 |
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Remember the "Field of Dreams" movie when Kevin Costner's character plows under part of his cornfield to build a baseball field? A voice tells him "If you build it they will come." While his neighbors think he's crazy to plow under his corn, the movie ends with headlights streaming down the road for miles as people head for his ball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield. Agritourism, a partnership between Illinois' two largest industries agriculture and tourism, is taking off. An agritourism business can provide a supplemental, off-season income, or it can grow into a year-round primary business. Entrepreneurship is at the very heart of the farm economy. However, as with any new business it takes a lot of planning with careful assessment of your skills and resources. This is real life, not a movie, and people will not magically show up at your farm. Mark Hardy, co-owner of Hardy's Reindeer Ranch, says if you build it they won't come unless you work really, really hard to market your agritourism business.
It is the off season now, but Mark and his wife Julie work hard most of the year to create a complete Christmas experience at their farm near Rantoul. Hardy, a former dairy farmer, still farms 240 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Each year he maps out a corn maze with mapping help from Illini FS. The Hardys also have a pumpkin patch, hayrides, farm tours, kid's corral, wild west chuck wagon BBQs, a banquet hall, a general store and gift shop, Christmas tree farm and, of course, real reindeer. Mark started growing Christmas trees on some marginal land he talked his dad out of in the late 1980s. Later when he married Julie he says it was her idea to turn the operation into a complete Christmas experience. Mark credits Julie's marketing expertise for the success of their agritourism business. Hardy says, "You have to be good with people and Julie can get up and speak in front of anyone. She has the salesmanship. For example, the reindeer were her idea. They cost $5,000 and we argued about that one for about a month or so. I lost. But she knew we had to get the word out and needed a way to promote our business." Now Julie travels to tourism trade shows to bring in bus tours from around the country. One was coming from Branson, Mo., back to Chicago the day we spoke to Hardy. Hardy says he likes the business because it allows them to be independent and he enjoys the creative aspects of the work. On the somewhat negative side, the former dairy farmer says there 10 | ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING | www.icl.coop are still no days off for at least six months of the year. And it still takes a good relationship with a banker to build the business, nothing new to farmers. But some things are very different. "You can't mind living in a fish bowl for six months," says Hardy. However, he says with a variety of groups and ages it keeps things interesting. He also warns there are business issues to plan for such as liability insurance. "The second thing is zoning," he says. Fire codes, health codes and other issues have to be complied with. "But you can deal with it. You just have to be ready," he says. For Rick Taylor, a grain farmer near Mt. Erie, providing a quality service and treating people like you would want to be treated is the key to agritourism success. TNT Hunting Preserve is a family business Rick runs with his brother Dennis. They started 13 years ago by raising game birds for other hunting preserves.
"I've hunted since before I was old enough to carry a gun," says Taylor. "But as the birds have begun to dwindle in the wild this has become an opportunity for people to still hunt. Farming is pretty seasonal anyway and fee hunting works great with our farming schedule." You can tell Taylor is a people person, especially when it comes to young people. He says, "A lot of these fee places are pretty expensive to take a kid hunting. Our clients don't have a lot of money, so we keep our rates low and flexible." For the past five years Taylor has organized a free pheasant hunt for young people 15 and under. "We set up five fields with guides and dogs. We take two at a time. They can shoot clay targets and we feed them lunch." It wasn't hard to incorporate wildlife habitat into his farming operation. He says, "We have a lot of fence rows and edge areas. We don't have big fields and everything is still split up with fencerows. We plant wheat strips and we leave the corn stubble with no fall tillage." Taylor has more than 2,000 hunters each year. Most are from Illinois and surrounding states, but some have come from as far away as Alaska. "We're not a high dollar operation here so we don't make megabucks, but it is an income we can really put to use," says Taylor. For Eckert's Country Store and Farms near Belleville what started as a roadside orchard ' stand in 1910 is now a huge family-operated agritourism business. "We are actually the 20th largest tourist attraction in the St.Louis metropolitan area with more than 400,000 visitors a year," says Angela Gordon, marketing director for Eckert's. The farm is now being run by the seventh generation of Eckerts and each generation has added to the agritourism business. Chris Eckert's vision is agri-entertainment, not just picking your own fruit and wagon rides, but an animated barn, country music, a giant slide and more. "It is almost a country theme park," says Gordon. "Jill Eckert, Chris's sister started a full service restaurant on the farm, plus a bakery and custard shop. Chris's wife January 2004 | www.aeic.www | 11
