Growing a customer base

Mention agritourism to most people and you're likely to get some quizzical looks. However, it's an industry that is on the rise throughout Lodi and the rest of California.

On Wednesday, about 70 people with backgrounds in marketing, tourism and agriculture filled a corner of the Robert J. Cabral Agricultural Center in Stockton for the San Joaquin County Agritourism Conference. And the topic was evident: Promoting agricultural areas as tourist destinations and sustaining area farms.

As the cost of farming gets more expensive every year, making it more difficult for growers to continue their businesses, experts attending the conference said that a majority of those growers will have to expand their business model to include some form of agritourism.

Jane Eckert, the founder of Eckert AgriMarketing, was the event's keynote speaker. In her address, she said she has seen an abundance of growers turning to the relatively new industry throughout North America in the past five years.

"For farmers today, it's very hard to stay in farming. Typically, one person works off-farm to generate health insurance and income. To sustain farms, (agritourism is) going to be a necessary move," Eckert said. She also stated that it's a win-win situation for both grower and vacationer. "Urban dwellers want to get out of town. Coming to farm country is a totally new experience. They're willing to pay for these experiences. The win-win is that the consumer enjoys it. They're experiencing things they don't normally get to experience."

Rather than having to pay a laborer to pick peaches, for example, a farmer can have someone pay him for the privilege of harvesting his orchards.

Some area growers have long since figured out how to cash in on their crops — other than selling them off as commodities to bulk buyers. Most vintners in San Joaquin County have tasting rooms that cater to those traipsing along wine trails. Others, like Phillips Farms, have been luring young and old visitors for years with an upscale produce stand, school tours, petting zoo and other attractions.

Examples of agritourism

Phillips Farms
King's Mums nursery
Guisto's Blueberry Farm
The Grape Festival
The Asparagus Festival
Vino Con Brio's Grape stomp
Downtown Lodi Farmers Market
The Sandhill Crane Festival
— News-Sentinel staff

As pointed out by one of the conference organizers, Pat Patrick — the president and CEO of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce — agritourism is about taking a producers product and selling it straight to the customer.

"A lot of our growers ... grow walnuts or grapes or something. Then they sell it to a manufacturer who then turns it into a product, selling to consumers," Patrick said. "By taking those 100 acres, they say, 'I can take 40 of those acres and turn it into a Phillips Farms, and sell those apples and peaches and such directly to consumers.'"

One of the presenters, Holly George, a farm adviser for the University of California's Cooperative Extension, held up Placer County as a leader in agritourism. The ag industry in that county has had farm and barn tours and agricultural art exhibits, among other events.

Across the states, George stated that agritourism has included various harvest festivals, bird watching workshops (like Lodi's own Sandhill Crane Festival), raft and canoe trips and "cow chip throwing contests." As the laughter died down, George had made her point.

"You guys laugh, but people love this stuff," George said.

The Agritourism Conference went beyond examples of how farms can grow. Regulations were discussed; how to find funding was covered; and how to promote a farm was also on the agenda.

And though not every farmer can be a host ("You have to be a people person," said George), they do need to work with others in the community to become a success.

"The tourism folks have the know-how on how to bring people to your farm," Eckert said. She went on to say that any grower who deals in direct retail — whether wine, a produce stand, petting zoo or bed and breakfast — needs a Web site and a customer database, she said.

It appears agritourism is an industry that's ripe for the picking.

"In Lodi, there's blueberries, there's flowers, there's cherry stands. It's part of our culture. We don't think about it. But to the city dweller, they're willing to pay for that freshness," Patrick said. "The people in the city want that farm experience. A lot of (them) don't realize cherries grow on trees."

Contact Business Editor Marc Lutz at marcl@lodinews.com.

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