Green Meadow Farm: Unplug in Amish Country
Quiet mornings, working horses, simple food, and a slower pace—Green Meadow Farm in Arthur offers an easy, welcoming way to experience what life feels like in Amish country. Come for a horse-and-buggy ride, and stay for the night where “unplugging” is more than a trend—it's just how things are.
Farm History
Green Meadow Farm is owned and operated by Merle and Dorothy Kaufman, a fifth-generation Amish family farming in the heart of Illinois’ Amish Country in Arthur. The farm’s roots reach back to the late 1860s, when Merle’s great-great-grandfather established the farm around the same time the Amish community settled in Illinois. Like many Amish farms of that era, it was diverse and self-sufficient—raising crops and livestock to feed both the family and the broader Amish community.
Today, the farm is smaller than the original (which was around 200 acres), but it’s still very much a working homestead. Merle and his family live on the property with their horses and remaining livestock and grow a rotation of alfalfa hay, wheat, and corn on about 15–20 acres. One standout crop is Einkorn, an heirloom wheat variety. The family mills the grain themselves and sells the flour directly to customers in their farm store.
From 2010 to 2021, Merle and Dorothy also ran a small farmstead goat dairy and creamery, bottling milk from their LaMancha goats and making yogurt. Their on-farm store sold their dairy products along with other locally made Amish goods. Because the farm sits right in Arthur—an area that draws thousands of visitors each year—it was a natural fit to begin offering agritourism experiences alongside the farm store.
In 2022, the former creamery building was repurposed into a seasonal deer processing facility, reflecting the way farms often adapt to what the community needs and what fits the family’s goals. Today, Green Meadow Farm continues welcoming visitors through experiences like horse-and-buggy rides and overnight stays in a fully furnished RV trailer, which can be booked through Hipcamp or Airbnb.
Hospitality, the Amish Way
At the heart of it, Merle’s goal has been simple: bring visitors into closer contact with the Amish way of life. The farm store started as a way to share their dairy products and local goods, but the bigger vision grew into offering hands-on experiences—buggy rides and farm stays—to give guests a more in-depth feel for life on an Amish farm.
Simple Joys & Unique Aspects
Visitors are naturally curious, particularly how the Amish community lives in general, and Merle enjoys answering questions and showing folks around in a way that feels friendly and down-to-earth. Guests often ask about Merle’s own family; the horses’ names and what they’re used for; and all kinds of practical questions (including whether Amish families are allowed to ride in other people’s vehicles). He shows them some of the farm’s animals—they currently have a few sheep and chickens—and there are plenty of entertaining barn cats.
The main attractions right now are the horse-and-buggy rides and the RV camper farm stay. Visitors come from all over the world, and the experience offers a gentle window into Amish culture. One of the best parts of staying overnight is the peace and quiet of country living. And because the Kaufmans are Amish, there’s no electricity, which makes the stay a built-in reset: a rare chance to put the phone away, slow down, and actually feel how restful “unplugged” can be.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, Merle would love to add more livestock for guests to interact with, possibly a pony and goats. He’d also like to increase the number of chickens, so farm-stay visitors can buy fresh eggs to cook right in the RV camper. These plans are small additions that make the experience even more memorable without changing what Green Meadow Farm already does best.
Green Meadow Farm is the kind of place that reminds you how refreshing “simple” can be. Whether you stop in for flour milled from heirloom Einkorn wheat, take a buggy ride, or spend a night in quiet Amish Country, you’ll leave with a deeper appreciation for the land, the rhythm of farm life, and the calm that comes from slowing down—even just for a little while.
CU on the Farm!
Sign up for our CU on the Farm Experience Pass and visit Green Meadow Farm (along with 15+ Champaign-Urbana area farms)!