(Written by Joe Nelson)
TERRA ALTA, W.Va. — Members of the Preston County farming community are ready to host the 6th Annual Preston County Farm Crawl.
The crawl will kick off on Saturday, July 13 at 10 a.m., when eight locally owned farms will open their doors and show off what is being grown and pastured around Preston County. Liz Riffle of Terra Alta’s Riffle Farms is getting ready to welcome guests, as they’ll have a chance to show off their 64-acre farm and the livestock that they herd on their property.
“The farms are open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and they will tour you around their space for free,” said Riffle. “You can show up at whichever farm and whichever order you would like to, you could try and attempt to get to all eight, or you could just do two of them a day,” she said.
The eight farms that will participate encompass over 500 acres of farmland, with each specializing in different forms of produce or livestock. Three of the farms—the Hazel Run Flower Farm, the Heasley Homestead Maple Farm, and Ringer Farms (livestock) are located in Bruceton Mills. Two produce-based farms, Dorothy’s Blueberry Patch and Andor Peppers, are located in Rowlesburg, with Pike Mountain Farm representing Reedsville and Foggy Mountain Ranch in Kingwood. Riffle and her family at Riffle Farms will represent Terra Alta, where they’ll show off 64 acres of property where buffalo are herded.
“When you come up to our farm, you can come and check out where the buffalo roam in West Virginia, they’re a very majestic animal,” said Riffle. “We walk you through all that, and we will have bison hot dogs for sale for lunch,” she said.
Along with the tours of the farms and a chance for free samples, Ruffle added that some of the farms will host their own individual activities as part of the farm crawl. In Reedsville, family-friendly activities and bluegrass music will be hosted on Saturday and Sunday at Pike Mountain Farm, and special showcases of how products are made will be seen at each of the local farms. Riffle added that there will be horse shows at Foggy Mountain Ranch in Kingwood, a popular activity for those who’ve attended in the past.
“Foggy Mountain Ranch in Kingwood, they are a ranch and events center, they do a bunch of equestrian-type stuff, so you can go and see the horses if you want to do that,” said Riffle. “We have Dorothy’s Blueberry Patch, which is new to us this year,” she said.
The 6th Annual Preston County Farm Crawl will be hosted on Sunday as well, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and local coffee shops will be open ahead of the farms welcoming guests. Maps are also available on the Preston County Farm Crawl website, where you can plan your trips around the county roads. With every farm free to attend, Riffle encourages residents to come out and see some of the best farms Preston County has to offer.
“There’s two different tabs, there’s just a home tab and a map tab, so you can peruse everybody’s address and also download a map,” Riffle said.