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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

As you already know, the Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference & Trade Fair will take place February 24-26 in Sturbridge MA. A wonderful program has been put together by our friends at the Connecticut Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the other New England states.

You may also know that this year, a special half-day pre-conference program "Growing Regional Agritourism One Farm at a Time" - will be held on February 24th from 1-5 PM with registration beginning at 12:30.

This is a special invitation for Massachusetts' farmers to join us - and here's why.

Last summer, representatives from seven northeastern states were awarded a collaborative grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program (USDA). The grant was to provide start-up support to create a region-wide agritourism training initiative to help you grow revenues right there on your farm.

As the Rhode Island representative and Director of the Rhode Island Center for Agriculture Promotion & Education (RICAPE), I agreed, as part of our participation in the grant, that we would ensure that Connecticut and Massachusetts farmers were part of the 2009 training initiative.

As such the pre-conference Agritourism training is what we expect will be the first of many opportunities for us to work together as neighbors and colleagues to grow agritourism as an industry in Southern New England. Your presence at the training will give credence to that and allow us to get to know one another and explore ways to collaborate further.

As host of what will be the first region-wide agritourism training, I sincerely hope that you will be with us and bring others with you. I can promise you an information-filled and provocative program.

And let me invite you as well to sign up for our Rhode Island FarmWays newsletter (at no cost) so you can keep up with what we're doing here in Rhode Island and what we might do together in the future. Just click here.

Many thanks and best wishes for the holidays!

Stu Nunnery, Director
RICAPE

Expanding Regional Agritourism One Farm at A Time

Generating revenues from agritourism depends on your success in developing your farm's products, venue and environment for visitors seeking a multi-attraction destination. With an increasingly diverse visitor population and recent changes in the economy, technology and travel habits, it might be time to rethink your farm's value and how better employing its natural and man-made assets can help you "sell the farm." This highly interactive tour de farm will help you discover what works, what's needed and how to get where you want to go.

Panelists/Specialists will include:

• Lisa Chase, Natural Resources Specialist with the University of Vermont Extension and Director of the Vermont Tourism Data Center; principal investigator for the SARE grant
  
• Barbara Frerichs, Owner/Operator, Frerichs Farm, Warren RI
  
• Beth Kennett, Chair, the Vermont Farms Association
  
• Steve Krohn, the New England Wine School, Wine Entertainment Resources
  
• Cindy Martel, Marketing Specialist for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture
  
• Mary Beth Miller, Director, Gardening For Good, Westport MA
  
• Stu Nunnery, Director, Rhode Island Center for Agriculture Promotion & Education, RI FarmWays
  
• Eric Scherer, State Resource Conservationist, NRCS-RI

  The Agenda
  The Farm as "Product"
  Enhancing the retail environment on your farm; growing your product lines; new product development; marketing; merchandising and sales.

  The Farm as "Venue"
  Your farm as a destination - THE place for visitor activities and events - food and wine programs, tours and trips, accommodations; making your site visitor-friendly; designing your activities with the customer in mind.

  The Farm as "Environment"
  Best Practices for Agritourism: environmental stewardship and agricultural authenticity, aesthetics; employing your natural assets and conservation practices for business success.

  The Farm as (a learning) "Place"
  Employing landscapes, history, culture and more for programs and activities that attract people of all ages and interests.

  Assessing the Farm Experience
  Knowing your enterprise(s) and what you can offer; how to expand on both.

  If you do now or wish to host visitors on your farm to generate additional revenues, don't miss this program!

  REGISTER ONLINE NOW.

  We also invite you to participate in the "Agritourism Development "session being held Wednesday, February 25th from 1:45-3PM.

  Participating organizations in the SARE grant and preparations for this special training program include: The University of Vermont Extension; Vermont Farms! Association; Maine Department of Agriculture; University of Maine Cooperative Extension; University of Maryland Cooperative Extension; Plymouth State University Center for Rural Partnerships, New Hampshire; New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture; New Hampshire Employment Security; State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry; Rhode Island Center for Agricultural Promotion and Education; University of Rhode Island Extension; West Virginia Department of Agriculture, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

  
  

  
  
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