Kansas AgriTourism News

October 2007 Greetings! We have a lot of news about agritourism scholarships this month, thanks to Sarah Larison, our agritourism coordinator in the Department of Commerce. Agritourism Scholarships are available for each of the 3 conferences listed below. Please note the deadlines for applications are different for each conference: NAFDMA Scholarships-Applications for the February meeting of the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association Conference must be received by December 1. The NAFDMA conference will be held Feb. 15-20 in Wisconsin Dells (www.nafdma.com) Colorado Culinary and Mini Agritourism Conference-this conference will be held in conjunction with their state tourism conference, Oct. 10-11 in Grand Junction. Click here for information. The deadline to apply for a Kansas agritourism scholarship relating to the Colorado conference is Sept. 28. Oklahoma will be holding a 2 day Agritourism Conference in Ardmore on November 6-7. The first day will be farm tours and the second day will be speakers. For more information, you can visit www.oklahomaagritourism.com. The deadline to apply for the Kansas agritourism scholarship application relating to the Oklahoma conference is Oct. 10. We hope these scholarships will encourage you to make the time to go to any of these conferences and continue your professional development. The agritourism scholarship application is available on the Kansas AgriTourism Website. Click here to view and download the application to your computer. Kansas AgriTourism Council

In This Month's Issue: Registered Kansas Agritourism Operations- Benefits Tip for Talking to Your Insurance Agent Agritourism Advisory Council Agritourism Scholarships Awarded-More to Come!

Registered Agritourism Operations-Benefits

Agritourism in Kansas continues to grow! As of September 20, 2007, there are 222 agritourism operations that have registered with the Department of Commerce. Have you taken the opportunity to register your agritourism business? This is a free program to belong with a lot of benefits to those that participate.
Registration with the Kansas Department of Commerce allows for many benefits.

• You are eligible for a tax credit up to 20% on your liability insurance for the agritourism portion of your business.
• You are also eligible to post warning signage (available through the Kansas Horse Council) that limits the amount of liability you are for which you are responsible.

Robert North, attorney for the Kansas Department of Commerce, has prepared an informative white paper that illustrates the benefits of having this signage posted, as well as the registration process. (Click here to read.)

Of course, it is always good to also speak to your attorney about the risks involved with the activities you provide in your operation as well.

So, how do you register?

If you are interested in registering your business with the Department of Commerce, please contact Sarah Larison at (785) 296-3737 or email slarison@kansascommerce.com or to obtain a registration application, or click here to download the form from the Kansas Agritourism website.

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Tip for Talking to Your Insurance Agent

"Liability insurance is something that I hear about a lot," says Sarah Larison, Agritourism manager.

"In speaking with Bob Tomlinson of the Kansas Insurance Commissioner's office, he advised producers to limit the use of the word "agritourism" when talking to insurance agents."

"Rather, explain what activities you offer and ask what kind of insurance is available for your business," Tomlinson explained. "Agritourism is a word not always recognized outside of tourism industry, so by talking more about the specific activities you provide to your guests, your insurance agent will have greater understanding of what you are doing and what kind of insurance will best suit your business."

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Agritourism Advisory Council 

The next Agritourism Advisory Council meeting will be on November 2 in Chanute, following the agritourism workshop being hosted on November 1 by Southeast Kansas Resource and Conservation District (being held at the Greenbush South East Kansas Education Service Center in Girard.) 

Visit www.seekanrcd.org for more information on the November 1 workshop.

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Agritourism Scholarships Awarded-More to Come!

One of the other benefits of the agritourism registration is the ability to apply for agritourism scholarships.

The first round of applications was received on August 1 and three scholarships were awarded:

• Smoky Hill Vineyard and Winery, Salina, for an educational tour to Missouri wineries
• Browndale Farms, Clay Center, to attend the NAFDMA Conference in February 2007
• Harvest Farms, Turon, to attend the NAFDMA Advanced Learning Retreat at Vala's Pumpkin Patch in Gretna, Nebraska on October 31 through November 1.

There are still funds available to interested agritourism producers (see top story).

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