Kansas AgriTourism News
April 2005
Greetings!
Lots of exciting things happening in Kansas Agritourism this month!
As you'll see below, Becky Blake is going to be our new director of Travel and Tourism. Scott Allegrucci has announced his resignation, and the two will "pass the baton" at the end of this month.
We also urge you to register immediately for the Kansas Agritourism Workshops. The workshops in Western Kansas are on April 19 in Dodge City and April 21 in Colby, so folks in that part of the state need to sign up immediately.
The other four workshops begin early in May, so everyone is encouraged to get your name on the list right away.Download Registration Form.
Finally, we want to remind you about the Buyer's Guide on the Kansas Agritourism website. If you have had a successful experience with an advertising agency, a lawyer, an accountant, a graphic designer, or other professional in relation to your farm or ranch, please encourage them to go to this web page.
If they, in turn, decide they would like to be listed on the Kansas Buyers Guide, ask them to click the "submit your listing" button and complete the information.
Kansas AgriTourism Advisory Council |
In This Month's Issue:
Feature Destination:
Swanson Farms- Hunting for the Life They've Always Wanted
2005 AgriTourism Workshop
Becky Blake Named Director of Kansas Travel & Tourism Division
Extra Income May Be Flying Over Your Head! |
Featured Destination
Swanson Farms
Hunting for the Life They've Always Wanted
About eight years ago, Jerry and Brenda Swanson moved from Johnson County back to the family farm in Elsmore, Kansas, population 490, on U.S. 59 about 2/3 the way down the map from Kansas City. The original owners bought the 320-acre farm from the railroad, and then in the early 1900s, sold it to Jerry's grandparents.
Soon after they moved, about 11 of their friends from the Kansas City area asked if they could come down and hunt (not too many hunting opportunities left in Johnson County). They came, and had a great time.
It was such a great time that the next year, the group grew to 35 hunters. And the next year-well, it was about 75 hunters - and the Swansons realized that maybe they were on to something!
For several years, their business just kept growing. "We have a controlled shooting area, and one of the things we offer is a $99 hunt." Jerry explains. "We are priced for the city dwellers that want to enjoy a great day of hunting, but feel they have to get back at it the next day. We often run four hunts in the morning, and four in the afternoon. After three-and-a-half to four hours, most of them are ready for the chairs on the porch."
Each hunt also includes homemade soup, cheesy biscuits, and a dessert tray of homemade delights.
"Until we built the lodge, I was cooking for our guests in the farm kitchen," recalls Brenda, "and then serving the food to the guys in an 8-foot by 10- foot building that had been the grain shed."
By 2004, their seventh year as a hunting business, the Swansons had about 400 hunters, and opened a new lodge for their guests. Across the front of the lodge is a 30 by 60 foot porch with chairs for the hunters. At one end of the building is the lodge room and restrooms, while the opposite end is a public restaurant. The middle of the lodge is Brenda's new kitchen.
The restaurant is named "Buddy's Pointe", which honors one of their favorite lead dogs, "Buddy", who was shot and killed during a covey rise. Buddy's Pointe is currently open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, specializing in biscuits & gravy or a juicy hamburger with homemade French-fries. Visitors may top off their meal with homemade coconut cream, chocolate or apple pie, or fresh apple cake.
Weekender packages are also popular, and for longer stays, the Swanson's have camper hookups on the property, and they also have camper hookups and a couple of cabins on nearby Bourbon County State Fishing Lake, about 6 miles from the farm. The fishing there, by the way, is some of the best in Southeast Kansas, and the cabin lakeside will sleep six. A second cabin, looking out over the lake, will sleep four more. About 50% of their hunters now come up from Arkansas, with the balance primarily from urban areas of Kansas.
To read the rest of this story on KansasAgritourism.org
Visit the Swanson Farms Website
Return to top
How to Attract More Customers, More Often!
