Maine farmers rave about Boston forum Agritourism focus of weeklong conference

BOSTON – For three days last week, Steve and Jenny Maheu of Turner, Maine, rode a bus, getting off and on at 13 different farms and farm businesses. They started in Boston and wound their way up through Vermont and back, sharing the experience with farmers from across the United States and Canada.

Then they spent the next three days sitting through workshops, learning how agri-tourism could help their apple orchard, Ricker Farms in Turner.

“I cannot even begin to tell you how much I learned,” Steve Maheu reflected on Monday. “No matter the problems, the challenges, the sizes of our individual farms, we were able to network and learn from each other. These weren’t even quick fixes, either. These were valid, ongoing strategies.”

“It wasn’t really where we went,” said Maheu. “It was who we went with. There were so many different ideas and suggestions on everything from new attractions to agritourism to labor issues.

“It’s not just enough to be a farm anymore. We need to be productive.”

More than 1,000 farmers and agriculturalists participated in the North American Farmers’ Market Direct Marketing Convention, held from Feb. 7-14 in Boston. Held in California last year and moving to Texas next year, the location was a perfect opportunity for New England farmers to learn marketing strategies, hone new skills and network to gain a competitive advantage.

The far-reaching conference offered bus tours to 63 different farm businesses, 49 workshop sessions on individual business strategies and a trade show, which included two vendors from Maine.

“The person over there is asking the questions, while the person over there has the answers,” keynote speaker Marty Jacknis, a marketing and management expert from New York, said. “Opportunities are waiting to be harvested.”

On the buses, in the workshops, in the hallways, restaurants and elevators, those selling at farmers markets and farm stands across the country networked with others, sharing money-making ideas.

Jamie Murphy of Kruger’s Farm Market in Portland, Ore., skyrocketed his income by adding a line of baskets handmade in Ghana. He buys a small market basket for $5 and sells it for $10. “The first year, I sold 75. Last year, I sold 22,000,” Murphy said.

Ronald Smolowitz of Coonamesset Farm in Falmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod, sells memberships that allows reduced rates for pick-your-own vegetables and workshops and events on his farm. Using the profits from the membership plan, Smolowitz built a cafe and store on the farm, offering Wednesday Country Teas, sushi workshops and vegetarian buffets.

Lynn Hartman began with a simple herb farm in Barre, Mass., and has now expanded to host weddings and turned the original farmstead into a bed and breakfast.

In Sanborten, N.H., the farmers’ market partnered with the local historical society and invited area nonprofit organizations to set up tables, becoming a community event.

Farmers market development was the main focus of the convention, but its heart was agri-tourism. Speakers taught farmers how to make their farms inviting, how to get bus tours and tourists to their farms. They were advised to provide a total experience and not to forget the aging population.

“Your customers are no longer naive. They have had many experiences,” John Mullin, a professor in urban planning at the University of Massachusetts, told one audience.

“People are willing to travel 50 miles to a sugar shack for a unique experience,” he said.

Mullin pointed out that greater Boston has a greater sprawl rate than corporate Los Angeles. “The farm belts are now within commuter range,” he said, “and those customers are seeing the importance of nature and things organic.”

Five years ago, Mullin said, if a farmer had gone into a bank and asked for money to build a corn maze, they would have been laughed out of the bank. “Banks have really changed their tune,” he said. “Agri-tourism is huge.”

In California, farmers markets have beer gardens, salsa nights and live music. “People are looking for an experience,” Gretchen Sterling, who manages 35 California markets said. “Entertainment farms, we call them, and by holding harvest festivals or special barbecues, some of these farms make enough money to pay the bills all year.”

Chas Gill grows ornamental cut flowers in Bowdoinham, Maine. “This conference was absolutely inspirational to me in learning how to capitalize on marketing opportunities,” he said Monday. “I’m a vendor, a grower, not a marketer. This is exactly the type of information and help that most Maine farmers need.”