SANFORD, N.C. -- Families looking for a place to relax and have a little fun this summer may want to check out what's going on at a local farm.

• Agritourism practiced as additional revenue venture
• About 1,000 farms in NC a part of the trend
• 89 percent increase in last decade

The State Department of Agriculture says more farmers are practicing agritourism as an additional revenue venture.

Gross Farms in Lee County added attractions like pick-your-own strawberries and a corn maze for visitors 18 years ago.

"Tobacco is still our main crop, but diversification helps," said John Gross. Along with his wife Tina, he's co-owner of Gross Farms. "It keeps employees busy and it takes it all to make a living on a farm," she said.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture says there are about 1,000 farms in the state that have become agritourism sites. And that's a growing trend, because the department says there has been an 89 percent increase in those operations in the last decade.