In this episode of the Progressive Dairy Podcast, host Kimmi Devaney visits with five dairy producers representing a variety of herd sizes and geographic regions about what agritourism looks like on their farms, how they got started, their advice for other producers interested in doing something similar and much more. Whether you are interested in doing your first farm tour, hosting an open house, scheduling regular tours, opening up the farm for several weekends or anything in between, you’ll learn a lot of tips and insights from Will Gladstone from Newmont Farm in Vermont, Josh Snider from Snider Dairy Farm in North Carolina, Amy Kelsay from Kelsay Farms in Indiana, David Volleman from Volleman’s Dairy in Texas and Derrick Josi from Wilsonview Dairy in Oregon.
Here's a breakdown of the episode:
- About their farms and what agritourism looks like on their operations [~1:15]
- Their inspiration for welcoming the general public onto the farm [~5:45]
- All five producers describe their process for preparing the farm for visitors in the days and weeks prior to a farm tour/open house/agritourism season [~9:55]
- Lessons learned [~14:40]
- Greatest challenges related to their agritourism activities and how these producers overcame them [~19:00]
- How they market their events to their target audience [~23:15]
- Staffing needed for a variety of agritourism activities, including the recruitment and training process [~27:40]
- Helpful resources [~34:20]
- What to know about insurance and limited liability laws [~37:40]
- Advice for other dairy producers considering adding farm tours, a farm camp, an open house, a fall festival or other forms of agritourism [~41:00]
- Rapid-fire questions [~47:50]