advantage of the interest in their livelihoods by diversifying their operations to include agritourism. Agritourism in all four states is a growing industry and has the potential to be a viable source of alternative income for farmers and ranchers, according to tourism officials.

In North Dakota, the state's Office of Tourism plans to begin promoting agritourism this summer, said Allan Stenehjem, Office of Tourism director.

"This is an area where we haven't done much, but we have a lot of interest from throughout the country," Stenehjem said. In the past, agriculture may have been overlooked as a tourist attraction because it is such a familiar part of the state's landscape, Stenehjem said.

"We look at ourselves and say 'That's farming. We've lived that all of our lives,'" he said. But to someone from another part of the world, crops being produced and processed using highly technological equipment may be fascinating.

The North Dakota Office of Tourism plans to begin promoting agritourism in the state this summer by offering a couple of bus tours of some of the state's farms and food processors to writers and tour bus organizers from the East Coast, Stenehjem said.

Extra boost

Meanwhile, in eastern North Dakota, the Red River Resource Conservation and Development Council in Grafton has been working for the past two years to develop agritourism as a way to bolster the faltering agricultural economy.

"We think that it has potential in this part of the state and all of the state," said Paul Wellman of the Red River Resource Conservation and Development Council. And there apparently is an interest among farmers in starting enterprises, judging by the number of participants who have attended two rural tourism conferences sponsored by the council.

About 150 people interested in developing agritourism and about 20 entrepreneurs with operations in eastern North Dakota, varying from reindeer ranches to Christmas tree farms, attended this year's conference.

So far, the council has concentrated most of its efforts on promoting agritourism among farmers and giving them ideas for the kinds of tourist attractions they could develop, Wellman said.

"We want to make sure that we have enough attractions on individual farms so that we can start working together and advertising. People in urban areas are interested in farms and wide-open spaces and the natural beauty of North Dakota, but we need to have a variety of activities to attract them," Wellman said.

Whether it's because city people want to get back to their roots or whether it's because farms and ranches have a kind of mystique with urban dwellers, tourism officials in South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana also are getting an increased number of inquiries about what their states' ranches and farms have to offer people who are looking for summer recreation.

"Travelers are interested in experiencing rural America," said Mary Stadick Smith, South Dakota Department of Tourism communications coordinator. "We have a lot of places throughout the state that do farm stays or ranch stays." The farms and ranches offer a variety of recreation for their visitors, including fishing, wagon trains and trail rides. At some ranches, guests even get to try their hand at chores.

But that doesn't mean the ranchers are getting paid for people to do their work.

"You don't get a worker on your ranch who pays to be there," said Victor Bjornberg, Travel Montana tourism development coordinator. Instead, farmers or ranchers are entertaining guests who are interested in learning about a new culture, he says.

In Montana, where dude ranches have been part of the rural scene for more than a hundred years, working guest ranches have seen a surge in interest during the past 10 years, Bjornberg said.

Not so secret

Tours also are an integral part of the experiences that Dewane and Anne Morgan of Park Rapids, Minn., offer visitors to their Secret Garden and Midheaven Farms operation.

Their Secret Garden kitchen, which makes specialty soup mixes, and Midheaven Farms, which raises organic beef, has been part of the Central Region Partnership's Farm and Ranch Adventure Tours for the past few years. The Central Region Partnership funds the tours in cooperation with the University of Minnesota in St. Paul through funds provided by the Minnesota Legislature.

The Secret Garden and Midheaven Farms are one of several farms and ranches in the Park Rapids area who offer tours for visitors to Park Rapids. Last year, more than 200 people visited each of the Farm and Ranch Adventure Tour sites, said Sharon Rezac-Andersen of the Central Region Development Partnership. The majority of their tourists are grandparents who bring their grandchildren on the tours, she said.

While the Secret Garden and Midheaven Farms don't receive any fees from the tourists who visit the farm, Anne Morgan believes the tours are a great way to educate the public about agriculture. For example, during the 21/2-hour farm tour, Dewane teaches tourists about composting, crop rotation and the role of cattle in an organic farming.

Meanwhile, people often purchase soup from the Secret Garden shop. "That has added to our bottom line," Morgan said.

Selling products produced on the farm appears to be one of the best ways for farms that offer tours to make money with their ventures, said Colleen Tollefson, Minnesota Office of Tourism manager of industry sales.

And adding to the bottom line is an essential part of meeting the criteria for being a viable form of tourism in Minnesota, Tollefson said.

"Our criteria is the economic side of it as opposed to an educational opportunity," she said. "Tourism is economic development. We always look at the bottom line. In the case of agritourism, there needs to be an addition to the bottom line of the farmer."