WILLOW CREEK — Three Willow Creek farms have been selected for a state-funded agritourism pilot program that provides grants of up to $25,000 each to develop overnight guest accommodations on working agricultural properties.
Henry Farr’s Farr Family Farm, the O’Flaherty maple sugar operation, and the Thibeault family’s berry and vegetable farm will each convert existing outbuildings into seasonal rental units. The program is administered by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and funded through the federal Rural Development Initiative.
Farr plans to refurbish a 1920s-era farmhand’s cottage into a two-bedroom rental with a woodstove and river view. Guests will be invited to help with morning chores, collect eggs, and purchase produce directly from the farm stand.
“We’re not a hotel,” Farr said. “You’re staying on a working farm. There’s roosters and tractor noise and early mornings. Some people love that.”
Niall O’Flaherty will convert a portion of his sugarhouse into a spring-season loft apartment, available during maple sugaring from February through April. Guests will be able to tap trees and boil syrup alongside the family.
The pilot program runs through 2024. If successful, it could become a permanent state program supporting farm-stay accommodations across Maine’s rural communities.
The town is reviewing whether zoning amendments are needed to allow short-term rentals in agricultural zones.