Archive for August, 2009
Agritourism Farms featured by Kansas Farm Bureau
It’s not often that we see a farm publication that gives us in-depth coverage of agritourism. However, that is exactly what the Kansas Farm Bureau magazine, Kansas Living, has done for their September issue. I invite you to view their magazine on line and read the articles titled “Just down the Road,” “Ranch Rodeo,” “Prime Picks,” or “Unhurried Hunting.” All articles provide an in depth look at what is going on in Kansas, and feature some of their top operators.
Kansas Farm Bureau Magazine, Sept. 2009
Mike Matson, the Director of Communications and Public Relations, called me early this summer to discuss this upcoming issue and to get my feedback regarding not only Kansas agritourism but to discuss agritourism in general. In fact, he included a Q & A page where he interviewed me for “Let’s Talk Agritourism” on page 15.
Kansas was one of the early states to recognize the potential for their farmers to get involved in agritourism. Of course, as we now know, every state and every province in Canada is embracing agritourism, and that is why we created the North American database directory www.ruralbounty.com and www.ruralbounty.ca for people to find these types of experiences all across our continent.
In order for our agritourism industry to thrive we all need to be constantly marketing our message. I applaud the Kansas Farm Bureau for paying tribute to these Kansas family farmers–farmers that have become part of this important value added niche we call “agritourism.” I hope to see more farm publications to do the same.
Agritourism Offers More Haunting Experiences
A quick visit with Jeff Alsup, owner of Honeysuckle Hill Farm and Scream Creek in Springfield, Tennessee.
I just returned from a trip to Tennessee and took the time to visit one of our friends Jeff Alsup at Honeysuckle Hill Farm outside of Nashville. Jeff gave me a walking tour of his farm and it was truly amazing how in just a few short years Jeff has developed his agritourism farm to be one of the best fall family experiences in Tennessee.
It’s interesting that Jeff’s background had been as a CPA but he was drawn to life on the farm and developing a fall season business because it just looked like fun. Honeysuckle Hill offers both a small and large corn maze, duck pond, pig races, pedal tractors, jumping pillow, large playground, a beautiful pond to feed the fish plus plenty of space to enjoy the beauty of his farm.
Just two years ago Jeff decided to go into the nighttime business of providing a Halloween “haunting experience.” The new effort is called ScreamCreek that incorporates both wagon rides and walking through a haunted forest. He hires actors to provide the truly scarey and frightful experiences. Scream Creek is geared toward the teen and young adult that doesn’t mind the dark and some pretty loud noises.
The admission is a reasonable $15 but Jeff came up with an even better idea. The $20 priced ticket gains you entrance to the “VIP” lounge with comfortable seating, free concessions and front of the line entrance to board the wagons.
With October just a little over a month away, I know all of the fall season farms are getting ready to provide their customers the best of the fall including plenty of pumpkins and decorations. As children are now returning to school we know that apples and pumpkins are sure to follow.
E-Mail newsletters provide agritourism farms best ROI
Just in case you have not heard of ROI before it stands for Return on Investment. It’s been substantiated that e-newsletters have become the marketing method of choice for not only big companies but also for the small companies. Why? Because it is the most cost effective method to stay in touch with your best customers.
While marketing statistics by email providers such as Constant Contact tell us that an average “open rate” of an e-newsletter is between 12 – 19%, I have found farms getting as high as a 40% open rate. As agritourism operators, we have a very close connection to our customers and they want to know – what we are picking today, what will we be picking tomorrow, what events do we have planned for this weekend etc.
Further research by Epsilon in 2008 tells us that 57% of consumers feel they have a more positive impression of companies when they receive email from them. I know farms that still aren’t utilizing this marketing tool as they should and frankly I don’t understand.
The time to start gathering email addresses is now. Whether you post a sign at the front of your market or add a box on your website for sign-ups – it’s time to begin.
E-Mail sign up table
