Archive for Agritourism Marketing
Crop Mobs Begin To Grow
Have you ever heard of crop mobs?
Until recently I was not aware of this phenomenon that is popping up all over the country. But an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, opened my eyes to this recent trend. Basically a crop mob is a group of people pulling together to help accomplish tasks on small farms. Typically this happens at the beginning of the season and some of the chores include pulling weeds, patching up fences and planting crops.
Crop Mobs started in North Carolina over a year ago and have been expanding across the country. So who participates is in a crop mob experience?
Crop mob volunteers consist of a wide variety of people who want to help small farmers and learn farm chores. A lot of these people are city dwellers who are looking for a different experience. Many consumers are making very proactive choices in eating locally grown food and this experience lets them get their hands dirty and see firsthand the hard work involved in growing this food. Some of the volunteers are people who are looking to start their own farms and desire a real hands-on experience to see just how much work it does require to be a farmer. The best part for the small farmer is crop mobbers work for free and for many small farms that can mean the difference of losing or making money with the crop.
The word about crop mobs is growing so quickly because of the Internet. Crop mobbers are using a variety of techniques to get the word out about what farms they will be helping and how others can sign up to volunteer. Right now, crop mobs use social media and e-mailing as their main method of communication.
So does your small farm need an extra hand? You might be surprised at the people willing to help you perform your ordinary farm chores. The crop mob experience could be a great marketing technique to expand the customer base! By offering this experience for your customers to learn how the farm works could spike an interest. People like trying new things and this could offer a great learning experience that would also increase your farms productivity and bottom line.
Win a FREE $17,500 Farm Wedding Package!
Does this offer sound to good to be true? Well, the Today Show is not the only place that has made an offer to have a prospective bride’s dream come true. Seven Sycamore Ranch in Ivanhoe, California just recently announced a FREE $17,500 All Inclusive destination wedding package contest.
Kelly Maxwell, wedding coordinator, at Seven Sycamores came up with the idea for the contest and convinced her other local wedding suppliers to partner in giving away this package. The prospective bride and groom not only receive the beautiful Seven Sycamore outdoor venue for their April 2011 nuptials but also receive the bridal gown, decorated cake, wedding photographer, flowers, DJ, party rental fixtures, full catering for the event plus a romantic night at a local B & B. Another words – the wedding will be FREE to the couple.
Entries are now being accepted through May 31, and the winner will be announced at the ranch on June 19. There is one catch – you must be present to win. Kelly, and all the service providers will be on the ranch that day available to answer any questions regarding wedding planning and to show their services.
Bridal industry experts now tell us that having your wedding on a farm has become a top trend for prospective couples in choosing the site to hold their nuptials. By the way, I have been to Seven Sycamores and am very impressed with how they have created a magical place to have a wedding in the midst of a large, fragrant orange grove.
If you would like to check out the details for the FREE $17,500 Farm Wedding Package just CLICK HERE.
Otherwise, if California is not a convenient location for your wedding then visit www.ruralbounty.com. This is a farm and ranch directory that shows all types of agritourism activities available on farms today - including weddings.
Mississippi Agritourism Association Hosts Annual Meeting
Cathy & Mike May,Lazy Acres Plantation
Last weekend I was pleased to participate in the Mississippi Agritourism Association annual meeting at Lazy Acres Plantation in Chunky, MS. Jo Lynn Mitchell of Mitchell Farms and Stanley Wise helped to organize and put together the day.
We were hosted by Cathy and Michael May of Lazy Acres Plantation, and met in their new group rental building they named Plantation Hall. It was a perfect setting for the presentation, mini-trade show and lunch for the near 80 attendees.
I’m always pleased to speak to new audiences and this meeting attracted farmers from the four neighboring states of GA, AL, AR & LA. My talk featured steps to Growing & Marketing, and Agritourism Business. Based on the feedback and questions presented to me, this audience was eager for the information and ready to go home and implement new ideas.
Agritourism is still very much a growing industry in Mississippi but the founders and board members of the organization are ready to have it thrive. We even attracted the attention of WTOK TV from Meridian, MS which came to the meeting to film a segment for the Evening News. Getting publicity for our farms happened to be a topic of discussion and the fact that the local news station came to feature a story was truly a bonus for the day.
Eckert Family Farm Celebrates 100th Anniversary
It’s not easy for a family business to survive for seven generations but I’m proud to say that our family farm has done so – www.eckerts.com. Johann Eckert came to America with his family in 1837 to find orchard ground similar to what he had in Germany and found the perfect spot near Fayetteville, IL and he named the property Drum Hill. Since those early years the family farm has grown to mulitple orchard locations and pick your own farms in Belleville, Millstadt and Grafton, IL.
