Summer Date Night Ideas: Farm Style

Old MacDonald had a … well, you know. For this month’s date, why not venture out to the countryside for a little farm tour?

Alpaca Farm

Our first stop was Manna Meadows, an alpaca farm in Bonner Springs. We enjoyed a 45-minute, personalized tour with Sharon, one of the owners. She and her husband, Brian, have been raising alpacas for nine years and keep a herd of about 50 at any given time. They breed them and then take some to show, sell some and use others for events (like kids’ birthday parties, nursing home visits and even weddings!). According to Sharon, there has been a resurgence in the demand for alpacas and their wool, which is warm, soft, silky and luxurious like cashmere. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to interact with the alpacas and take one of them for a walk. They are such warm, friendly creatures with amazing personalities. If you like animals, you will really enjoy this tour. And at $5/person (5 years of age and older), it’s well worth it. I loved every minute of it!

Dairy Farm

Our next farm tour was at Green Dirt Farm in Weston, MO, a grass-based sheep dairy. Until we went on this tour, I never even realized that you could milk a sheep. But you definitely can, and it makes for some great artisanal cheeses! Green Dirt Farm has been open for just over 10 years now and has grown from producing about 800 pounds of cheese in the first year to an estimated 45,000 pounds of cheese this year. We paid $10/person for the tour, which began with caravanning from their store, the Creamery, to the farm itself, where we learned about the milking process and the cheese making process. From there, we headed back to the store to sample three kinds of cheese. Those who wanted to could add on a wine or beer tasting to that. Besides offering samples, the Creamery houses a tasting room for Terravox Winery and has various food items for purchase, including sandwiches, pizza and ice cream. They also sell their own cheese and fresh lamb, Green Dirt Farm t-shirts, and other locally-made items.

Livestock Farm

The third tour we took was to 4-year-old Bonnie View Farm, which is located in the heart of South Kansas City near the Grandview Triangle. Bonnie View is a small, family-owned pasture farm that prides itself on being non-GMO with organically-fed and rotationally-grazed livestock. The farm is situated on 47 acres and includes dairy goats, chickens, turkey and sheep. They also have a small store on site from which they sell eggs, pastured meat and goat’s milk soap. Steve and Justine started the farm as a training and teaching tool for their eight kids, but it has grown to the point that they also provide good food for a number of area patrons. When we were there for the free tour, several customers came by to stock up on eggs or meat, and many of them raved about the quality. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, we bought a dozen eggs ourselves to try at home.

Hannah Berry is a freelance writer who lives with her husband in Kansas City. They enjoy regular date nights and love trying new restaurants and activities.