LANSING—People often think of tourism as travel to exotic places like the Taj Mahal in India and Istanbul, Turkey, when they can go someplace as simple as a U-pick farm.

That’s because people generally don’t think of tourism as something as close as their own community.

Since the automotive industry in Michigan has been on the decline, government officials have been trying gain economic growth in from other areas. 

Tourism and agriculture are Michigan’s second and third largest industries, respectively.  Many farms, such as the Country Mill, near Charlotte, combine the two industries to help boost income.

Michigan contains roughly 71 cider mills throughout the Lower-Peninsula.

Tourism is about seeing the world’s big attractions, Michigan State University sophomore Jeff Fisher said.  

“I would never have thought of stuff right close to me as things that would bring people in,” said Fisher, of Bloomfield Hills, as he visited a U-pick operation recently.

This time of year is popular for agritourism in Michigan.  Attractions include apple orchards, cider mills, wineries, pumpkin farms, haunted houses and corn mazes.

The Country Mill is typical.  It caters primarily to area residents but it draws school groups from as far away as Grand Haven. Visitors can pick their own apples and pumpkins. 

Owner Steven Tennes said, “Customers want that.  It’s part of the experience.”

As a U-pick farm, it risks losing apples to hungry youngsters, but Tennes said he’s willing accept that.  The farm loses about three-quarters of every bushel sold, he estimated.

“For every half-bushel (sold), a customer may actually eat or knock off the tree about three-quarters of a bushel,” Tennes explained.

Visitors can ride on the Country Mill Express train a half-mile into the orchard to pick apples. 

Customers save about $2 per bushel by picking their own apples instead of buying them in bags at a supermarket, he said.  

The Country Mill also has a corn maze that is cut with a lawn mower, a petting zoo and a haunted cider mill.

 “It’s a very simple maze so kids can’t get lost,” Tennes said.