February 1999 Agri-Tourism Workshop

Partners in Conserving America's Resources

Agri-Tourism: Turning Natural Resources
on Your Property into Profits

Meeting Summary

Agenda

Day 1 - February 4, 1999

Welcome and Introductions
Presentation: Agri-Tourism: Turning Natural Resources on Your Property Into Profits
Presentation: Agri-Tourism: How We've Done It; How It Has Worked For Us
Adam's Ranch Tour and Barbecue

Day 2 - February 5, 1999

Welcome and Overview
Introduction of Panel
Panel Presentations
Question and Answer Session
The Idea Map of Key Issues and Steps
Ask the Experts
Closing and Adjournment

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On Thursday and Friday, February 4^th and 5^th, the Florida Center For Environmental Studies in partnership with Florida Stewardship Foundation welcomed members of the ranching community to learn about supplemental values their property might have in an agri-eco-based economy. Because our state draws visitors from around the world to see its natural beauty, there are now emerging new opportunities to capitalize on this back-to-nature trend by sharing the historical and ecological features of your family's ranch.

Our workshop was designed to introduce the interested public to agri-tourism by featuring local agri-tourism industry landowners telling their own stories. Its secondary purpose was to solicit feedback from the participants. Networking on informal terms between the landowners also emerged as a third significant outcome.

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Notes from Ask the Experts groups are attached on the following pages. Closing comments from the participants included:

Interesting meeting -- more the second day than the first day.

Ag people are the greatest on earth!

Nice to see landowners.

Build Florida in nature-based tourism.

This was the first workshop like this that stayed on schedule… thank you.

I enjoyed it; I'm interested; I'm a little overwhelmed with all these different possibilities.

Ranchers do it best.

I really liked the tour.

I came looking for possibilities -- the sharing was good.

It was a pleasant surprise.

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Making Profits from your Land
Community Support (Rhonda Robinson)

1. Become involved with the local Chamber of Commerce; attend Chamber meetings; and give presentations about the project.

2. Give presentations at local service clubs, i.e., Rotary.

3. Acquire free space for a booth or handouts at local community events.

4. Place flyers at restaurant registers; often owners will be asked by tourists of where interesting places are to see.

5. Utilize local talent, people who have crafts, and display their items in your gift shop.

6. Seek spots on local radio shows.

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Starting Small to Become Big
Take the following steps to plan your project: (Mark Wade)

1. Evaluate yourself -- is this for you? Are you really passionate about the land and the environment?

2. Sit down quietly and let your mind wander or make lists to be more focused. Describe your dream or vision to yourself.

3. Build a strategic plan -- your road map to do the project.

4. Next inventory your current assets -- what do you already have to start with. Assess your land. What are the unique resources on it? What is cool.? What could you do to give it a "wow" factor to attract others?

5. Ask yourself, now how does that match up with my vision?

6. Now ask, what do I need to get? Look around in your community. What is near by? What is cheap to get. Perhaps it's some cheap wagons. Start with those first; later on you might be able to afford something snazzier. But then, maybe the public will really like the wagons, and you’ll want to keep them!

7. Now make a list of things you need to do. Make sure you do at least one of these things each day to move towards your vision.

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Other tips and insights:

1. Use exchange advertising. You place your brochures at a hotel; you have hotel brochures at your place. Or switch with other eco-tour operations. (Nicola)

2. Its amazing that some of the simplest things you do on your ranch, those routine things really interest the public: seeing a cowboy, or an alligator, feeding the horses, seeing cattle being branded, castrated, seeing a cowboy use a lasso. (B.T. Longine) If you serve food -- seeing swamp cabbage cooked and eating it. During the meal having an area where people can try their skill at with lassos (Mark), or even riding one of those old mechanical buck broncos. (Mark)

3. Promotion:

— Many local residents have relatives up north that visit yearly; they want to come.

— Ranchers from up north or out West are keenly interested in your operation -- it is different from what they do. (BT Longine)

— Retired people and retired farmers and ranchers. (BT Longine)

— The second trip to Florida for people who have already seen Disney World.

4. Web sites -- linked web sites.

Finally -- Florida can be an "Eco-tourism Destination." If we work together.