|
|
|
   Planning allows agritourism to take advantage of bearish economyBy Jennifer M. Latzke Agritourism can encompass many ventures. From hunting and wildlife viewing, to vineyards and farm tours, there's something for everyone who may be interested in visiting a rural destination. But with fuel prices topping $4 per gallon in many states and a downturn in the economy, families are looking to stretch their travel dollars. Locals and out-of-towners alike, who would have otherwise driven past pumpkin patches and corn mazes on their way to big name attractions, are now pulling off of the blacktop roads in search of family memories. The Travel Industry Association of America has reported that agritourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry and that almost two-thirds of all U.S. adults, nearly 87 million individuals, have taken a trip to a rural destination in the past three years. Oklahoma State University reported that Oklahoma agriculture brings in $7 billion, and Oklahoma tourism accounts for $4.5 billion in receipts each year. It's only logical, therefore, that the combination of agriculture and tourism offers many rural economic development opportunities for farmers and their local communities. Marketing a good time Walking among his eight acres of grapes, Bob Sirpless is enjoying the fruits of his family's labors. Bob and Debbie Sirpless own Legends Vineyard and Winery on 32 acres north of Lindsay, Okla., and while they are a young winery, they are optimistic about the future of their business even in the tough economy. "We've been open for two years and had the vineyard in for four years or so," Sirpless said. However, they are seeing business picking up from in-state customers looking for a weekend outing. "Last year, we tended to get people from right around in the area, locals," he said. "Now, we're seeing folks from Edmond and Oklahoma City. Some are driving in from 50 to 75 miles away." In addition to wine sampling in their Tuscan-style tasting room and tours of the vineyards and winery, the family also offers several special events to draw in crowds. There are murder mystery dinner parties, and fall wine and music festivals, and the winery is also available to host birthday parties, weddings and other get-togethers. Sirpless said they are looking into expanding their offerings in the future. "We're looking into building a pavilion that could seat 150 people and we're in the process of building a gazebo to host weddings," he said. "Eventually we'd like to have a place where people could stay the night. We can currently accommodate two RVs with electrical and water hookups. We're trying to slowly build this into a one-stop shop." Several tour groups have booked the winery as a stop for their tour busses traveling through the area. The biggest portion of the Legends business is its retail operations. In Oklahoma, wineries may not self-distribute their own wines. Instead, they must use the services of a wholesaler, or else sell their wines directly to the consumer. Sirpless and several of his colleagues are working on changing the law, which would benefit smaller wineries like Legends. "We really need the ability to self-distribute," he said. "We've been innovative in finding ways to get people into our winery and while we do have a good amount of drop-in, the real money is in the ability to sell our wine." Sirpless said he's had several restaurants and local retailers call to ask to stock his wines, but without the ability to self-distribute, he'd have to find a wholesaler willing to deal with small bundles to carry his wines. Even without wholesale business, though, demand for Legends wines are outstripping supply, Sirpless said. "We cannot keep our wines bottled," he said. "We produce 2,000 to 2,500 gallons per year. Basically, we bottle small lots and we sell out pretty quickly." The work requires a lot of patience, he added, considering that it takes six years to get a bottle of wine from the vine. "We hope this will be a nice retirement for the both of us," Sirpless said. "We're not trying to get rich, but just make a decent living and make people happy when they come in. That's the true enjoyment of it." Hunting down a value For many farmers and ranchers hunting operations are the right fit with their day-to-day agricultural work. The Mowdy Ranch, owned by Clay and Kit Mowdy, near Coalgate, Okla., has diversified its interests by allowing Calvin and Deanna Farr to operate the Bow and Gun Safari, Ltd., hunting business. The Farrs began with a bow hunting business in 2001 and recently have added offerings for gun enthusiasts. In the past, they've welcomed more than 1,000 bow hunters in a season, and that was for non-guided, non-guaranteed hunts. They offer buffalo and exotic game animals on 1,250 acres, and lease out another 2,750 acres to livestock grazing. While the economy has affected their bookings for hunts this fall, the Farrs are planning to offset those with more year-round wildlife and outdoor offerings for visitors. "We're trying to get more people to come in and enjoy our wildlife, and the setting and the fishing and we're working towards being able to have more weddings out here," Calvin Farr said. He mentioned that most people have only considered their operation as a hunting business, rather than as a year-round tourist