I thought this piece from the New York Times travel section was both interesting and hopeful.

Apparently, the concept of "agritourism" is catching on with farmers and tourists - a growing trend as people become more interested in learning where their food comes from. Bunch of farms in Vermont and North Carolina have started to offer tourists the opportunity of staying on the farm and working (if they want to) to help reduce the cost of their stay. Sounds like a smaller scale, slightly more touristy version of the WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) network.

The full article "Down on the Farm With Your Sleeves Rolled Up" is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/travel/escapes/23agritourism.html