A farm stay is any type of accommodation on a working farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

. Some farm stays may be interactive. Some are family-focused, offering children opportunities to feed animals, collect eggs and learn how a farm functions. Others don't allow children and instead offer a peaceful retreat for adults. For the accommodations, guests normally pay rates similar to area bed & breakfasts or vacation rentals, although pricing varies considerably. The term "farm stay" can also describe a work exchange agreement, where the guest works a set number of hours per week in exchange for free or affordable accommodation.

Possible farm stay accommodations include

• Cabin
  Log cabin
  A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
  
  s
• Cottage
  Cottage
  __toc__In modern usage, a cottage is usually a modest, often cozy dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural location. However there are cottage-style dwellings in cities, and in places such as Canada the term exists with no connotations of size at all...
  
  s
• Converted barn
  Barn
  A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
  
  s/outbuildings
• Farmhouse guest rooms
• Platform tent
  Tent
  A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
  
  s
• Tent camping
  Camping
  Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
  
  
• Yurt
  Yurt
  A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
  
  s

Farm stays can be described as agritourism

Agritourism

Agritourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally-based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. Agritourism has different definitions in different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays, as in Italy...

 (a farmer opening his/her farm to tourists for any reason, including farm stands and u-pick), ecotourism

Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...

 (Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people), and geotourism

Geotourism

Geotourism is "best practice" tourism that sustains, or even enhances, the geographical character of a place, such as its culture, environment, heritage, and the well-being of its residents....

 (tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place—its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of its residents).

Background

Farm stays have been a growing trend in Europe at least since the 1980s , particularly in Italy, where they are called agriturismo. Farm stays are now growing in popularity in other parts of the world as well, especially Australia, Asia, and North America. Reasons for this increasing popularity include farmers' desire for more diverse and dependable income streams and consumers' desire for to reconnect with rural heritage and the food supply..