Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynette Sonne.
San Luis Obispo County local, Lynette Sonne, founded FARMstead ED 6 years ago to serve as a conduit between visitors and farmers; offering programs to educate folks on the importance of sustainable practices, local land, and craft. Sonne organizes opportunities for both tourists and townies to learn about everything from meat to mixology. Sonne’s agri-cultural roots started growing again last year into the SLO County Farm Trail.
The SLO Co Farm Trail connects agri-enthusiasts with ranches, farms, and purveyors of San Luis Obispo County using a printed and on-line trail map. With the popularity of agritourism on the rise, and now, people’s desire to get outside and kick up some dust, it is no surprise that folks are already welcoming the addition of the new spin on these old favorite workshops.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Overall, the trial has been one of new Agri CULTURAL experiences, adventures and a bit of trial and error.
2020 of course brought a whole new set of challenges as we learned to adjust to COVID-19 regulations. While many continue to do the Pandemic Pivot, local agriculture-related businesses are responding to the challenge by offering their farm tours & agriCULTURAL workshops with a more curated and custom presentation via private offerings. “The businesses along the SLO Co Farm Trail have been planting & cultivating new and creative ways to allow folks to continue visiting to their farms & ranches, all while maintaining social distancing of course, which is about 1 cow apart”. Though with the smaller groups and less frequent tours, revenues have for these experiences has dropped off significantly.
One continuing challenge we have is capturing the attention of the media with our activities and experiences, which is why we appreciate this opportunity to share our story with you!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the FARMstead ED & SLO County Farm Trail story. Tell us more about the business.
FARMstead ED: Bringing folks together with our locally grown via agricultural experiences and gatherings. FARMstead ED’s goal is to promote San Luis Obispo County farmsteading skills and practices through educational workshops & gatherings at pop-up classrooms held at local farms, ranches and purveyor related venues. The attraction to these opportunities is for people to truly experience locally grown and made through a variety of different hands-on classes and Table to Farm dinners all over the county.
Agritourism is on the rise… Now more than ever, people want to learn even more about where their food comes from, how it’s grown, who their farmer is and how local products are made. FARMstead ED collaborates and cross-pollinates with farms, ranches & purveyors throughout SLO County, bringing farms and guests together to learn hands-on how food gets to their table and how products are made for their daily living & enjoyment.
I am most proud at our ability to share our local agricultural heritage and offerings with tourists & townies, as well as connect farmers to Chefs, caterers, restaurants & purveyors. We love to collaborate & cross-pollinate with our farmers & purveyors.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have had the good fortune of meeting some pretty amazing people that are excited to share their knowledge, experience and enterprises while welcoming the opportunity to share it with others. Me, I simply am the agricultural matchmaker, bringing folks together with locally grown and made!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.farmsteaded.com
- Phone: 805.226.2081
- Email: info@farmsteaded.com
- Instagram: farmsteaded
- Facebook: FARMsteadED
Image Credit:
Yvette Roman Photography, Pretty Media Creations, FARMstead ED, Giving Tree Family Farm, Gopher Glen Apple Farm
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