Farm Tours: A Marketing and Education Tool
Working for Cornell Cooperative Extension as an educator with responsibilities in livestock programming, I had a great desire in helping fiber livestock producers to develop and organize a local farm tour. For the past two years I have been involved with llama, alpaca, sheep and angora rabbit farms helping promote the fiber industry in Saratoga County located in Upstate New York. This article will take you through the steps of planning, organizing, and implementing your own local fiber tour.
Why a Farm Tour
The purpose of a farm tour is to provide an educational experience for the public and to market the farm. The public is invited to tour a select group of farms and they can choose to visit one or all of the farms in no specific order. Through this one-on-one interaction, visitors can learn about the farm and form a connection to the farm and farmer.
Getting Started
Although an Extension educator was involved with the Saratoga County fiber tour, any tour can be planned through the dedication of those involved. For a successful tour, I believe it is important all participating producers are actively involved in the planning and decision making. With out the participation and cooperation from everyone involved, the workload will inevitably fall on a few people’s shoulders.
The first step was contacting llama, alpaca, sheep, and angora rabbit producers located in the county or area. Producers were encouraged to invite other producers I may have not known. Set a meeting date, time, and place and be sure through a letter or telephone call all the producers are invited.
At the meeting, decide on date and time the tour will be held taking into consideration weather, holidays, the group trying to attract, etc. The Saratoga County Fiber tour held their first tour in 2000 in June. Babies were abound and the weather was inviting. In 2001, the tour was held in October. Although cooler weather, October was selected to help boost wool sales for Christmas season.
Farms interested in hosting a tour site need to confirm their participation early on in the planning process. There is not set number of farms needed to be on a farm tour. One thing to consider is the more farms on the tour, the longer it may take the public to drive to all of the farms. If you have enough farms, you may want to consider a two-day tour to give people more opportunity to reach all of the farms.
Funding
When planning a tour, funds may be needed for printing and paid advertisement. Inquire with the local Farm Bureau, Granges, animal organizations, spinning organizations, Cooperative Extension, and agriculture businesses for possible monies available.
Publicity
A brochure explaining the tour and different locations proves to be an economical way of promoting the fiber tour. The brochure should include each host farm, contact information, and location of the farm. Farm information should include name, address, telephone number, website, email address, and a description of the farm. The brochure should also include the farm activities for the event and what products will be available. Directions to the farms should be included in the brochure through written form or a map. Make the brochures available everywhere.
News releases to locate newspapers will generally be published. Personal contacts to newspapers with pictures may help spark interest in the tour. Television stations can also provide free publicity through community calendars. If funding allows it, do paid advertisements to select newspapers and magazines to reach a target audience.
Insurance
Each farm should have farm insurance and should check their policy before the event. The Saratoga County Fiber Tour had insurance coverage for the event through a llama association where each farm paid a nominal fee to cover the cost. Inquire with the various animal associations.
The Day of the Tour
Road signs are a necessity for the public to find the farms on the day of the event. Be sure they are large and visible. The signs will also draw attention to by passers who may have not known about the fiber tour.
Take the necessary biosecurity precautions to limit the transmission of disease. Some tips are to provide plastic disposable boots or foot baths, encourage hand washing after animal contact, and have a limited area accessible.
Provide a safe, clean, and fun atmosphere giving the public a positive image of farming and the fiber industry. Take the opportunity to educate, but also market your farm and products. Demonstrations and hand on activities can provide information and education that will last a lifetime fostering new relationships and a new found love for the animals.
Wrapping it all up
A wrap-up meeting of the tour participants proves to be very useful. Hold the meeting with in two weeks after the event while host farms have their thoughts fresh in their minds. Discuss the pros and the cons of the event and strive to make improvements for next year.
For questions or more information about the Saratoga County Fiber Tour, feel free to contact me at:
Paula Schafer
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County
50 West High Street
Ballston Spa, NY 12020
518-885-8995