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5 Takeaways for Building an Agritourism Experience

The second course in the 2023 Ag and Food Producers Academy, Building an Agritourism Experience on Your Farm, concluded on February 18th, with a wonderful day of field trips after three online evening sessions. 

The online sessions offered an opportunity for the 10 participating agriculture businesses to dig into the nitty gritty of creating and running an agritourism activity. Instructor Mary Godnick, Communication Coordinator for Adirondack Harvest, and guest instructor Lindsey Pashow, CCE Agriculture Business Development and Marketing Specialist, guided us through goal setting, insurance and liability considerations, and how to effectively market to your desired audience.

Two women standing in front of a window and nature exhibit.
Course Instructor Mary Godnick and Local Foods Team Leader Flip Filippi enjoying the lunch break at Nicandri Nature Center.

Our field trip time got us out into the community seeing the course materials applied by local businesses. In mid-February, we visited Kaneb Orchards in Massena, had lunch at the Nicandri Nature Centure with a special guest speaker Dillon Klepetar of Farmstead Catering at Echo Farm, and ended the day at Martins Farmstand in Potsdam. 

We covered a tremendous amount of information over the past few weeks and want to share some takeaways with farm and food business owners or new entrepreneurs who’d like to create an agritourism experience, or further develop their current one. Find several great resources at the close of this post to help with your agritourism planning.

1. Determining Goals and Boundaries

Whether you’re an existing farm or are in the planning stages of your business, consider your goals, how an agritourism enterprise might help you achieve your goals, and your boundaries. 

As important as it is to determine what your goals are for an agritourism venture, it’s equally important to determine what boundaries you have regarding your time, effort, and facility capacity. Essentially, what do you not want to do? In our first class, Mary discussed her experience with hosting on-farm meals because she knew it would be a popular option for consumers. But in practice, to run these experiences she was in the kitchen for long periods of time on those beautiful summer days, so she decided not to offer these anymore. 

Read more 5 Takeaways for Building an Agritourism Experience

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Meet the Local Foods Team: Laurel Balog

Tell us about your role on the local foods team: 

I joined the Local Foods Team in April 2022 as the Food System Program Assistant and I help with planning and implementing programs for producers, food businesses, and consumers. I provide behind-the-scenes support with administrative and logistical tasks, such as managing our Fruition blog subscriptions and developing social media posts to broaden local food awareness. I enjoy continually learning how our local food system functions and how we can work together to create a strong rural foodshed. 

What sparked your interest in local foods?

In college, I studied ecology and natural resources, originally with the goal to work in wildlife conservation. As I learned more about agriculture and its impact on our environment, I decided to pursue farming so I could learn small-scale, regenerative farming practices, and understand the local food movement. I was quickly enamored with the way agriculture challenges oneself both mentally and physically – and how you can see the rewards of your labor in beautiful flowers, bountiful produce, and nutritious meals. Through my farm experiences, I realized that our food system challenges are interconnected and vast. I entered into a graduate program to further tease out how our food system developed and what we can do to make it more equitable. 

A row of apple trees on a sunny day.
Laurel’s homestead includes perennial fruits such as apples and blueberries.

How do you eat local food in the winter when everything is frozen outside?

We preserve food during the growing season to have plenty of local produce during the winter months. For example, I recently made slow cooked turkey breast, raised by a friend, that we had frozen in November. Along with the turkey, we made mashed potatoes from homegrown spuds we harvested and put in our root cellar, and we sautéed bok choy that we grew and froze ourselves.

Read more Meet the Local Foods Team: Laurel Balog

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Meet Loni Recker, Master Gardener Volunteer

With a new cohort of Master Gardener Volunteers beginning to serve their community, we’d like to introduce them (AND YOU!) to the group of MGVs who have sustained this program for the last several years. Meet Loni Recker!

What is your gardening background?

I was born into a gardening family. I can still remember my great-grandmother’s beautiful gardens. My grandmother and mother carried on the tradition and my father is an amazing gardener as well. I think gardening was decided for me and I’m thankful for that.

Loni's great-grandmother and her tiger lilies
My Great-Grandma Benny

What benefits do you gain from gardening?

I love puttering, propagating, and tending so gardening is a natural avenue for all of those activities. I love meeting other gardeners and sharing plants, knowledge, and stories. I have a picket fence around a set of raised beds with paths. My garden shed door opens into the garden on the opposite side of the entrance gate. There is a string of lights surrounding that garden. When I open the gate, I feel as if I enter a special place that is separate from my realms of responsibility. I put away all thoughts of what I must do and allow myself to tend and cultivate as a form of deep relaxation.

Loni's raised bed vegetable garden
My raised bed vegetable garden

Why did you want to become a Master Gardener Volunteer?

I get asked a lot of gardening questions and I felt I should make sure the answers I give are correct. Through my Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) training in 2013 I gained knowledge and more importantly I was introduced to a wealth of trustworthy resources. I rely on those resources, on our ongoing educational meetings, as well as the abundance of knowledge of my MGV cohort.

In what ways do you serve as a MGV?

Though I often answer questions about gardens and plant identification, my real passion is the Ogdensburg Youth Garden Club, which I have led for 26 years. I use my teaching and gardening skills to engage children in all things to do with gardening and I know our club has changed the lives and trajectories of many students. One of our graduates gained a passion for horticulture through the years of participating in our youth group. He joined us in 3rd grade and left when he went to college eventually earning his PhD in horticulture.

Ogdensburg Youth Garden Club members with bouquets they made
The Ogdensburg Youth Garden Club members are an amazingly creative bunch!

We have graduates of the club who stay in touch and continue to support the program through financial donations and through volunteering. Gardening is an activity that can be performed intergenerationally, for personal enjoyment, to beautify a community, or professionally. It truly is boundless. I want children to be aware of that and to know they can cultivate beauty in their lives. Read more Meet Loni Recker, Master Gardener Volunteer