Starting an agritourism business requires a defined guest offering and a property that can support it. As of October 19, 2026, American Farmland Trust lists $5,000-to-$10,000 Farm to Stay grants. Grant eligibility is separate from permission to host. Check the lease, guest coverage, local rules, and booking taxes before promising an opening date.
What should you check when starting an agritourism business?
Your first plan should describe one guest offering and the property where you’ll provide it.
Start small. You might offer a guest room, an existing house, or a farm workshop. Each choice creates different questions. Lodging needs a place to sleep safely, while a tour needs a safe visitor route.
Write down who will visit, how many people you’ll host, and when they’ll arrive. Describe where they’ll park. Note whether they’ll buy meals or join activities around livestock or equipment.
Before committing money, review any lease and private restrictions on guest use. Identify who can give required permission.
That short description helps officials and insurers answer the same question. It also stops the project from changing shape halfway through your checks. A room rental shouldn’t quietly become a wedding venue.
I think a narrow first offering makes the legal and cost review more useful. You can price actual work and coverage. You can also decide which parts of the farm guests won’t enter.
What does the Farm to Stay grant offer?
The program offers competitive funding for new or expanded farm stays and experiences.
As of October 19, 2026, American Farmland Trust’s program page lists its new partnership with Airbnb. It plans awards from $5,000 to $10,000, with roughly 25 to 30 recipients expected.
Working farms and ranches must be for-profit operations based in the United States. The current project panel requires more than $1,000 in profit. Don’t substitute gross sales for that test.
The listed project categories cover new operations, renovations for existing overnight stays, and farm-related experiences. Farm tours and workshops are examples. Full applicant rules and allowable costs are due before applications open.
Applications are scheduled for November 30 through December 4, 2026, while funding remains. About 350 applications will be accepted. Review follows receipt order, so early submission is encouraged. That order isn’t a promise of an award.
The administrator expects required application information by mid-November and account details in late November. Its next listed webinar is November 13 at noon Eastern. Use the program page for registration and later instructions.
Quick facts for your planning file
- Grant size: $5,000 to $10,000 per recipient.
- Application window: November 30 through December 4, 2026, subject to available funding.
- Current profit test: More than $1,000 from a working farm or ranch.
- Separate checks: Property permission, guest coverage, and booking taxes.
A grant budget should follow the published expense rules. Don’t assume an early purchase will qualify for payment later. Keep the proposed work separate from costs you’ve already committed to paying.
What should Nebraska farm hosts check?
Nebraska hosts should check local land-use rules and the taxes attached to paid overnight lodging.
The state’s residential short-term rental law limits cities and villages from banning covered rentals. It allows specified health and safety rules. It also preserves ordinary land-use, noise, and property-maintenance rules applied to similar property.
Read that boundary closely. The law defines a municipality as a city or village. It isn’t a county zoning clearance for a farmhouse outside town. It also doesn’t cancel private restrictions.
I’d give the zoning office the address and a plain description of the proposed lodging. Ask which office handles the parcel. A farm mailing address alone doesn’t settle who regulates the site.
For a converted building, describe the current use and proposed sleeping space. Ask about the review needed before work begins. Include planned guest numbers, parking, water, and wastewater in that discussion.
Nebraska’s lodging-tax rules cover paid sleeping accommodations within their definitions. Lodging tax is separate from sales tax. Check registration, returns, and collection responsibilities before taking your first taxable booking.
Use the actual booking route when asking the tax question. Tell your adviser whether guests will pay a platform or pay you directly. Check each booking route’s tax duties separately.
What should Minnesota farm hosts check?
Minnesota hosts should identify the right lodging licensing agency and review taxes for each way guests book.
State guidance places vacation home rentals in the hotel or motel license category. Its table includes one or more units for stays of one night or more. A single rental can need a license.
The location determines which agency handles licensing and plan review. Contact that agency before construction or remodeling. Describe the building, length of stays, and any food service so the agency can classify the operation.
Don’t borrow Nebraska’s city-and-village rule for Minnesota land. These are separate state systems. A license discussion also doesn’t replace the local land-use check for the specific parcel.
Minnesota’s tax guidance distinguishes direct sales from sales handled through a lodging intermediary. That’s a business that arranges the transaction and handles guest payment. Advertising a room alone isn’t the same thing.
When you regularly sell taxable stays directly, you generally handle those tax duties. An intermediary handles taxes on the sales it facilitates. If you use both routes, keep them separate in your records.
Minnesota recognizes isolated or occasional sales outside the normal course of business. That exception isn’t a blanket exemption for a small lodging business. Ask how your actual booking pattern fits the rule.
What should you ask your insurance agent?
Ask whether the policy covers paid stays and each activity guests can join.
Be specific. A visitor sleeping upstairs creates a different question from a guest walking through a livestock pen. Send the agent your written offering and ask which coverage applies to each part.
Airbnb tells hosts that its protections don’t replace adequate property or liability insurance. The policy terms matter. A platform listing isn’t a written coverage decision from your own insurer.
Ask about the building, guest injuries, and the people helping you host. If you add an activity later, bring that change back to the agent. Keep the written answer with the policy.
Safety belongs in the daily plan too. Airbnb’s U.S. hosting guidance calls for working alarms, clear exits, and emergency information. Give guests a usable route out and a contact for urgent problems.
How can you test the budget before spending?
Compare expected booking income with the full cost of offering that stay.
Include cleaning, utilities, insurance, repairs, and the time you’ll spend helping guests. A busy harvest week still needs someone available for check-in. Run the numbers with fewer bookings than you hope to receive.
Keep startup work separate from yearly costs. A grant can help with an approved project, but it won’t prove future demand. Your plan should show how you’ll cover costs after award money is gone.
Frequently asked questions
What is a farm stay?
A farm stay provides overnight lodging connected to a working farm setting. In Minnesota, the state licensing guide includes vacation home rentals with one or more units.
How does agritourism work?
It brings visitors onto a farm for stays or experiences. Farm to Stay’s national program lists new operations, overnight-stay improvements, and farm-related experiences as its three categories.
How do you start an agritourism business?
Choose a defined offering, then check local permission and the actual insurance terms. Paid Nebraska lodging can involve lodging tax in addition to sales tax.
Can a single vacation rental need a Minnesota lodging license?
Minnesota’s license guidance includes vacation home rentals with one or more units and stays of one night or more. Ask the responsible licensing agency about your actual location and offering.
When should you get legal help with the plan?
Have the guest rental agreement and any required landlord consent reviewed before taking reservations.
I help Nebraska and Minnesota owners with ag business and contract planning. You can learn about that work on our Ag Business & Corporate page.
Subscription general counsel offers ongoing legal help for a flat monthly fee, so you can ask before changing plans.
Call Midwest Ag Law at (816) MW-AGLAW before signing the guest agreement or a lease change for hosting.
Kole
Kole Pederson is an attorney licensed in Nebraska and Minnesota and the founder of Midwest Ag Law.
Kole Pederson, attorney licensed in Nebraska and Minnesota, founder of Midwest Ag Law in Henderson, Nebraska.
References
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 18-1758(1)-(7) (covered residential rentals; cities and villages).
316 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 68, §§ 001, 002, 006, 007 (lodging taxes, permits, and records).
