Agricultural Tourism

Unique Niches - Agritourism in Britain and New England

Section 4: Agritourism in New England/Survey of Agritourism Operators continued

Did farmers have liability insurance?

I found more entrepreneurs who had had claims for an injury occurring on the property than in England. Yet no operations had ceased business nor had the insurer terminated coverage. Operators were generally covered by either Farm Family or had B&B coverage through John Wolf Insurance Company (specializes in innkeepers).

How did farmers develop their facilities?

A majority of the recent farm oriented B&Bs had no code allowing their usage in the towns or villages in which they resided so they were involved in the actual writing of the codes and/ or became actively involved in the local town zoning committee. Several farmers indicated the importance of lining up your supporters and anticipating the negative responses you might experience in going through a permitting process.

How did farmers develop their marketing plans?

The majority had the site, the potential customers, and the personality for promoting their business. Determining the type of venture they were developing took longer and succeeded only through trial and error. They became excellent promoters of their businesses, listening to customers, asking for feedback, and watching others succeed or fail. In one case, a farmer had the capital to bring in European experts to teach the group sheep cheese finishing.

What was their financial outlook?

Most farm entrepreneurs were at a crossroads with growth. The majority used only family and extended family members to operate, though in a few cases, they had businesses that were booming and no family member who was interested in helping. For some, the agritourism venture was the primary source of income and the operation tended to be more businesslike in nature. For others the venture was a seasonal, important but supplemental income. Several stated that the venture had become sufficient enough that it "was impossible to stop doing."

Where did they get help? Was there any impact on farm portion?

One of the questions I didn't ask in England and added to the East Coast interviews was the impact on the primary farming operation. For those marketing and selling on-site, the impacts were significant. In the case of the farm B&Bs, one person responded that it took at least an hour each day to answer questions, and explain the farming cycle, but that spending time with guests was the most important part of the experience. Others stressed the importance of having strong spousal and family relationships as they were constantly on public display.

Help and resources came from regional extension agritourism workshops; visits to other operations that offered support and advice; membership in an association of similar ventures; community volunteers, local land trusts, and for one, a wealthy benefactor.

Other key points were made by successful agritourism entrepreneurs, but Al Amundsen of Wright's Mill Farm in Connecticut summed it up best:

"Do your homework -- take plenty of time to visit other operations to see how they do it and what works; take time to evolve; for every ten silly ideas that don't succeed, the 11th might; there is no recipe or magic formula for success that you can purchase; you need to be ready for the challenge of the journey."

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