Angie is a landscape designer and we just built a 12,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art garden center that she runs. We use to be open just in the summer and the fall. Now we're open virtually year-round. Our slogan now is 'we are growing country memories everyday.'" Jane Eckert, a sixth generation Eckert, now runs her own agritourism consulting business called Eckert AgriMarketing. She is busy promoting agritourism in Illinois and across the country. She created a Web site, www.farmstop.com, where tourists can search for agritourism businesses and entrepreneurs can leam more about agritourism. Eckert sees several encouraging signs for the growth of agritourism. First she says people are looking for fresh produce straight from the farm. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, tourists are also looking for entertainment close to home and ways to reconnect with their families. They are also looking for outdoor activities. Finally, urban families are so removed from farm life they are looking for the farm experience, one they probably remember from back in the roots of their family tree. The key to success is forming partnerships and marketing. Eckert says, "Illinois is farther ahead than many other states. Bruce Wick with the University of Illinois put together a Web site for a new Illinois agritourism association just now getting organized at www.agritourism.uiuc.edu/ATPI/." The new Agritourism association is called Agriculture and Tourism Partners of Illinois (ATPI), which was started by representatives from Illinois agriculture and tourism. "Agriculture and tourism, depending on what year it is, are usually the top two industries in the state. It really only makes sense that they are talking," says Eckert. The goal of the new group is to promote agritourism in Illinois to the benefit of farmers and the travel industry. The unique partnership bridges the two largest industries in the state with combined revenues of $35 billion, but the idea is to help grow small town, rural economies, says Sheldon Keyser, ATPI Interim Board President, and a part-time farmer from Hoyleton, Illinois. "Agritourism is a form of economic development and can help support business opportunities for farmers. The number of ideas is mind boggling." Keyser, who is an avid quail hunter, is thinking of helping other farmers organize fee hunting agritourism businesses. His wife, an avid quilter, is developing an on-farm quilting business. Keyser says to fully explore the synergy between agritourism and other local tourism destinations an integrated approach to packaging and marketing has to be accomplished. This requires cooperation and partnerships. He says, "A good example is the southern Illinois tourism office where they are packaging trips to local wineries with over-night stays in local bed and breakfast inns." Marge Heissinger, Executive Director of the Central Illinois Tourism Development Office, is working closely with Keyser to develop the Agriculture and Tourism Partners of Illinois organization. She says, "It takes a tremendous amount of marketing, but we see huge potential for growth." Farmers are excellent entrepreneurs and resources to assist them start tourism related businesses are available. What is not readily available is marketing assistance to attract tourists. One of 12 | ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING | www.icl.coop the main objectives of ATPI will be to provide members with marketing assistance and know how to bring customers to them. Farmers interested in becoming members of ATPI may e-mail citdo@visitce ntralillinois.com or call (217) 525-7980 for membership information. Nearly 39 wineries have already developed in Illinois. But people can look to a few older examples of success like Hobson's Bluffdale Vacation Farm says Heissinger. "They were probably the first in Illinois," says Heissinger. Four miles north of Eldred, Bluffdale's owners Bill and Lindy Hobson and their son Ken grow corn and soybeans on 320 acres near the limestone bluffs of the Illinois River valley. But for 37 years they've taken guests from as far away as Australia and as near as Chicago back to the easy going days of a summer vacation at grandpa's farm. Children can feed the animals, ride horses, or just play with the herd of farm kittens, while parents nap in hammocks. The Hobson's roots in the farm date back to 1820. Hobson's Bluffdale Vacation Farm is also a good example of what Heissinger says is the biggest reason for the huge growth opportunity in agritourism. "People want to escape their hectic lives and get back to their roots and a peaceful place."
For more information:
www.agritourism.uiuc.edu -
www.attra.org/attra-pub/ pickyour.html-
www.visitcentralillinois.com —
www.farmstop.com-
www.eckertagrimarketing.com-
TNT Hunting Preserve -
www.eckerts.com —
www.reindeerranch.com-
www.bluffdalevacationfarm.com -
www.illinoiswine.org-
www.specialtygrowers.org- 13 | January 2004 | www.aiec.coop |
|
|
