Agritourism network & website: Agritourism World -- List your farm, plan your trip

13 views
Skip to first unread message

Debbie Hillman

unread,
Jan 6, 2013, 4:53:53 PM1/6/13
to AUA for Urban Agriculture, Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition, goodgree...@googlegroups.com, illinoisfar...@googlegroups.com, list@wfan.org list, Food Policy Council, comfood, FoodLoveChicago, Nikki Rose, AgritourismWorld, in...@greatermidwestfoodways.com
To:
Advocates for Urban Agriculture   (Greater Chicago)
Food Love Chicago  (food lovers in general)
Illinois Local Food and Farms Coalition  (Illinois)
Good Greens Midwest  (6 states served by USDA FNS Midwest Office:  IL, IN, OH, MI, MN, WI, based in Chicago)
Illinois Farmers Market Association  (serving all 300+ Illinois farmers markets)
Women, Food and Agriculture Network  (national, based in Iowa)
Food Policy Council network  (national, based in Oregon)
COMFOOD  (national Community Food elist, based at Tufts Univ.)
Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance

Hi, all --

Thanks to Nikki Rose (Cooking in Crete) for keeping me educated on the agritourism opportunities for local farmers.    Below is some information about a website, Agritourism World, that lists agritourism farms.  
-- For farmers, the listing is free, I believe.    
-- For would-be travelers, you can plan your own trip based on the information on the website , or you can use the services of Agritourism World to plan a group trip.   
-- For food system organizations, this can be a resource to connect with local farms and to plan events (tours) that have multiple benefits for multiple people.  Agritourism World may be able to offer some technical support.

Here is how Agritourism World (based in Salem, OH) describes themselves: 
AgritourismWorld is the leading search portal dedicated to Agriculture and Farm based Tourism. It is our mission to connect the traveling public with Farms and Ag Related destinations that welcome tourism. As the #1 Agritourism web site, we hope to enrich the experience of visitors and help farms and Ag Destinations make Tourism a Cash Crop. Together we build a sustainable tourism market.


ILLINOIS LISTINGS.   Looking at the 17 Illinois listings (copied below for general interest), I see lots of additional opportunities for many other community-based farms, including urban farms.   The "tourism" aspects of the farms listed include seasonal entertainment events (Christmas, Halloween, autumn color), overnight stays on farms, U-pick opportunities (apples, etc.), petting zoo, museum, to something as simple as a regular farmstand.    The categories on Agritourism World website are:

Each category has sub-categories, and of course these categories could be tweaked on a regional level, by local groups.   It would be great if regional groups could create even more regional events, incorporating a number of farms at one time.  Taking Illinois as an example, here are some examples of past and possible future agritourism trips:
-- tour of vineyards (NW or Southern Illinois)
-- local foods + local energy  (food farms + windfarms in north central Illinois)
-- urban farm tour (Chicago, metro Chicago, other cities)
-- Edible Economy -- local food system tour in Bloomington-Normal (farms, farmers market, farm-to-school, restaurants)
-- Self-guided farm and food tours   (as organized by Extension in NW Illinois)
-- Ethnic farm and sustainability heritage (Pembroke Township - African-American)
-- horseradish tour (southern Illinois)
-- ornamental growers tour (northern Illinois)
-- grocery co-op tour (statewide:  Carbondale, Champaign, Bloomington, Chicago)
-- urban-suburban livestock tour:  chicken coops, beehives, etc.  (Chicago, other ?)
-- food council tour (meet with local policy groups, local officials, etc.)
-- urban-rural exchanges   (similar to one facilitated by the Cook County Farm Bureau a few years ago)
-- farmers market tour (regional, state, metro area)
-- State Fair tours (single state, regional, national !!!) -- how about a life list of state fair visits?  does every state have a state fair?
-- etc., etc.


SCALING OUT.  Diversified farm products (such as agritourism) as well as diversified networks (such as Agritourism World) is the only way community-based farmers and food businesses are going to survive -- until the economic and decision-making playing fields are truly level, open, and inclusive.   I am copying Agritourism World's main contact person, Charlie Presley, on this email, in case anyone wants to learn more about marketing as agritourism.  

