Meat + Poultry - March 2006 - 63

AGRITOURISM

"When they come here, it's the
whole farm experience," she says.
"It's very different from a bed-andbreakfast experience. They have the
opportunity when they're sitting here
at the table to really ask us questions
about agriculture and farming. We
really get a chance to educate people about our perspective on everything from health and nutrition to
international food policies."
To ensure she provides accurate
answers to guests' questions, Kennett says she reads a lot of magazines, serves on the Vermont Dairy
Promotion Council and other boards

and communicates with congressional legislators on agricultural issues.
Kennett views another part of
her role as alleviating guests' misunderstandings about agriculture.
One recent night, for example, the
dinner-table discussion revolved
around biodiesel fuel. She says guests
are always interested in learning
more about agricultural issues, particularly antibiotics.
Kennett also uses dinner discussions to illustrate the benefits of
eating meat, as one obstacle she's
recently encountered is the growing
vegetarian movement. "Kids think

Profitable, workable and here to stay
Agritourism Q&A with Katherine Adam, agriculture specialist for the
National Center for Appropriate Technology, an organization that
works to develop appropriate and sustainable technologies to help
eliminate poverty.
How do agritourism operators turn a profit? There are many
ways that rural landholders can attract the public to their farm to
spend money. The more innovative, the better. Most entertainment
farms have quite a mix, not just one thing. They all have "something to
see, something to do and something to buy." Not all farms charge admission or charge for activities. Many make most of their money on
what the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education Program has defined as rural tourism "profit centers" -
food, drink and souvenirs. Mazes and crop art have gotten the most publicity. Farms seem to do well with seasonal themes, especially during the fall-holiday season.
What kind of person typically is involved in agritourism? It takes a special kind of person who really interacts well with the public and is comfortable with
having the public out on his land. Agritourism is not for
every landowner. Farms in the more sparsely populated
states are far from their tourism markets, unless they
operate hunting lodges, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, retreat centers or farm-stay ranches.
Is this a fad or a long-term trend? Demand for agritourism will increase due to rising gasoline prices and crimped household budgets
for entertainment. Also, the increasing hazards of foreign travel will
increase demand for local day trips. However, the changing composition
of American families will affect the type of rural attraction offered.

12 FSI

FOOD SYSTEMS

ınsıder

MARCH 2006

animals are their buddies - many
are vegetarian," she says. "It's
become a really huge issue."
Kennett deals with this with
sensitivity and on a family-by-family
basis, she says. "You talk about why
we as farmers do eat meat," she says.
With younger children, she reads a
book that discusses all of the uses of
a cow at a birthday party - the candles, the glue for the party hat, the
gummy worms, etc. With college-age
students, she explains about using all
of the parts of the cow.

'It's about sharing our lives'
Although Kennett says guests have
fun at Liberty Hill Farm, she's quick to
point out that the operation isn't
designed to entertain.
"I hate the word agritainment,"
she says. "It's not about entertainment. It's about sharing our lives.
To that end, Reichert doesn't even
like the word agritourism.
"Agritourism is a nice defining
word, but when I think of tourism, I
think of something that's been packaged," she says. "As much as I love
Silver Dollar City (an 1880s-themed
amusement park about 230 miles from
the farm), we're not doing a reproduction. We actually live and work here."
And that's what agritourism
operators hope guests take away
from the experience.
"You realize that when people
come to visit your farm, they're making judgments about all of agriculture," Kennett says. "And then they're
making choices. When they go home,
they walk into the store and they
make choices based on
what they saw here." ■
By Christy Pitney
Meat & Seafood
Merchandising

Meat + Poultry - March 2006

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