THE AGRITECT

The 2024 NAFDMA Agritourism Farm Tour in Michigan provided valuable insights into various farms, including Gull Meadows, Thistleberry Farms, Bowerman Blueberries, Lewis Adventure Farm & Zoo, and others. Key takeaways included the importance of traffic control, accessibility, diverse product offerings, branding, photo opportunities, and careful planning for infrastructure and layout to ensure functionality and efficiency in agritourism endeavors.

How to Start Your Kennel Project – Authorities Review Unleashed on 42 You love dogs, and you know there is a need in your community for dog boarding, but you don’t know where to start. In this blog, I will go over both design principles and the authorities/permits needed to get started. Starting any project […]

Why is your farm stay a mini resort?! You’ve probably never thought about your farm stay as a resort, but to many people, it is. So, it’s essential to treat it that way, and there are a few criteria you should consider when you plan it. Tourism spending around the world is shifting from spending in […]

In this video, I show you practically how the triple pane windows are performing in my “pretty good house” (near passive). Using simple visual (but perhaps not completely accurate) tools, I can not only tell you numbers but show you some of the differences.

What is Site Plan Control, and how to navigate your agritourism project through it smoothly? Master planning an on-farm winery with a restaurant. Co-credit South2010 architects. You may have heard your municipality mention Site Plan Approval when you go to them with a building permit or agritourism request. And you are probably wondering what the […]

So, we convinced you to keep your barn! Now, what are you going to use it for? Here are some ideas to give your old barn a new life. We hope these suggestions ignite your creativity for repurposing your old barn into something unique! Barn Restoration for Agriculture Uses: There is nothing wrong with reusing […]

Discover the essential components of a barn frame in our insightful blog. Explore beams, braces, and rafters. Step away with a deeper understanding of barn construction and the most common barn frame styles found in Ontario. BARN FRAME COMPONENTS Click play on the video and see a walk through the barn components in a 3-D […]

“How much will my barn conversion cost?” is the most common question we get, and the answer is it depends! In this blog, we explain the SIX factors that will impact your barn conversation budget. For those who like videos over blogs, we highly recommend you check out our video on barn conversion myths to […]

Second dwellings are being encouraged by the Provincial government on all properties in Ontario to help with the housing crisis. This means farm properties, too, but with some caveats. The provincial planning act tries to help by encouraging all municipalities to allow second dwellings on all their property zones and types with fewer restrictions. In […]

Do you live in a barn? Or do you want to? It’s really important to realize that designing a barn conversion to a house (or other structures), is not at all the same as starting with a blank paper for a custom home. You have this amazing timber frame you need to work around to […]