Hobby Farms - Introduction

Hobby Farms is a bimonthly magazine, devoted to the life of hobby farmers, homesteaders and small producers. Its editorial offices are based in Lexington, Kentucky. Hobby Farms magazine's tagline is "Rural Living for Pleasure and Profit". The magazine is known for its award-winning design and photography. The magazine was the brainchild of Norman Ridker, founder and chairman of BowTie Inc. In 1999, he was visiting a friend and business associate in upstate New York who enjoyed making maple syrup on his farm in his spare time. Looking around at the farm and his friend's life — a working professional who enjoyed farming as a hobby — he realized that no magazine existed that served him and others like him. He enlisted editors to begin researching "hobby farmers" and the seeming groundswell of urban professionals moving to the country seeking a more meaningful existence and with a desire to farm in their spare time. Finding that a very real need existed for education and basic information about farming for such individuals, BowTie trademarked the term "hobby farm", and launched Hobby Farms magazine in the spring of 2001.