Red River Farms is celebrating 10 years of farm events in Orlinda

ORLINDA, Tenn. (WTVF) — With more than 1,100 farms, Robertson County is an agricultural hub.

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While the traditional farming business model works for some, it doesn’t work for everyone.

Tyler Snead has a long history of farming in the area.

“My family has been farming in the Orlinda area for four generations,” said Tyler Sneed, owner Red River Farms.

His predecessors bet on traditional cultures.

It used to be tobacco, corn, wheat and soybeans, just row crops, some beef cows,” Sneed said.

He takes a different approach to making money off the land.

“In the spring we do a princess ball, we do an Easter event again and we have a sunflower festival,” Sneed said.

According to Snead, the traditional farming model did not make financial sense for his farm.

“Commodity prices fell and the availability of any labor or help disappeared,” Snead said.

After trying traditional farming on land he purchased in 2012, he decided to blaze a new trail for his Red River Farms site.

“I really found that I wanted to do events,” Snead said.

So in 2014, he started a farm-to-table dinner and it grew from there.

“I like to grow specialty crops, and I also want to focus specialty events around those crops,” Sneed said.

Adding fun farm events is a plan that seems to be working for Red River Farms and others nearby.

“We’re seeing a lot of family farms diversify what they offer because agriculture isn’t always sustainable,” said Mandy Christenson, CEO of the White House Chamber of Commerce.

The White House Chamber of Commerce held a special 10-year business ribbon cutting in Red River on Wednesday.

In addition to the ribbon cutting, Snead announced a new addition to the farm coming this summer – tubing on the Red River.

One of Red River’s most consistent bookings is for weddings, with around 25 ceremonies a year.

According to Snead, he can work with groups 18 months in advance, helping to plan their wedding.

One of the biggest events of the year at Red River Farms is the annual Sunflower Festival held each July.

Click here to learn more about events at the farm.

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