Once upon a time, most Iowans had some connection to agriculture. Today, a very small percentage of Iowan’s population is involved in production agriculture. However, the lure of rural culture and life remains.  Agritourism brings opportunities for rural Iowans to educate, inform and entertain travelers on rural life and agriculture.

A team of service providers from across the state hopes to grow the Iowa landscape for agritourism operations. The team, which has been meeting over the year, hopes to help Iowa agritourism producers begin or expand their business and marketing efforts.

The Iowa Agritourism Working Group, supported by the Value Added Agriculture Program and other departments within Iowa State University Extension, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, the Iowa Department of Agriculture, Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Silos and Smokestacks, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association,  is planning a conference to address the importance and issues surrounding marketing agritourism operations. Value Added Agriculture Program Director Ray Hansen said this team addresses important challenges in growing this industry in Iowa.

Rural tourism activities are the third most popular activities in Iowa, and spending on rural trips accounts for a growing percentage of total Iowa tourism revenues. Our goal is to enable producers to grow this industry,” Hansen said.

The Visit Iowa Farms conference is planned for March 15 at the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus in Ames. The conference agenda will focus on marketing issues and will open with comments from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. Sessions will target marketing plan development, website marketing, creating a hospitality mindset, market research, ad creation and farm signage. Producer panels are planned for question and answer sessions. Partial funding for the conference is provided by the North Central Risk Management Education Center.

For registration information, visit http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/iowafarms/home.html. For more information, contact the Value Added Agriculture Program at 515-294-9483.

Marsha Laux, program coordinator, Iowa State
University Extension, Value Added Agriculture Program, 319-796-4362,
mlaux@iastate.edu

Malinda Geisler, program coordinator, Iowa State University Extension,
Value Added Agriculture Program, 515-964-2640, malindag@iastate.edu