Archive for Agritourism Marketing
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.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing | agritourism, agritourism directory, agritourism operators, family farms, Jane Eckert, Rural Bounty|No Comments
Yes, it’s true! Based on a recent survey I conducted agritourism farm operators are not jumping on the social media bandwagon. Facebook was the top choice with 51.2% of the respondees participating and Twitter had 29.9%.
Two local orchards in Connecticut are actually having a friendly rivalry to see which farm can add more new members to their Facebook page by Nov. 27. For each new member added to their fan page Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market & Winery in Guilford, CT and Jones Family Farms in Shelton will donate $1 per fan to local charity. You still have time to join them for this worthwhile cause.
Chris Curtis of Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch in Champaign, Illinois truly had some success with launching his fan page. The orchard started their Facebook fan page in June and in three short months they have over 5,600 fans.
For those farms that would like to participate in my Annual Agritourism Farm Survey CLICK HERE . The survey will be open until December 20th at which time I will then summarize the results and share them with all respondees. The survey is only for farms and you can expect to take between 20 -30 minutes to complete.
It’s that time of year to count our blessings and to say thanks for all that we have. Wishing everyone a very blessed Thanksgiving.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Technology | agritourism, Bishop's Orchards Farm Market & Winery, Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch, Eckert Agrimarketing, Facebook, family farms, Jane Eckert, Jones Family Farms, Rural Bounty, social media, twitter|No Comments
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.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Technology | Charlotte, Eckert Agrimarketing, family farms, Farm co-op, Farmers Fresh Market, Jane Eckert, small farms|No Comments
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.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Agritourism Today | agritourism, agritourism directories, Eckert Agrimarketing, Jane Eckert, Rural Bounty, Virginia tourism, virginia.org, www.cornmaze.com, www.ruralbounty.com|1 Comment
Recently, I was in Ontario, Canada conducting ten farm mentorship consultations for the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association. I am pleased to report that they have a great variety of agritourism operators from farms just beginning in agritourism to some that are very sophisticated in their offerings.
For instance, I visited Clovermead Bees & Honey where I had my first “honey tasting” experience. At the Yee Haw Adventure Farm I was treated to the “duck races” and a face-to-face hillbilly adventure. Ernie Muzylowsky, at Apple Land Station showed me his farm train that he uses to haul people to the apple orchard. Anne & Hugh Nauman not only take their products to the local farmer’s market but they also have an on-farm market and were completing a new rope maze to be ready for this fall season. I even flew to the Thunder Bay area of Ontario to visit Sue & Gerry Gammon of Gammondale Farm.
If you would like to visit some of these farms with me you can by taking a look at the two videos that I produced after this trip. You can view the first You Tube Video here or go to the second You Tube Video.
The agritourism industry in Ontario is a well organized group. Thank you Cathy Barolic, Director - Ontario Farm Fresh for inviting me.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Agritourism Today, Agritourism travel | Add new tag, agritourism, Appleland Station, Cathy Bartolic, Clovermead Bees & Honey, Eckert Agrimarketing, fall experiences, family farm, family farms, gammondale farm, Jane Eckert, Nauman's Farm, Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association, Rural Bounty, Yee Haw Adventure Farm|No Comments
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.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Agritourism Today, Technology | agritourism, agritourism farms, Alberta, apple picking, corn maze, corn mazes, fall festivals, fall season, family events, family farms, Jane Eckert, local farms, Ontario, pick your own apples, pig races, pumpkin cannons, pumpkin patch, Rural Bounty, things to do, u pick apples|No Comments
Wow! I’m impressed that USA Today recently came out with a list of the TOP 10 Apple Pick Your Farms and that I know three of them. Congrats to Huber Orchard & Winery, Tougas Family Farm and Hollabaugh Brothers Fruit Farm for this special recognition. I sure hope that this article translates into more customers to these local farms as well as to all the great apple pick your own farms here in the U.S.
The key message to the public - local apples are ready and it’s time to go apple picking! Apple season does not last long and it’s easy to miss out on favorite varieties if you wait too long. I encourage everyone to check out the USA Today list or visit Rural Bounty to find apple orchards in your area.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Agritourism travel | apple orchards, apple picking, buy local apples, Hollabaugh Brothers Fruit Farm, Huber Orchard & Winery, local apples, pick your own apples, Rural Bounty, TOP 10 Apple Farms, Tougas Family Farm, USA TODAY|No Comments
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.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing | agritourism, agritourism farms, Eckert Agrimarketing, fall experiences, family farms, Halloween, Halloween haunting hayrides, haunted hayrides, Honeysuckle Hill FArm, Jane Eckert, Jeff Alsup, Nashville, Rural Bounty, Scream Creek, Springfield, Tennessee|No Comments
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
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Technology | agritourism, agritourism farms, agritourism operator, Constant Contact, e-newsletters, Eckert Agrimarketing, Epsilon research, family farms, Jane Eckert|No Comments
The good news is that consumers are buying more of their produce direct from the grower according to the recent report from the USDA Economic Research Service. The 2007 Census of Agriculture has been tabulated and reports that 26% of farms growing vegetables and melons are selling their product direct to the consumer.
The buying direct news isn’t new. However, the direct vegetable sales of $335 million in 2007 represent money going directly to farmers and not to the middleman. This allows the farmer to receive a fair return for his product and not having his food travel hundreds of miles before it is eaten.
The number for direct sales is actually 36% in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region of the U.S. The growth of farmers markets, on farm sales, farm stands and community supported agriculture (CSAs) and online sales account for this big surge in spending. Many of these farms not only sell what they grow directly to the consumer but they are also part of the growing farm industry called “agritourism.”
The combination of selling direct to the consumer and providing unique on farm experiences is helping the small family farm succeed today. Many of these farms can be found online at www.ruralbounty.com Support your local farmers - buy direct and shake the hand that feeds you!
If you buy from a local farmer, please share your experience here. Thank you.
Filed under: Agritourism Marketing, Agritourism Today | 2007 Ag Census, agritourism, Buying local, Community Supported Agriculture, CSAs, Eckert Agrimarketing, family farms, farm markets, farm stands, Jane Eckert, Rural Bounty, USDA, USDA Economic Research|No Comments
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