There’s plenty of work to do — from grooming calves to collecting just-laid eggs — at Verdant View Farm in Paradise Township, Pennsylvania. From dawn to dusk, visitors can participate in a hands-on farm experience. The day begins with a Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast of Amish-made yogurt, farm-fresh milk and eggs, a local meat dish (such as browned, creamed dried beef) and a homemade dessert (like Grandma’s crumb pie).
Then come the chores. On an introductory tour at 7:30 a.m., visitors can milk cows and feed calves, chickens and goats. Then it’s out on a wagon into the fields of corn and hay to talk to farmers about Amish ways of agriculture.
When afternoon comes, you can sign up for one of dozens of farmer’s apprentice programs that provide instruction in a wide range of farm activities and skills. Classes, which vary by season and the weather, offer food for thought and for the tummy. You can learn, for example, how a post-and-beam barn is built by hand, study bovine biology, observe how stalks, silks and kernels of corn form or practice crafts like welding and quilting. Or you can gather eggs from farm chickens and make an omelet; milk a goat and make artisanal cheese; or use seasonal fruits and vegetables to make preserves.
By evening, everyone should be ready to plop into bed. Farmhouse rooms feature print wallpapers, beds with antique headboards and locally crafted quilts. The next morning brings another hearty breakfast — perhaps this time with a piece of chocolate shoofly pie.