05/19/06 Agri-tourism Potential

Agri-tourism potential. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. A South Dakota State University professor wants farmers and ranchers to realize the potential of agri-tourism. Dr. Russell Stubbles says rural landowners need to take a look at what their farms and ranches have to offer. STUBBLES: Usually offer solitude or scenic vistas. Perhaps history in the area. The family and you can go to a place in Texas and view the night sky and stay at a ranch. So basically the rancher figured out that what he could sell was the night sky to people who don't get to see it. Stubbles says people will pay money to simply sit on the front porch and watch the cows. And he says the Internet is a big help in marketing your farm or ranch as a tourist destination. STUBBLES: What you do is to get a web site and that doesn't cost that much money and therefore from then on you can sell whatever it is you have; all the way from agriculture to ranching to crops to whatever. Or just solitude and peaceful settings. Done right, Stubbles says agri-tourism can pump five- to 10-thousand dollars of extra money into farm income - with little investment. And he says the nice thing about a farm-based tourism business is that it can be set up to fit the farmer's schedule. STUBBLES: In other words if you say I don't want to be committed 12 months out of the year, well then don't. Commit yourself to 2 months of the year or commit yourself to 6 weeks or commit yourself to the first week of every month or whatever you are doing; that you control your product or your service. Dr. Stubbles suggests producers visit with their insurance agent about liability issues related to tourism ventures. Stubbles offers workshops as a private consultant and teaches a course on agri-tourism at SDSU. Farmers in Washington State have begun the process of exploring agri-tourism. Terica Taylor with the Yakima Valley Visitor and Convention Bureau. TAYLOR: For about a year now some farmers from the Yakima Valley have been working together to develop a stronger Ag tourism and direct marketing program in the region. So they decided they would bring in Jane Eckert who is a leading authority on agricultural tourism and direct marketing. Agricultural tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry and it includes visiting working farms and wineries and other agricultural industries. And Jane is a farmers daughter who had a really successful career in corporate marketing but eventually returned to her families orchard and developed it into one of the leading tourist destinations in Missouri. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.