Culinary & Agritourism Studio Northeastern Oregon May 23-24, 2016 La Grande

Transcription

1 Culinary & Agritourism Studio Northeastern Oregon May 23-24, 2016 La Grande TRAVEL OREGON STAFF Alexa Carey, Destination Development Specialist Elena Vizzini, Destination Development Coordinator EASTERN OREGON VISITORS ASSOCIATION Alice Trindle, Executive Director Janet Dodson, Agritourism Program Contractor Elizabeth Farrar, Marketing/Social Media Contractor NORTHEASTERN OREGON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT Sara Miller, Specialist PARTICIPANTS Alan Kartchner, Country Natural Beef Art Hill, Argo Resources Barbara Carlson, Hart Donna Beverage, Bar MD Cattle Company PARTICIPANTS CONT. Emily Klavins, Barking Mad Farm B&B Emily Palmer, Union County Chamber of Commerce Jef Van Arsdall, Burnt River Ranch Lisa Ball, Lovely Garden Maurizio Valerio, The Ford Family Foundation Mika Morton, Art Center East Noah Platz, Platz Produce Peter Clark, Homestead Springs Farm Philip Merricks, agriculture land owner Raeann Van Arsdall, Burnt River Ranch Ralph Eyre, Cornucopia Wilderness Lodge, LLC Sue Miller, Homestead Springs Farm Valerie Tachenko, Val's Veggies Becky Platz, Platz Produce Grant Young, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Greg Blackman, Farmers Insurance Joella Arment, The Willows Farm and Farmhouse Page 1 of 6

2 Please see presentations posted to Industry.traveloregon.com/northeastATS for detailed information presented during the workshops. Notes from group discussions are provided below. DAY 1 Agritourism Overview What makes a world class agritourism destination? Variety of activities Open space Natural beauty Friendly people Functional Ecosystems and Sustainable Practices World class agritourism also includes auxiliary services and providers that link the visitor market with the ranch or farm (outfitters, guides, shuttles, etc.) Eastern Oregon distinction and unique selling point is a focus on ranching and the types of farming that is done on a ranch What makes a well-connected agritourism destination? Brand identity Easily accessible and presented in a clear concise Industry network and understanding Common vision Good customer service knowledgeable front line staff Product takeaways Critical mass and diversity of activities - Have enough to do to sustain a multiday trip and have a place to stay High quality promotion Finding willing partners Local Examples of Agritourism Table groups were asked to report the top three agritourism assets in the region: Table 1: Farmers Markets (ex. La Grande, Cove, Baker City, etc.) Festivals (ex. Eastern Oregon Beer Festival, Cove Cherry Festival, Huckleberry Fest in N. Powder) Table 2: Mushrooming/Huckleberry Foraging Areas Breweries & Distilleries Farm Stands Winding Waters River Rafting 4. Old Time Dances (opportunity to promote to visitor market!) Page 2 of 6

3 Table 3: Wine & Cheese Train in Elgin (2+, microbrew train) Winding Waters Zumwalt Prairie Wallowology Joseph interpretive center and tours Destination Planning What would it take to make the agritourism opportunities here in NE Oregon world class? What could you create here? What are some connections you would like to make with others? o More infrastructure to facilitate people coming to the region o Stronger branding and theme for the tri county region Key Selling Points: Personalization of service, connection with locals Passion for Place No crowds Authentic Our story becomes the visitors story o Partner with gateway areas to refer and package travel out to Eastern Oregon o More On-Farm Lodging o Making connections with organizations (universities, flyins at La Grande airport) o For maps and itineraries try not to use the freeway - no freeway challenge (discover the wilder side of Oregon) o Passport system or other incentivize program to motivate travel throughout the region o Wayfinding / signage o Maps and loops o Farm to table events o Visitor centered attractions o Travel Trade outreach o Joint marketing between regional businesses o Attract and encourage new businesses or entrepreneurs Guiding services big gap/opportunity o More coordination to connect the dots Networking to discover how new businesses can partner Packaging/ cross promotion opportunities Connections with retailers selling Eastern Oregon products (ex. Wild Carrot, CMB) Page 3 of 6

