Farms & Fun
A new wedding venue on an old Connoquenessing Township farm will be just one of the stops on the 2017 Butler County Farm Tour.
The annual farm tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The event is free.
Participants can travel at their own pace to the six northern Butler County farms on the tour, where they will learn about each farm's purpose or production.
One of those stops is Pinehall at Eisler Farms on Dick Road, which has been in the Eisler family since 1940. Current owner Sherry Lynn's grandfather, John Eisler, bought the 150-acre apple orchard and made it his home.
Eisler switched to growing deciduous trees, which the family continues to grow at the farm.
Lynn said her grandfather called the property Pine Hall, so she named the 100-year-old barn in his honor.
Pinehall at Eisler Farms is celebrating its second year of offering a rustic wedding venue to couples in the barn and on the large farm.
The farm tour helps her get exposure for the venue, which will likely be seen by about 1,000 people during the two-day tour.
The activities this weekend at Pinehall by Eisler Farms include a free farmer's brunch from 9 to 11 a.m., a walking tour of the farm, including a portion of the trees grown there, and a scavenger hunt for kids.
Snacks will be available after brunch for the duration of the farm tour.
She said the tour was very successful last year.
“It got a lot of people out who wouldn't have otherwise seen (Pinehall),” she said.John David Longo, director of social media and publicity at North Country Canning Co., said four draft beers and several brews that are canned at the production facility will be available for sampling during the farm tour.In addition to a beer-brined chicken dinner for $13 and the opportunity to buy various brews, North Country Canning Co. will offer tours of the canning facility from noon to 4 p.m. on both days of the farm tour, Longo said.He said North Country's dedication to sustainability is its agricultural connection in participating in the farm tour.Longo said North Country recycles and uses its spent grains from the brewing process at North Country Harvest in Stoneboro, where the spent grains are used as fertilizer and as a supplement in animal feed.Longo said he appreciates the annual farm tour, as it raises awareness about sustainability and farming.“It's a noble effort, and people need to know about the places in our county that offer quality choices and great products,” Longo said. “Our company is really glad to be part of the farm tour.”This year's farm tour marks the first time the event will be held over two days instead of one, and several stops between farms have been added.All of the stops have a connection to agriculture and a display, activity or consumable for farm tour participants to enjoy, said Tiffany Hernandez of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, which plans the event each year.“Agriculture is huge here,” she said. “It's a big industry in Butler County.”The stops include:
Playthings, Etc. in Clay Township, which will demonstrate on Saturday only how drones are used in agricultureZanella Milling in West Sunbury, which will demonstrate the milling process and offer buckwheat pancakes and sausage for $5Jennings Environmental Education Center, which will demonstrate the maple sugaring processDR Distillery in Slippery Rock, which will have coin-operated batting cages, photos with replica Sinclair gas pumps and tasting of distilled products for guests ages 21 and olderThe Glass Blowing Center in Hilliards, which will offer an educational presentation and live demonstrationNorth Country Canning Co. in Slippery Rock, which will offer a “beer break,” tours of the facility, games for adults and kids and beer-brined chicken.The focus of the farm tour in the past several years has been on eating and buying local in addition to showcasing the county's farms.“This is really a chance for people to know and understand where their food comes from,” Hernandez said. “It also shows how hard these people have to work to put that food on your table.”Event organizers advise that those planning to participate in the farm tour plan their routes ahead of time, as smartphone navigation may be spotty in the rural areas of northern Butler County.The best way to learn how to participate in the farm tour, Hernandez said, is to log onto www.visitbutlercounty.com and click on the “Farm Tour” tab.
