Report Agritourism in 2012 Agricultural Census

All farmers and ranchers should receive a Census form in the mail by early January. Completed forms are due by February 4, 2013. Farmers can return their forms by mail or online by visiting a secure website, www.agcensus.usda.gov. Federal law requires all agricultural producers to participate in the Census and requires NASS to keep all individual information confidential.

For more information about the Census, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call 1-888-4AG-STAT (1-888-424-7828). The Census of Agriculture is your voice, your future, your responsibility.

Announcing Winter Webinar Series

Join us for the upcoming winter series:

eXtension - Entrepreneurs and Their Communities

Winter Webinar Series

Second Thursday of every month

2:00 p.m. (ET); 1:00 p.m. (CT); 12:00 p.m. (MT); 11:00 am (PT)

Connect to webinar - https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/etc-cop

January 10 - Getting Action from Website Landing Pages

Ever wonder why some online businesses seem to have all the luck - well it may not be luck after all! Their content marketing payoff may be because their 'landing pages' encourage the customer to take 'action'. Your landing pages can mean the difference between profit and loss! Learn how to send your customers to the right page and create the appropriate call to action! 

 

Presenter - Jay Jenkins, UNL Extension Educator

 

February 14 - Top 10 Trends and Cool Tools in Social Media

Julie Fox joins us again this year for a popular session on what's new in social media. This fast moving session goes beyond the latest statistics to demonstrate what's working and show you how to benefit from the latest social media trends and tools.

 

Presenter - Julie Fox, Ohio State Extension

 

March 14 - Pinterest for Your Business

Just when you thought you’d gotten a handle on social media by getting on Facebook and maybe giving Twitter a try, along comes Pinterest. Pinterest is now the number three most-popular social network in the U.S., behind only Facebook and Twitter, according to Experian’s Digital Marketer Trend and Benchmark Report.  Thru this webinar an introduction to what Pinterest is and why you should use it for your business will be presented. Also discussed will be setting up a Pinterest account, how to interact, and how to create pin boards.

 

Presenters Tara Gross is a young entrepreneur and owner of Country Drawers in Cambridge, Nebraska and Connie Hancock is an Extension Educator from UNL Extension.

Networking Association for Farm Direct Marketing and Agritourism

Charlie Touchette extends an invitation for you to attend the 2013  NAFDMA meeting in Portland, Oregon, February 1-6, 2013.  Registration for this meeting would make a great gift for a person interested in direct sales and agritourism. To learn more, go to their website: http://www.nafdma.com/PNW2013/PNWRegistration/

Several of our agritourism operations in Louisiana attend this event every year.

Last Minute Gifts-Go to MarketMaker

It's the holiday season and I'm scrambling for last minute gifts for family and friends.  This year I decided to make my gifts agricultural. It's pecans for all my male relatives/friends and plants for my female relatives/friends. You can find a great selection of what you are looking for by logging onto MarketMaker. This online shopping guide will help you narrow your choices of items and locations to purchase. Check it out!

John Folse Radio Show Features Becnel Plantation Wines

Donald Becnel of Becnel Plantation, LLC of Vacherie was a special guest on the 12/8/12 broadcast of John Folse’s “Stirrin’ It Up!” radio show over the weekend. Listen to the show to learn about the history and making of his dry fruit wine. He shares how he started and the assistance he received along the way and talks about his marketing approach. Click here to listen to the interview. He is listed on MarketMaker.  For a look at this website click here.

Time to Buy a Christmas Tree

Tis the season to experience the fun and joy of Christmas tree shopping with the family. I can remember many Christmases on our farm in Dodson. My Dad and I were the Christmas tree scouts all year long and we would tag the perfect tree and then find our way back into the woods in December to chop it down. Today, shoppers can travel to tree farms and enjoy the same family experience I did as a child. I can remember circling the tree checking for open spots before, I said, "This is the one." Today, commercially grown trees have no open, void spots, so all the trees are perfect, just select a height and head to the check out counter. For a listing of Christmas Tree farms log onto MarketMaker and/or Pick Your Own Christmas Tree