4 Gaps/Opportunities: Guiding services (shuttles, packaging experience, etc) Tour Operators: EOVA team looking to develop more package travel opportunities (travel trade) challenge is that there is not enough product on the ground that makes sense for the resale market Target markets to explore/develop o Corporate retreats o Touring bands o Fly-ins Local and Regional Destination Marketing Organization Contacts Local: La Grande/ Union County Tourism Kristen Dollarhide director@unioncountychamber.org Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce Vicki Searles vicki@wallowacounty.org (541) Baker County Tourism Basecamp Baker Timothy Bishop info@basecampbaker.com (541) Regional: Eastern Oregon Visitors Association Alice Trindle, Executive Director, eova@eoni.com (cell) Janet Dodson, Agritourism Program Contractor, Janetd@eoni.com DAY 2 Inspirational Case Studies See presentation for details, links to videos provided below: Communities Powered by Travel Video Series produced by Travel Oregon (John Day River Territory and Wallowa County) : Faces of Travel & Tourism Series produced by Travel Oregon (Winding Waters Rafting featured): Promotional videos for Union County: Page 4 of 6

5 Panel: Successful Ventures Wendy McCullough, Sally B Farms, Joseph Property with 60+ goats First concept was meat production but needed more volume of goats so changed idea to goat s milk soap then added meat processing. Partner with neighbor to source additional goat milk for soap. Joan Madison w/ Jay Creative helped develop brand Don t be afraid to hire experts to take on the business activities you struggle with or lack expertise, focus on the activities you love Networked with Liza Jane at 6Ranch to find out about the meat processing, now sells meat at Farmers Market and has a cookbook Attended the NEOEDD business classes to start up business Keep track of your data, it s helpful to look at the long range development of your business Follow your passion Valerie Tachenko, Val s Veggies, Baker City 13 acre non GMO organic farm, veggies, chickens, corn, corm maze, pumpkins, farm stand, CSA (38 total members) and direct selling to other markets in Portland, Pendleton, etc. Events: Corn maze, trivia events, pumpkin patch, night maze, live music, family friendly activities, host school groups, school program for planting pumpkins CSA (38 total members) set up gives you start up money at the beginning of your season to help out with the bank role Challenges: labor (good work ethic) Start somewhere and go with it and be willing to evolve. Panel: Making it Legal County Planning- Grant Young, DLCD Eastern Oregon Regional Rep and Eva Ceder, Baker Country Planning State agency for enforcing land use and conservation Permitting for any activities you plan to have on your property, properties and land are zoned differently for various activities Permits are issued based on zoning so the process varies based off how your property is zoned (Exclusive Farm Use, Industrial, Residential, etc.) When you have an idea, start with your county planner and work with them, there are ways to work through the avenues and criteria, they want you to succeed! Page 5 of 6

6 Planning is an evolving system - state responds to economic stimulus, regulations and provisions around agritourism are relatively recent (past yrs). If a provision doesn t exist for your business concept, you can lobby with support of your local legislature to enact policy changes. Insurance- Greg Blackman, Farmers Insurance Liability coverage is the main type needed and fortunately it is one of the cheapest types of insurance, always ask about increasing your liability because you can never have too much Be up front with your carrier and honest with your operation and don t be afraid to shop around for insurance Regular special events can usually be added as a rider rather than one off insurance policy Premium is based on your volume of visitor business Additional insurance types to consider: animal collision coverage, electrical panels and irrigation systems Wineries/Vineyards have different insurance policy types Food Safety - Melissa Ney, Food Safety Inspector (Hermiston) and Kelly Bench, Food Safety Inspector (Ontario) Food & Safety - Covers packaged food and food not for immediate consumption o Meat Slaughtering units o Egg Two types of license Handler and Retailer only if you are selling to a retailer not direct to consumer o Dairy Milk is greatly regulated at the federal level o Produce Only sell your own produce (whole) direct to consumer you do not need at license, but if you sell others products (wholesaler) or you sell to a retailer you ll need to a license. o Food processing anytime the produce is packaged or processed (bagged, cut, etc.) need o Domestic Kitchen two types, food processing and baking. You can sell to a public entity or other business (like a B&B or store), however Residential Kitchen provision you can only sell direct to consumer o Warehouses - o Labeling Food & Safety reviews but FDA approves o Cannabis Starting July 1 st 2016 allow for processing license for making cannabis edibles (first has to go to OLCC then to Food & Safety) Food for immediate consumption is covered by the Health Department If you have a mix of immediate consumption vs. packaged, the regulation entity used is your primary gross revenue generate Page 6 of 6