2006 Conference Highlights

Keynote Address – “Sowing Seeds for Profits – Right on the Farm”
Jane Eckert, Eckert AgriMarketing, 9:00 – 9:45 a.m.

Have you heard about Agritourism? If you haven’t, you will! Agritourism has gained such popularity that the word was recently added to the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Expert farm marketer Jane Eckert increased revenues at her own farm by 300% through innovative marketing strategies, and has since helped countless other farms across the country achieve similar results. In 2001, she was named Farm Marketer of the Year by the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association and received their 2004 Outstanding Leadership award.

Jane says, “Today family farms are challenged to make a living solely by growing commodities. But the answer may be right at their front door thanks to an exciting and growing trend – Agritourism.”

From a simple retail stand to festivals, attractions, stores and restaurants, many farmers are inviting consumers on the farm to sell directly to them. The public loves the farm experience and farmers love the revenue growth. Eckert helped turn her family farm into a top tourist destination attracting 500,000 visitors each year. Find out how to harvest revenues and help your farm thrive.

Keynote Address - “Why Saving Agriculture is Good for the
Environment and Saving the Environment is Good for Agriculture”
Don Stuart, American Farmland Trust, 12:30 – 1:15 p.m.

Agriculture and the environment aren't necessarily at cross-purposes. In fact, Don Stuart contends they're more than just compatible, by working to save one, we save the other. Both agriculture and the environment have strong public support and a lot of common ground, but advocates for one may not recognize this in the other. If agriculture is to flourish in the years ahead, fostering sustainability is essential, from environmental stewardship practices to the economics and politics of preserving the land base. 

"Sprawl is costly, and while farmland seems cheap to the growing ranks of urban dwellers moving to the country, farmland is the most ecologically valuable land in the country," Don says.  "Keeping land available for agriculture is a good investment for the community, and collectively, we have the capacity and power to do something about it."

In this keynote, Don will offer a roadmap addressing the tough, but not insurmountable, challenges to stop the irreversible loss of farmland.