ORLINDA, Tenn. (WTVF) — With more than 1,100 farms, Robertson County is an agricultural powerhouse.
While the traditional farming business model works for some, it doesn't work for everyone.
Tyler Sneed has a long history of farming in the area.
"My family has farmed in the Orlinda area for four generations now," said Tyler Sneed, owner of Red River Farms.
His predecessors relied on traditional crops.
It used to be tobacco, corn, wheat, and soybeans, just row crops, some beef cows," Sneed said.
He's taking a different approach to making a living off the land.
"We're doing a Princess Ball in the spring, we're doing an Easter event again, and we have our Sunflower Festival," Sneed said.
According to Sneed, the traditional farming model didn't make financial sense for his farm.
"The commodity prices kind of came down and the availability to have any labor or help was going away," Sneed said.
After attempting some traditional growing on land he purchased in 2012, he decided to forge a new path for his plot Red River Farms.
"I really found that I wanted to do events," Sneed said.
So he started with a farm-to-table dinner back in 2014, and it all grew from that.
"I love growing specialty crops and I also want to focus specialty events around those crops," Sneed said.
Adding fun events to a farm setting is a plan that seems to be working for Red River Farms and others nearby.
"We are seeing a lot of family farms diversifying what they're offering because agriculture is not always sustainable," said Mandy Christenson, White House Area Chamber of Commerce CEO.
Wednesday the White House Area Chamber of Commerce held a special ribbon cutting at Red River marking 10 years in business.
In addition to the ribbon cutting, Sneed announced a new addition to the farm coming this summer, tubing on the Red River.
One of the most consistent bookings at Red River is weddings, with around 25 ceremonies held per year.
According to Sneed, he can work with groups for up to 18 months ahead of time helping plan their wedding.
One of the biggest events of the year at Red River Farms is the annual Sunflower Festival every July.
Click here for more information about events at the farm.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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