Our 2005 Workshops, "Agritourism: How to Attract More Customers, More Often!" will be getting under way in just a matter of days. Jane Eckert, of Eckert AgriMarketing, has designed the 2005 workshop to build on last year's AgriTourism Conference in Great Bend. This year, we are concentrating on attracting more customers, more often, resulting in more farm revenue. (more info on topics, dates, and locations)
We'd like to call your attention particularly to the closing session of the workshop, titled "Putting More Tourism Into Agritourism." This special presentation will address the critical relationship between the agritourism farm operator and the local tourism professionals.
There is so much to be gained when the farmer (who has the attractions) and the tourism professional (who has the contacts and marketing expertise) decide to work together:
Sharing the costs of marketing and promotion
Creating broader profile for the farm and the community
Reaching and satisfying a much broader audience
Developing partnerships that will attract visitors to the region
So how do these two groups find each other? How can they make this all happen? What are the mechanics of these partnerships?
We hope you'll join us at the 2005 Kansas Agritourism Workshops, where everyone will have an opportunity to answer these questions, and to start setting up there partnerships while we are still gathered at the workshop.
Other topics included in this year's workshop:
Weaving Your Web Site: The basic and special components of a successful Web Site
Attracting Publicity: Building ongoing relationships with radio, television and newspapers
It's All About the "Wow!" Experience: Find out why visitors are willing to pay to play on the farm
Creating and Maintaining Customer Loyalty with Newsletters: building relationships with farm visitors.
If you have not yet registered, please turn in your registration right away so that we can provide sufficient materials and refreshments. Registration is only $10 for agritourism operators that are registered with the Department of Commerce, and $15 for all others.
Download registration
Return to top
Becky Blake Named
Director of Kansas Travel and Tourism Division
Howard Fricke, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Commerce, announced that Becky Blake has been named director of the Travel and Tourism division effective April 25, replacing Scott Allegrucci.
Blake is a member of the Kansas Agritourism Council, and is currently Executive Vice President and Director of the Convention & Visitors Bureau at Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, where she has worked for 27 years. A resident of Manhattan all her life, she has also been active with tourism on the state level, most recently serving on the Brand Image Task Force and as chairperson of the Kansas Tourism Council.
"Becky will be a wonderful addition to the Commerce team," said Fricke. "Her leadership, proven experience in the tourism industry, and past involvement with Commerce initiatives will be extremely beneficial in promoting travel and tourism to Kansans as well as others."
"I am honored to be chosen to lead tourism for the State of Kansas and excited about the many opportunities that lie ahead," said Blake. "Kansas has many things to be proud of and I look forward to working with people from across the state in further developing our product and telling our story to the rest of the world."
Allegrucci, who officially announced his resignation on April 5, has been the director of Travel and Tourism since April 2003. He has resigned to pursue other professional interests.
"I am exceptionally proud of the accomplishments and ongoing work of the division of Travel and Tourism over the past couple of years," said Allegrucci. I hope my contributions to the state of Kansas, the Department of Commerce, and the Kansas travel industry are in respectable balance to what I have learned and gained from working with the many people I have partnered with in my time here."
As a Kansas native, Allegrucci recognized the state's potential in agritourism and developed the travel and tourism partnership with the department of Agriculture Marketing. That partnership has in turn lead to the implementation of the statewide agritourism initiative, manifested through workshops, training, tax incentives, and the Kansas Agritourism website.
The mission of the Kansas Department of Commerce is to empower business and communities through bold leadership using strategic resources to realize prosperity in Kansas.
Related Stories on Agritourism News!
Return to top
Extra Income May Be Flying Over Your Head!
There was an interesting article in the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star recently about the migration of a half million cranes that travel through central Nebraska each spring.
Another survey cited, by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2001, found that 46 million Americans consider themselves birders. And about 18 million of those reported that they travel annually to pursue their passion.
As you read this article, think about the migrations flying overhead here in Kansas. How can your farm, or your farm and tourism partnership, provide vantage points, housing, and educational opportunities for the flocks of migrating tourists that are following the birds?
Click here to read this story ...
Return to top
To read previous newsletters, please visit our Archives.