It is not clear what Mr. Presley's title is; presumably he is the owner-operator of Agritourism World, which is part of a family of niche travel groups, The Group Travel Family.   The website of The Group Travel Family lists some very interesting trade association events -- American Bus Association Marketplace, Heartland Travel Showcase, African American Travel Conference, etc.   Clearly The Group Travel Family has diversified its networks.


To Mr. Presley:  As you can see, this email is going out to a variety of "local food" (AKA community food) list-servs -- from very local in the Chicago area to national.   You might be interested in attending some of the food and farm conferences that are held all over the country.    One of the biggest international conference is held in LaCrosse, Wisconsin every year in February, the MOSES organic conference (this year, it's Feb. 21-23).   http://www.mosesorganic.org/conference.html  

There are many other such events, both regional and national, trade and academic.  Perhaps you and someone like Nikki could give a workshop on how you can help local farmers tap into the agritourism dollars.   David Cleverdon from Kinnikinnick Farms (one of your new Illinois listings) would also be a great presenter and workshop leader.   (David is the one who emphasized "Scaling Out" as opposed to "Scaling Up" for local farmers.)

Partnering with "local" agritourism businesses.  Also, speaking for the Illinois and Midwest area, we have some good people who do agritourism tours of various kinds (as my list above indicates).  It would be great if Agritourism World would partner with the local groups and local experts to organize events that (1) showcase real local flavor and culture, (2) economically benefit everyone, and (3) create opportunities for long-lasting relationships as we rebuild our local food and farm economies everywhere in the world.


I hope this suggests new opportunities and outlets for many.

-- Debbie

Debbie Hillman
Evanston, Illinois
D. Hillman Strategies:  Food Policy for Voters






From: Nikki Rose <nikk...@cookingincrete.com>
Date: January 5, 2013 12:24:31 PM CST
To: Debbie Hillman <dlhi...@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Fw: Agritourism at American Bus Association
Reply-To: Nikki Rose <nikk...@cookingincrete.com>

Hi Debbie!

Happy New Year.

FYI  below.

All the best,
Nikki

Nikki & The CCS Network
Crete's Culinary Sanctuaries


----- Forwarded Message -----
From: AgritourismWorld <cpre...@grouptravelfamily.com>
To: nikk...@cookingincrete.com
Sent: Saturday, January 5, 2013 7:05 AM
Subject: Agritourism at American Bus Association


 Good Morning,
 
We will be promoting Agritourism to 600 Bus and Tour Companies at the annual American Bus Association Convention this week.
 
This is the largest meeting of bus tour operators in the country, they are looking for new places to visit and Agritourism is Hot !!!
 
We will be the only Agritourism presence at the Convention, so we expect strong interest.
 
If your Farm or Market is listed with us, we will be promoting for you.
 
If you have not yet placed your free listing on AgritourismWorld.com, please click below and include your Farm, Market, Festival or Event.
 
Six Hundred Bus Tour Operators will see you this week !!!
 
 
Thanks,  
Charlie Presley
AgritourismWorld
Bringing People to the Country  
 
PS: Help Build Agritourism....Pass this to Farms, Markets and Ag/Friends.


ILLINOIS LISTINGS ON AGRITOURISM WORLD



Murphy's Gardens

12550 W Norris Ln, Galena, IL, USA, 61036
www.murphysgardens.com

Rendleman Orchards

9680 State Route 127 North, Alto Pass, Illinois, U.S.A., 62905




15908 Hebron Rd., Harvard, Illinois, USA, 60033

www.royaloakfarmorchard.com

 

3709 Miller Road, McHnery, Illinois, USA, 60050

www.shadesofautumn.net

 

Fisher, Illinois, USA, 61843

www.stoneorganicpastures.com


Sun Valley Llamas

1300 E. Sycamore St., Canton, Illinois, USA, 61520
www.sunvalleyllamas.com


The Lamb Lodge

16109 W. State Rd. (Hwy. 20), Pecatonica, Illinois, USA, 61063


Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages