Jane Eckert Talks AgriTourism Today

American Agri-Women TV Show Now on RFD TV

Jane — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:24:21 +0000

Farm women are making a difference from coast to coast and now you can hear from them directly. RFD- TV will begin airing 13 shows produced by American Agri-Women (AAW). The shows will air on Tuesday, at 9:30 p.m. EST and be repeated each week on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m EST. The goal of the show is to bring programming to farm and ranch women throughout the country.

The show will cover such topics as: educating future consumers, accessing farm credit, managing risk through crop insurance, ag labor needs, entrepreneurship and many more. For a complete show listing by week and topic CLICK HERE. The show next week will feature the topic Agritourism and Eckert AgriMarketing was pleased to participate. Be sure and tune in for this agritourism segment September 7 & 8. The agritourism perspective will be provided by Nancy Patterson from Indiana, Brenda Renyer from Kansas and by Jane Eckert. Both Nancy and Brenda manage successful agritourism operations.

The AAW is the national coalition of farm, ranch and agribusiness women, with 59 affiliate state and commodity organizations nationwide. Their annual conference this year will be held November 10-14 in St. Louis, MO.

Agritourism operators throughout North America are now gearing up for a tremendous fall season of apple picking, pumpkin picking, corn mazes and plenty of fall activities not to be missed. For a listing of agritourism operators by state or province go to www.ruralbounty.com

Kentucky Farm Bureau visits Eckert’s Country Store

Jane — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:24:57 +0000

This past week, I was pleased to speak to 44 farmers from Kentucky on an ag tour through Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. Chris Eckert, 7^th generation, spoke to the group and led them on a behind the scenes tour of the new farm market, restaurant and peach packing plant.

The Kentucky Farm Bureau has an agritourism initiative and has over 100 certified roadside markets that are part of their group.

The best way to learn about what other farms are doing is to take tours. Farmers are always open to sharing their back doors with other out-of-state operators. While summer and harvest seasons are a hard time to get away, most of these Kentucky farmers acknowledged that it is exactly the time to be visiting other farms.

At the conclusion of the tour, I spoke to the group briefly about, “Getting On Board the Internet Superhighway” and other marketing strategies they could use to grow their business.

The Kentucky Farm Bureau did a great job in organizing this trip and stopping at a variety of locations. While the farmers were at Eckert’s Country Store in Belleville, IL, I asked them a couple questions to produce a video. To view the clip, click HERE.

Vote for America’s Favorite Farmers Market

Jane — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:57:18 +0000

Farmers markets are an important part of our communities and they help keep local farms thriving. Voting for your favorite farmers market in the America’s Favorite Farmers Markets contest is one great way to support local farms and homegrown products.

The process is simple. To vote for our market, all you have to do is:

1.) Go to www.farmland.org/vote

2.) Type in [Your Market Name]; and,

3.) Click “Vote”

That’s it. That’s all it takes to bring your local market one step closer to being America’s favorite farmers market!

According to American Farmland Trust (AFT), the purpose of this contest is to re-connect local consumers to local farms, with the ultimate goal of keeping our nation’s farm and ranch land productive and healthy! Buying at the farmers market keeps money in the local community and helps farms and ranches remain economically viable. By voting, you’re helping support farms and communities across the nation. As American Farmland Trust says, “No Farms No Food™!”

So don’t forget to vote for your local market at www.farmland.org/vote and spread the word! Big thanks to everyone who has already voted!