destination. In a tougher economy, communication to potential clients is more important than ever. Farr said he and his wife are planning to run more advertising and to have an information booth at more general shows and festivals in addition to their hunting show schedule. "We still have the website and brochures for folks looking up information, too," he added. Farr said their bookings are a few less than normal, but that many of them view a shorter trip to nearby Bow and Gun Safari as a better value than traveling out of state and spending more. "People who usually go 1,000 miles to Colorado or somewhere else, this year they are staying close to home and saving that fuel money," Farr said. Like many agritourism businesses, insurance is a hot topic. "If we didn't have to pay for the expensive insurance, we could do so much more with our business," Farr said. "We could hire a hand with that money alone. It's the biggest obstacle." Many agritourism entities have to carry $1 million policies or larger to cover accidents and liabilities on their operations. And, that rate goes higher if horses or livestock are involved. The insurance factor is one of the reasons the Farrs haven't expanded the hunting business into guided horse and mule trail rides yet. "What I'd like to see, is if everyone who had land in Oklahoma would get together and form a cooperative for insurance, where we could put money into a fund and get insurance at a cheaper rate," Farr said. The draw of Western heritage Agritourism does bring visitors closer to a rural setting. But it can also educate them about Old West culture and heritage. At Oklahoma Buffalo Tours, Mountain View, Okla., professional humorist Jack Parker and his family invite visitors to get close and personal with one icon of the Wild West--the North American bison. Parker and his family had ranched for many years in the area before a tornado destroyed their business in 2001. In the rebuilding process, Parker took the opportunity to switch from ranching to agritourism, and buffalo were ideal. He built a special wagon to pull behind his tractor that allows visitors to safely view the buffalo herd in their natural setting. While the buffalo are not "domesticated" they are "conditioned" to human visitors. A typical package includes a tour through the buffalo, along with a catered buffalo meat cookout. Parker even invites neighboring Native American tribes to come and demonstrate their tribal dances and culture. "We have the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Indians, and they're pretty much a group of close knit tribes that live in the area," Parker explained. "There's been a resurgence in the desire of their young people to bring back dancing and culture. So I contacted one of the local guys who works with the young people of the tribes and invited them to come out here." The cooperative effort adds to the guests' experience because they have the chance to interact with the dancers, ask them questions about their native regalia and learn about the Native American culture. One challenge of Parker's tour business, though, is that it is really geared toward large tour groups of 30 to 55 who schedule appointments in advance. But, with the changing tourism climate, he's getting more and more calls for smaller groups of six or eight that just want to drop by. "We offer our tours by appointment and that works best for me right now," Parker said. He said he could organize routine monthly or bimonthly tours, but it becomes difficult to manage the schedules of the caterer and tribal dancers. So, he's aiming his marketing efforts to tour operators, traveling groups and other large groups. By marketing his business this way, he can easily handle the labor needed to run the tours, as well as plan for his traveling schedule as a humorist. There's a little bit of education with every tour, Parker said. He shows examples of bison hides and skulls and teaches his visitors about the native grasses. But, because he's had many requests for tours for school groups, Parker has also tried to come up with a couple of tours designed for school children. "I'm trying to develop a lesson plan that can explain to them why grass is important to the animals, or what were some of the things that the Indians relied on, or about some of the other animals that share the prairie," Parker said. Teachers could use the lesson plans back in their classrooms to teach about buffalo and Western culture. Parker sees cultural agritourism ventures, like his, as a growth industry because people can learn about their past in their own backyards. And, even foreign visitors seem to find agritourism as a good value for their travel dollars. "A big percentage of people come out just to see the animals, but many just want to take in the local culture," Parker said. "It's just as if I went to Japan. I'd want to see real people doing real things, too." So, call them "stay-cations" or "one-tank trips," one thing is for sure--the cost of fuel this summer and the declining economy have had vacationers re-thinking their itineraries. And, with a little planning and ingenuity, agritourism operators can be the beneficiaries. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com. Date: 9/18/08 Advertisement
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
Market Snapshot Inside Futures |
