On a Sunday morning, Walker Homestead Farm and Winery was brought to life with spouts of dust on a gravel road beneath the tires of an Express Midwest charter bus.

The bus tour left from Walker Homestead at 11:30 a.m., and traveled to Calix Creek, a lavender farm, before leaving for Cedar Ridge Distillery, and then Colony Acres Family Farm.

Each stop featured alcoholic beverages, snacks, and activities that fit the venue. Colony Acres is a pumpkin patch with a giant slide. Calix Creek had lavender-themed items and the opportunity to tour the treehouses on the site.

Agritourism is a steady, seasonal industry in farming that deviates from traditional commodity ventures. It has been a source of income for farmers in the off-season or when no crops are in the ground and livestock are not ready to be sold. In Johnson County, it has helped farmers double their income in some cases, according to a 2018 report.

The state of Iowa is home to a variety of industries. The population is concentrated in larger cities like Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. College towns like Ames and Iowa City have influxes of student life and culture every fall. It is easy to be caught up in the fast pace of everyday urban life for students in class or professionals working in downtown Des Moines. However, the one undeniable constant in Iowa is its rural communities.

There is something unique about Iowa, and the rest of the Midwest for that matter, and that is the constant existence of industry wherever you turn. When you leave a city, you are often almost immediately met with farm fields and gravel roads to rural communities.

The rate at which a person can go from a tall cityscape to rolling hills is astonishing. What’s more is the shocking proliferation of farms and small industry along these gravel roads and corn rows that sometimes can only be found by looking.

In Johnson County, however, local growers, producers, and entrepreneurs are working to change that fact in ways that bring people and culture from faraway places to rural Iowa.

Greater Iowa City Inc., the local Iowa City area chamber of commerce organization, hosted a bus tour event on Sunday to visit numerous local orchards, vineyards, and farmsteads in Johnson County. This was the first tour and was propagated by the formation of an agritourism brand in Johnson County earlier this year.

Agri-Culture is a coalition of local Johnson County farmsteads and growers who came together to sponsor growth for rural businesses. Greater Iowa City announced the formation in April.

Greater Iowa City Director of Rural Development Sarah Thompson said considerations to unify rural Johnson County businesses began in 2022 when the company hired her as director. Previously, Thompson ran a consulting firm named Rural Revitalization.

“They [the county and Greater Iowa City] wanted to see work in rural communities,” she said. “One of the first things I did was reach out to a list of businesses that are in the county and tried to find as many as I could.”

Thompson met with the businesses in the fall of 2022, and since then, the businesses, which include places such as Wilson’s Apple Orchard and Walker Homestead in Iowa City, have hosted events and provided farm-to-table services to Johnson County families.

Thompson said there is great value in businesses working closely together in this way, which promotes collective problem-solving.

“A lot of the businesses have the same kinds of issues, and if one person solves it, then everyone can know how to solve it,” Thompson said. “Or if no one can solve it, maybe together we can come up with a solution.”

She said Agri-Culture’s goal is to grow steadily while exhibiting the finer aspects of rural Iowa life to Johnson County residents.

“It’s a great way for anyone who doesn’t really understand farming to get a tutorial to find out the kinds of people who like to live in the country or on a farm,” she said. “When you live in Iowa City, sometimes it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to live out in the middle of nowhere.”

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Not only does the brand seek to increase awareness of rural Iowa businesses, but it is bringing elements of other cultures to the area as well.

Bob and Kristy Walker own Walker Homestead, just west of Iowa City on American Legion Road. It is a winery and wedding venue populated by machinery, animals, and dining venues alike. It was from Walker Homestead that the bus tour departed.

The Walkers own the venue, while also teaching at the University of Iowa. The uniqueness of their acquaintance with the rural side of Iowa does not end there; previously, Bob and Kristy Walker lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Bob Walker worked in banking. In 2017, the couple bought the land where they now live and operate their business.

Bob Walker said he and his wife took an interest in agritourism, which began as a part of Italian culture, called agri turismos. They traveled to Italy and earned their rural entrepreneurship education certificate. He said Italian scenery inspired the work they do at their homestead.

This vision is no less than realized. Standing outside the main venue, looking out to the west through the vineyard, is reminiscent of classic impressions of the Italian countryside.

Kristy Walker values the work being done for local rural businesses in Johnson County and is glad to contribute.

“We’re doing this to feature the great places that people should go visit as a part of Johnson County,” she said. “Johnson County is full of really great food growers and makers, and we created this collaboration to help and support one another.”

She said the farmstead began as a farm-to-table service. Eventually, business began to ramp up when a chef asked to borrow the farm for an occasion. From there, the Walkers began to expand their fundraising and entertainment pursuits.

Now, they are a member of Agri-Culture and working hard to support their fellow businesses.

As the Walkers and their employees helped prepare for the day with wine mimosas, two long-time Iowa City retirees enjoyed the scenic Italy-inspired view themselves.

John and Sandra Hudson traveled to the homestead to participate in a bus tour. The couple has been married for 67 years and has lived in Iowa City for 26 of them. Previously, they lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

John Hudson said he was interested in seeing the different farms on the tour and appreciates local wines, like what is distilled at Walker Homestead and Cedar Ridge.

At 97, Hudson recalls visiting his grandparents’ farm in the 1930s as a closely held memory.

“I’ve always liked farms,” he said, “especially from that period. I was old enough to observe and remember.”

To the Hudsons, the Walker Homestead and the other stops on the trip remind them, too, of the Italian countryside, citing images of Tuscany when looking at the vineyard and the wine tastings planned throughout the day.

Bob Walker, too, is excited about the work being done with Agriculture.

“Our mission statement is to bring the community agriculture education and business collaboration,” he said. “You bring people out, put your phones down, and talk to each other.”