FRANKFORT, Ky. — Fall brings beautiful colors and cooler days to Kentucky along with an assortment of festivals celebrating everything from country ham to the apple harvest.

Collectively these events create a substantial stream of revenue for agriculture producers and communities while bringing visitors from other states to Kentucky.

Agritourism, as it has come to be known, has enabled a changing agricultural system to capitalize through other means from farm tours to harvest showcases.

The state’s Office of Agritourism (OA) was created in 2002 with the Kentucky General Assembly’s passage of House Bill 654. It is an interagency office between the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Tourism Department.

By statute, agritourism means the act of visiting a working-farm or any agricultural, horticultural or agribusiness operation for the purpose of enjoyment, education or active involvement in the activities of the farm or operation.

The bill also laid the groundwork of just what the OA would do including promoting agritourism in Kentucky to potential visitors, both national and international and assisting in sustaining the viability and growth of the agritourism industry in Kentucky.

Since passage of the bill, federal tobacco buyout legislation passed as well changing the landscape of the state’s agriculture industry and bringing diversity of farms and farmland to a new level. Now instead of so many tobacco fields dotting the landscape, ag endeavors such as vineyards and orchards are making their mark by way of products and activities surrounding those products to the tune of big bucks.

In Fayette County alone, agritourism contributes more than $1 billion annually to the region’s economy according to the Lexington Convention and Visitor’s Bureau with 60 percent of their tourists coming to see the farms.

Granted, many of those destinations are horse farms, but in the world of agriculture, the horse industry is included. Kentucky is noted for being one of the leading horse centers in the world. Two of the largest Thoroughbred horse sale agencies in the world, Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, are located in Fayette County.

However the horses are just the beginning of what visitors will see. Just last month one of the newest events took place in Pulaski County near the town of Nancy.

Even Charles Schulz would have been proud of the “great pumpkins” that were on display at the inaugural Atlantic Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off which took place Sept. 29 at Bear Wallow Farm. The competition was the first in Kentucky sanctioned by Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC), the official record-keeping organization of pumpkin weight statistics.

Two state records fell during the day-long event.

The winner, owned by Billy Burton of Nancy, tipped the scales at 1,123 pounds, 105 pounds more than the runner-up.

Burton’s entry set a new Kentucky record, besting the old weight of 1,089 pounds set by a pumpkin belonging to Frank Mudd of Flaherty in Meade County. Burton won $400, a rosette from Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, and a ribbon.

All together, 14 pumpkins from Kentucky, Georgia and Indiana were entered into the weigh-off with the sixth-place pumpkin, a 789-pounder submitted by Jason Gagne, setting a record for a pumpkin grown in Georgia.

John Van Hook of Somerset was awarded the Howard Dill Site Award by the crowd for exhibiting the prettiest pumpkin. Bear Wallow Farm is an agritourism destination featuring the “punkin chucker,” a homemade air cannon that shoots pumpkins into the air. The farm also offers a pumpkin patch where visitors can pick their own, hayrides, a four-acre corn maze, gemstone mining and farm animals.

Other popular destinations touted by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) include Christian Way Farm near Hopkinsville which will be open to the public every Saturday through Oct. 27. Group tours on weekdays may be scheduled by appointment.

Christian Way offers a corn maze, u-pick pumpkins, farm animals, a tricycle race track, a straw castle, an expanded farm store and more. The Harvest Praise Festival, a day of music, food and fun, will be Oct. 20.

Besides being the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, Larue County features Hinton’s Orchard and Farm Market near Hodgenville. Visitors can go on a hayride, pick a pumpkin, test their skill in a corn maze, take a walk in the orchard or try other activities. Along with pumpkins, Hinton’s sells apples, peaches, vegetables in season, apple cider, apple pies and more. Hinton’s offers field trips for schoolchildren, group tours, birthday parties and company events. Another first-time event in the state took place last weekend at Crossroads Harvest Festival in Springfield which featured concerts, food, a 5K race, arts, an antique tractor show, carriage tours, a cook-off and many other activities. The Washington County Fair Fun Horse Show closed the festival. The festival also featured a Kentucky Proud cooking demonstration and a showcase tent for Kentucky Proud.

Grant County offers Farmer Bill’s in Williamstown which will be open every Friday through Sunday in October and has a corn maze, horseback riding, inflatable amusements, hay rides, a pumpkin patch and a playground. The farm exhibits horses, cattle, pigs, goats, sheep and rabbits of domestic and exotic breeds as well as camels. School groups may make appointments to visit on weekdays.

For more information on these and other agritourism destinations throughout the state, visit the KDA website at www.kyagr.com