Building a New Frontier with Wisconsin Agri-tourism
Have you ever thought, ‘if they only understood’…
In my role with agri-tourism at LaClare Family Creamery and as serving as vice president of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association, I have had the opportunity to work with consumers firsthand. What I have learned is today’s consumer really wants to know how their food is produced and where it comes from. They want to meet the people who grow and raise their food. Consumers want experiences that immerse them in agriculture and they are willing to pay for those experiences. The most popular experiences are hands-on experiences with animals. Today’s typical consumer is three to five generations removed from the family farm. The main reason we started our “Meet Your Local Farmer Day” program in Calumet County about eight years ago was to give the consumer who had no direct ties to agriculture the opportunity to set their feet on a working farm and to meet the farmer.
Consumers often say that one of the most trusted sources of information regarding agriculture is the farmer.
As we close out our financial records for 2023 and continue making plans for 2024, a question that arises is how we can add the greatest value to the bottom line of our farm business, especially for the small to medium sized farms. Does adding agri-tourism to the business model make sense?
Wisconsin is known as America’s agricultural tourism destination. Agri-tourism can add financial sustainability to your farm. Agri-tourism takes your passion for agriculture, ties it in with your willingness to educate the consumer or your neighbor about agriculture which offers value-added income to your operation.
When developing your business plan for agri-tourism consider what will your focus be, what’s your story, what’s unique about what you have to offer and how you will market your destination. Working with other agri-tourism businesses in your area strengthens everyone. It provides more opportunities for the consumer to keep them in your community longer and causes them to return which adds to everyone’s bottom line.
The Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association has many resources available for you to start your new agri-tourism business. It has just received a USDA grant called Growing Wisconsin; food, specialty crops and agricultural tourism development; galvanizing WI.
This grant will allow WATA to significantly increase the educational resources for family farms interested in entering or expanding agricultural tourism efforts. This includes a mentorship program, video resources and building on key collaborations across the state and nationwide. Another major goal of this grant project is to make it easier for individuals, families and groups to find farm-based adventures throughout the state. Check out the website at wiagtourism.com.
Depending on your focus, most agri-tourism operations are open May-October, but Wisconsin has two amazing agri-tourism centers that are open year-round. The Wisconsin Farm Discovery Center located in Manitowoc and The Food + Farm Exploration Center located in Plover.
I am a former high school agriculture instructor and FFA advisor. The FFA motto “learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve” truly helps one wrap their mind around agri-tourism in your community. Agri-tourism offers our consumers the opportunity to be immersed in agriculture to truly understand what and why you do what you do. Thus, giving them the background to make informed decisions about their food supply along with local, state and national rules and regulations surrounding their food supply. Agri-tourism gives the farm an added revenue stream allowing farm sustainability and the opportunity for the current and next generation to use their skills.
Agri-tourism not only serves the consumer and the farmer but it helps support our communities.
Agri-tourism is not a new concept. It has been around for many decades but are we at a point at which agriculture is a new frontier for our consumers? Are you up for helping to build this new frontier of educating our consumers through hands-on agricultural experiences? If yes, consider thinking about how you can embrace agri-tourism on your farm.
Clara Hedrich is the District 6 representative on the WFBF Promotion and Education Committee. Clara, along with her husband and four of their five adult children, founded LaClare Family Creamery in Malone specializing in goat milk cheeses.
The Promotion and Education Committee is a dynamic group of Farm Bureau leaders who develop, implement and promote programs that build agricultural awareness and provide leadership development to the agricultural community.
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