While our family started with one small farmhouse and orchard ground the business has grown into a much larger orchard operation. The start of our agritourism business began in 1910 when we opened a farm stand. Now, 100 years later we are looking to expand our retail with a brand new country store and doubling the size of our restaurant to 400 seats. In fact, our local Public Television Station KETC ”LIving St. Louis” program just produced a video on the farm now posted on You Tube.
The goal of Eckert Farms is to “create family memories” and to preserve the family traditions that customers have come to count on over the years. It is not easy today for family farms to succeed but with sound marketing ”agritourism” farms are thriving across North America and beyond.
To assist you in your search for agritourism farms just go to RuralBounty.com
Agritourism Directory Now FREE to Farm Operators!
RuralBounty.com, the North American directory of Agritourism Farms and Ranches, is now providing free basic listings to all agritourism farms in the U.S. and Canada. The entire registration process can be done online. For a small annual fee, Premier listings are also available.
Rural Bounty is a powerful one-source directory that will make it easy for people to locate agritourism operators no matter where they may live. This directory will make is easy for the traveling public to locate farms, ranches and wineries who are open to the public. The dynamic search provides results by state or province and can identify over 500 types of farm products, activities, entertainment, farm lodging, outdoor recreation, farm weddings, family events, CSA programs and festivals all available today on family farms.
Even if a farm does not have a website of their own they can still post their information on Rural Bounty. “Now, there really is no reason why agritourism operators don’t sign up for this valuable resource,” says founder, Jane Eckert.
The public are invited to visit www.ruralbounty.com and start planning their next vacation to visit a family farm or perhaps even stay on one.
Family Farm Co-op Sells Directly to Charlotte Restaurants
I recently came across an article in the Charlotte Observer telling about the Farmers Fresh Market that was established by the North Carolina Economic Development Center. The farm co-op is selling their products directly to chefs in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Chefs can simply log onto the co-op website to find out what is fresh and have the produce delivered direct to their kitchens within 24 hours of harvest.
This initiative is now in the third year and both the small farmer and the chefs say it’s a WIN-WIN for everyone. The small farmer is growing and delivering a broad variety of fresh produce that would not always be available and can do so on a frequent basis. Many of these farmers are even growing crops they had never heard of until they started working with the local chefs.
The chefs are excited because they are able to source local foods and some exotic offerings regularly and plan their menus based on the co-op supply of product. Many of these are high-end products that also provide a very good return for the small farmer. The program is showing these farmers that you don’t always need large acreage to produce a reasonable income.
There is no doubt that alternative marketing channels can benefit the small farmer. The Farmers Fresh Market Co-op is doing a great job of putting local fresh fruits and vegetables in the hands of local restaurants.
Virginia Promotes Agritourism
Recently, I have been doing research in the state of Virginia regarding agritourism operators because I will soon be speaking in Richmond at the 7th Annual Small Farm Family Conference. It is often very difficult doing individual state agritourism research to find a good directory or even a poor directory of agritourism operators in the state.
However, I want to brag on the State of Virginia Tourism Department because they have done a great job in integrating farms and orchards into their website www.virginia.org for easy look up.
The search begins with a page titled “Living the Country Life” and from this page you can go to either Farm Stays or Day Trips. If we want to make it easy for people to find our farms we need to be sure our state tourism departments include us on their websites.
The other alternative of course is to search the Internet for farm activity directories that can provide us this information such as www.ruralbounty.com or www.cornmaze.com. These are two farm directories covering agritourism operations across North America.
The Internet is now the primary marketing tool of choice. It’s time for all states to follow the lead of Virginia and prominently highlight their agritourism operators. Actually – it’s a win-win for tourism and agriculture and the consumer.
Corn Mazes, Pumpkin Patches & More on Family Farms!
The first day of October and time to plan your trip to the local pumpkin patch. I have recently spent time in both Alberta and Ontario and pleased to report that fall season offerings have grown across North America to become a favorite family weekend activity. Of course, there are many agritourism farms that still have plenty of apples ripe for picking.
Corn mazes, pig races and pumpkin cannons continue to dominate fall festivals on agritourism farms. It appears that farmers today are truly enjoying coming up with new attractions to delight their guests. Other activities that I have seen on farms this year include: duck races, tube swing, maze in an orange grove, jumping pillow, zip line, underground slide, parrot feeding, animal shows, barrrel rides, gem mining, silo climbing, kids karaoke, evening haunted hayrides, flashlight mazes, bonfires and many more.
It is time to plan your trip now to go apple picking and pumpkin picking before time gets away from you. For a listing of farms in your area that offer great fall season experiences just go to www.ruralbounty.com to find farms near you.
