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Agritourism business course offered to South Dakota ranchers
South Dakota South Dakota Stockgrowers Association is inviting ranchers to register for an exciting educational course titled, "Agritourism: Your next cash crop?" The five day course is designed to provide farmers and ranchers with the tools needed to successfully start their own agritourism operations. "The goal is for participants to be ready to start their agritourism businesses at the end of the fifth class period," facilitator Jan Jantzen of Emporia, Kan., said. "We want to help you think through what you have available on your farm or ranch and how you can turn that into a successful tourism destination." "This is a result-oriented workshop, not an academic exercise," said Jantzen. The course was developed in Emporia, Kan., by the Flint Hills Resource Conservation and Development Area, Inc. To date, participants in the course have successfully started over 26 new agritourism businesses. Jantzen, of the Flint Hills RC&D, facilitates the entire course, which will be taught by South Dakota experts on state regulations and licensing, insurance and risk management, marketing, and financial planning. "SD Stockgrowers is very excited to be offering this course," said Silvia Christen, development director for the association. "This course is a great way to help ranchers in South Dakota explore new economic opportunities, and also a great way to get some of our urban neighbors out to a ranch and help them to experience and learn about the realities of agriculture production and our rural culture." The course is set to begin Feb. 8 and will meet every Monday for five consecutive weeks, ending on March 8. Each class meeting will be hosted at the South Dakota Stockgrowers office in Rapid City and costs $95 to enroll. Each additional person from the same family or business may enroll for only $50. According to Jantzen, graduates of the course will have named and described their businesses in detail. They will have identified specific groups of customers they want to serve, and they will have created marketing plans designed to reach them. Graduates will learn how to use layers of liability protection for their assets, and they will know how to price their products and services and how to manage their income and expenses. To learn more about the course, visit www.southdakotastockgrowers.org or contact Silvia Christen at 605-342-0429.
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