WesMar Farms Dairy Farm Tour Recognized by National Geographic

Margueretie and Wes Constantine who own and operate WesMar Farms Diary in Moureville just received a prestigious award from National Geographic for their diary farm tour.  They represent agritourism so well in our state. Congratulations, we are proud of you.

NAFDMA Names Agritourism Website Winner

NAFDMA (North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association) announced that Walter's Pumpkin Patch in Kansas was the winner of this years best website design voted on by peers. Take a minute and look at the website for ideas.

Partnering to Host Events

Partnering with others to host events is a win-win. Partner with someone who will bring a new audience to your enterprise. Search for that partner who will do their share of the work. Look for a partner that has good ideas and plenty of time to devote to a new project.

Once you locate a partner, make sure that each of you understand each other's responsibility to make the event a success. Split the responsibilites so that each of you does his fair share.  When responsibilities are distributed fairly, the partnership has a future.

As I write this post, there are two special occasions on the horizon: Valentine's Day and Easter.

Find a partner, and start collaborating.

Scavenger Hunting on the Farm

I love to go on scavenger hunts and why not create one as special entertainment on the farm or incorporate that as part of your farm visits. The Vermont Agritourism Collaborative has an online handbook with some very clever ideas.  Look at pages 53 and 55.

Are You Creating A Memory on Your Farm?

I recently ran into an old childhood friend and our conversation quickly turned to reminiscing

about the good old days. Growing up  I lived on a farm  and everyone loved to come for a visit. Although, I did not know the term, agritourism, at the time,  I knew that people liked to visit and ridehorses, fish, play in the hay loft and feed

our animals. No one ever left our farm empty handed either. We had year-round gardens and we allowed people to experience the now popular "farm to table" movement.

Those memories are what stood out in my friend's mind, not the clothes we wore or the overnight stays, but the fun of riding in our  rodeo wagon and galloping up the hill to the barn on our pair of palimino horses.
Memories are what sell farm tours, think about what memories you can share with your customers.

Nature Photography Workshop

Join us for a two session Nature Photography Workshop 

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Monroe, LA 

    DATES:

March 14, 2015

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

March 28, 2015

10 a.m. to noon

Session one: 

The class will be inside in the morning teaching basic photography skills and providing tips on photographing nature and wildlife. In the afternoon participants will take a photography field trip and have hands-on instruction. For this session you will need a notepad, camera (professional camera not required; point and shoot camera is okay), a brown bag lunch, snacks and drinks.

Session two:

The class will be indoors. Bring your camera and three or more photos to be critiqued by the group.

Registration  is $50.  Make checks payable to:

“Louisiana Delta Adventures.”

Mail to:

Candice Head

P.O. Box 595

Newellton, LA 71357

Include your name, address, phone number and e-mail.

Deadline:

March 6, 2015

For more information contact:

Candice Head candi@headtotoephotos.com or

Dora Ann Hatch at dhatch@agcenter.lsu.edu

Class Instructor:

Candice Head

Head to Toe Photos

candi@headtotoephotos.com

Offering Something New

If you have been in business for awhile maybe it's time to add something new.. Using the resources you have, what would that be?

Most farms have lots of open land. Why not partner with someone who needs to raise money for a cause; a church that needs a place for a fellowship event; or work with a school to offer an outing for students and family.

Events could be:  a hike, a run, an Easter Egg Hunt, etc. As people participate in these events make sure they see your agritourism operation, but don't include that in the event so that they will return as a paid guest to your operation.

As a partner make sure that it's understood that you will need to receive money to cover the expenses of insurance, extra personnel, etc. This parntership could lead to future events and provide publicity.