Agritourism could be the next cash crop
10:53 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Just weeks after attending an agritourism workshop series in Emporia, 13 new agritourism businesses registered with the State of Kansas this morning in Topeka.
The 13 applications were submitted to Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh by workshop instructor Jan Janzten at a ceremony in the Secretary of State’s Office.
The new entrepreneurs all attended a workshop series titled “Agritourism: Your Next Cash Crop?” hosted earlier this year by the Flint Hills Resource Conservation & Development Agency and the Kansas Small Business Development Center at Emporia State University. The workshops were designed for anyone interested in starting a new agritourism businesses or expanding an existing ag-based business to include elements of agritourism. Topics included financing, product pricing, business plan writing and legal issues.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Jan Jantzen, director of the Rural Tourism Development for the Flint Hills Resource, Conservation and Development Agency in Emporia, speaks about the importance and opportunities provided by agritourism. Listen to his comments here.
Once the applications are processed, applicants will be eligible to open for business and receive a variety of financial and technical assistance from the Kansas Department of Commerce. Registered agritourism businesses also benefit by being listed as a registered agritourism operator at TravelKS.com, the official Web site of the state’s travel and tourism industry.
There are currently 231 registered agritourism vendors in Kansas.
“It’s extremely rewarding to work with these innovative farmers, ranchers and other rural business people,” said Janzten, Director of Rural Development for Flint Hills Resource Conservation & Development. “Their dreams are to share this beautiful and interesting rural environment, history and culture with visitors from urban areas of our country and around the world. By taking part in these workshops, the participants discovered how they can realize their dreams and also create a secondary or even primary source of income, thus enhancing the quality of life for themselves and the rural communities where they live. Given the success of these workshops, we will definitely be offering more of them.”
Agritourism is typically defined as the crossroads of traditional agriculture and tourism. Farmers across Kansas are realizing the benefits of tailoring their operations to tourists, who are increasingly longing to visit a working ranch, rope a calf, ride a horse, pick their own apples or tour a winery. These activities provide lifelong memories for tourists and additional revenue for Kansas farmers who host them.
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