Breakout Sessions

Yakima Conference February 20-21 2007
Breakout Session Content

Presenter: Jyl Singh www.agritourismbc.com
Customer Service and Best Practices
Jyl Singh gives a brief description of the BC Agritourism Alliance and its role in the BC agritourism industry. She will explore the diversity of agritourism opportunities within the province and the trend of agritourism. As well as address what tourists’ expectations are of an open farm, and what to consider before opening your farm to the public.

Presenter: Jyl Singh www.agritourismbc.com
Creating Fun Farm Tours
Jyl Singh, who operated a successful and profitable agritourism destination shares her personal experience of how it was done. She will discuss the creation, promotion, and management of all aspects of her success.

Presenter: Curtis Beus and Bonnie Remlinger
smallfarms.wsu.edu www.remlingerfarms.com
Integrating Animals and Livestock into Agritourism Enterprises
Introducing livestock and other animals into an agritourism operation often requires dealing with new regulations, and may expose the farm owner to additional risks and liabilities.  And, dealing with animals in your agritourism activities can also add new levels of complications to the overall operation.  Therefore, including animals and/or livestock in an agritourism enterprise should only be done after considering the regulations, risks, liabilities and costs associated with doing so.  This workshop will touch on these issues and help participants to better understand what is involved in successfully integrating livestock or other animals into their operations.

Presenter: Hank Manriquez and Curtis Beus
www.visitwashingtonfarms.com smallfarms.wsu.edu
Understanding and Dealing with Regulations Affecting Direct Marketing and Agritourism Operations
Inviting the public onto your farm, often in large numbers, involves many regulations, codes and laws with which most farmers are not familiar.  Although regulations differ from county to county and state to state, it is important to know the various types of ordinances, building codes, zoning regulations, parking regulations, food safety regulations, etc. that most counties and states have in place that potentially affect agritourism operations.  The purpose of this workshop is to familiarize participants with many of these laws and regulations that affect agritourism operations, and to assist them in developing strategies for successfully dealing with them.  

Presenter: Hank Manriquez www.visitwashingtonfarms.com
Session on Insurance:
For those who first venture into agritourism on their farms, one of the most daunting tasks is finding appropriate, affordable insurance that will cover their new liabilities and exposures.  Many find it very difficult to even find coverage, and others just assume that their existing farm policy will cover their agritourism activities on the farm.  This workshop will help answer questions about what types of coverage is required for various types of agritourism activities, and it will try to provide people with the information they need to find the appropriate coverage at a price that makes sense for their business needs. 

Presenter: Kari Sorensen www.wildaboutberries.com
From Apples To Pies
Back in 2002 Kari and her parents, Roger & Linda Sorensen, built what they thought would be a simple “fruit stand” open 3 months out of the year. Their vision was to sell a few innocent pies while people u-picked 8+ acres of blueberries located on what was their original family apple homestead from the early 1900’s. From idealistic “fruit stand” to what almost instantly became a full blown commercial restaurant operation with lines out the door and wrapped around the parking lot (!)– Kari tells the entertaining, inspiring and educational story of making that crazy leap “From Apples To Pies”. Even Olympia affectionately referred to Blueberry Hills as the “Poster Child for Ag-Tourism” as regulations were actually being developed while they went through a 2-year legal “Conditional Use Permit” battle in Chelan County. Kari plants a mustard seed of inspiration on how you too can stop apologizin’ for bein’ a farmer! Ya’all come ‘n listen up!

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