Over 100 Attend Annual Escambia County Farm Tour

May 15, 2018

Over 100 people took part in this year’s Escambia County Farm Tour, getting a first look at five locally owned farms and their relationship to the economy, the community and Escambia County.

The tour made its first t stop at Renfroe Pecan Company on West Fairfield Drive. Tour participants were treated to a guided, behind-the-scenes view of pecan sorting, processing and packaging, along with an exclusive after-hours walk through the retail store.

The tour continued along West Fairfield Drive, stopping at Johnson’s Beekeeping and Escarosa Beekeepers Association, where participants were able to view the honey harvesting process, from hive to jar. Honeycomb and interactive educational portions of honey bee habitats were also on view.

“This year we tried to highlight alternative agriculture,” said Nick Simmons, Escambia County Extension Services Director and member of the Farm Tour Committee. “We were excited to be able to highlight agriculture in more of an urban setting. Everything on this tour was south of I-110 and everything was within roughly a 10-mile radius of the county Central Office Complex and the downtown area.”

The tour also stopped at one of Pensacola Bay Oyster Farm’s downtown locations, Jenkins Timber Properties near Perdido Bay and finally at the fairgrounds to see view youth livestock projects and watch a mock livestock competition involving three calves of varying ages and breeds.

“We received a lot of positive feedback this year,” Simmons said. “One of the things we heard a lot from people, is that they’ve been on the tour before or lived in this community for a long time and had never heard or seen a lot of the places we took them to, even though the sites are not far from their own homes.”

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News