By Christie Welch, Direct Agricultural Marketing Specialist
On April 5, 2017 nearly 70 individuals gathered for the Ohio AgritourismReady Conference in Waldo, Ohio. The attendees where there to learn about Ohio’s new agritourism law, liability management, profitability, adding an activity to an agritourism operation, and more. The attendees heard from industry experts, extension educators, and agritourism operators.
The first such event held in Ohio, the workshop was sponsored by OSU Extension’s Agriculture & Resource Law Program, the OSU Extension Direct Agricultural Marketing Program, and Wright & Moore Law Company LPA. Guest speakers included Ben King, Risk Management Consultant with Nationwide Insurance, Ryan Conklin, Attorney with Wright & Moore Co., and representatives from Richwood Marketing.
This one-day workshop was designed to assist Ohio’s agritourism operators to ensure they have the necessary information to effectively manage risks, market their enterprises, and better manage their agritourism business. The event allowed agritourism operators the opportunity to learn from experts and peers in an effort to increase the profitability of Ohio’s agritourism operations.
One attendee said it was “Nice to have concrete examples with people who do this. Would like more examples of tips they implement to make it easier for tours/teachers,” referring to a breakout session that focused on school tours and working with teachers. Another attendee referred to the breakout session on Adding an Activity to Your Agritourism Operation, “Good brainstorming of potential issues and things I haven’t thought of.” This session was led by Eric Barrett and Rob Leeds, OSU Extension Educators and members of the OSUE Direct Ag Marketing Team.
Overall, the participants indicated the information presented was very helpful and would recommend having such a workshop annually. There are also plans to hold a similar event in the southern part of the state for those agritourism operators that were unable to attend the April 5th event.
If you would like more information about this or upcoming workshops, check out the OSUE Direct Agricultural Marketing Program’s website at southcenters.osu.edu/marketing or contact Christie Welch, Direct Ag Marketing Specialist via email to welch.183@osu.edu.