Celebrate Harvest Time in North Carolina

Celebrate this Fall with a visit to a farm or agritourism event near you. Many farms offer opportunities to participate in their harvest, you can pick-your-own produce, or enjoy many adventures including corn mazes, pumpkin pickin', and driving tours of scenic vistas.

Over 400 agritourism farms can be searched online at Visit NC Farms http://www.visitncfarms.com/ms.com/. Search for an event, a product, or a day trip opportunity in your area. Our North Carolina farms have much to offer you and your family, and all are within a day's trip from anywhere in the state. ANA has also sponsored four ads in Edible Piedmont, a magazine distributed statewide, in support of North Carolina farms.

Help Us to Help You

Howdy Ya'll,

We're working on a grant to establish a model "safe agritourism farm" for children and we need some help. The objective is to provide an example for other agritourism farmers to follow, improve the health and safety of children, and hopefully reduce insurance premiums for certified safe farms. Iowa already has this in place and benefits are being seen by complying farms. We want NC farms to reap the benefits, too.

Any help, suggestions, comments will be appreciated. Our plan includes contacting several insurance companies about the certified safe farm program in hopes of opening more doors for liability coverage and reducing premiums or getting some type of compensation from them for the efforts. And not just liability premiums, we want this to work for medical premiums also. As we make improvements and eliminate hazards, we are reducing the risk of illness and injury to ourselves, our employees, and our visitors. With reduced risk, we cost the insurance companies less. Don't you think they should reward us for going the extra mile to save them money? We do.

If you attended any of the district ANA workshops or the conference in Hickory you may have picked up 3 books put out by National Children's Center. They are guidelines for creating policies, procedures, and safe worksites for agritourism farms. Has anyone done any work toward the recommendations on their farm? If so, what have you developed as far as policies and procedures? What resources have you found to help you? What barriers are you finding in being able to achieve the recommendations? Has anyone approached your insurer about possible benefits of complying with the recommendations?

If you would like a copy, Martha has more or call 800-662-6900 or email nccrahs@mcrf.mfldclin.edu or visit http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/agritourism
Ask for "Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children", "Policies and Procedures Guide" supplement A, and "Worksite Guide" supplement B.

Another resource is the Certified Safe Farm project developed by The University of Iowa. Check it out at http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/icash/csf/

If you have the guidelines, take a look at them. Think about them and send me your thoughts. As we put this together, your idea may help to prevent an injury, or save all of us some time and money.

I'll keep you posted on the grant. Wish all of us luck.

Tami Thompson
Southeast District Codirector
Lazy O Farm

Discover North Carolina Farms Map

A new way to locate North Carolina agritourism farms is now available via a full-color, fold-out map. The “Discover NC Farms” map has been published and is available at many locations throughout our state, including the Welcome Centers, county extension offices, tourism offices, and farmers’ markets. Tourists and visitors will find these maps an excellent resource to carry with them on their day trips and weekend vacations. The 'glovebox-sized' map supplements the online agritourism resources available at http://www.visitncfarms.com/.

Featuring 213 farms and vineyards/wineries, many of which are ANA members or Goodness Grows farms, the maps are up-to-date with 2009 entertainment and recreational opportunities. To obtain your own copy of the map, contact Martha Glass, Manager at (919) 733-7887, ext. 276, or by e-mail at martha.glass@ncagr.gov. The free maps can be delivered individually, in packages of 25, or in boxes of 300.

The “Discover NC Farms” map project was supported by a grant from the Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, and also received support from the NCDA&CS Marketing Division and the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association.

Haw River Valley American Viticultural Area

Congratulations to our ANA members who are now part of a new federally designated grape growing region, The Haw River Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). The area will officially receive the designation on April 29.

The Haw River Valley viticultural area includes all of Alamance County, as well as portions of Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Orange, and Rockingham Counties. The wineries included in the region are: Benjamin Vineyards and Winery in Saxapahaw, owned by ANA members Andy and Nancy Zeman; GlenMarie Vineyards & Winery in Burlington; Grove Winery & Vineyards in Gibsonville, owned by ANA members Max and Denise Lloyd; Iron Gate Vineyards & Winery in Mebane, owned by ANA members Debbie and Gene Stikeleather; Silk Hope Winery in Pittsboro; and Wolfe Wines in Snow Camp. These wineries and several other vineyards in the area produce European vinifera and native muscadine grapes.

This designation certifies the area has features including climate, soil, and elevation that make it a unique grape growing region. The requirement for wine with an AVA designation on the label is that 85 percent of the grapes must be grown in that viticultural area, and will help visitors identify their wine of choice more easily (http://www.hawriverwinetrail.com/). North Carolina’s three designated American Viticultural Areas, including the Yadkin Valley and Swan Creek AVAs, provide sustainable tourist dollars to each area while promoting agriculture and agritourism for our state.

District Workshops Invite Everyone

Howdy Folks,

Hope all is going well with spring work loads. I know this is a very busy time for everyone in the farming world. Just want to let you know about our organization and how we can help each other. The Agritourism Networking Association (ANA) is a group of farming folks that raise products from apples to alpacas, livestock to lavender, vegetables to vineyards and everything in between. We work together to find ways to improve and market our products, bring visitors to the farm, insure our farms, save money, take care of our land, and whatever else may pop up that someone needs help with. ANA is also part of larger farm-oriented organizations that, together, can lobby for needed legislation. You can find more information about our group at the website listed below, as well as the ANA mission statement and goals.

We have district workshops scheduled for April 16 at Hope Plantation in Bertie County, April 23 at Duplin Winery in Duplin County, and April 30 at The Orchard at Altapass in McDowell County. The registration forms and agendas are listed on the webpage for your convenience. We'd love to have you join us, see what we're about and how being a part of our group can help you. You probably have information that can help someone else. Not only do we help one another but we make new friends and you never know where these exciting new contacts can lead. Farmers helping farmers can only be a GOOD thing. So, spread the word. Tell your friends and neighbors, extension agents, county officials, tourism people, anyone that could benefit from or assist our organization.

Please take a minute to check us out at our website at http://ncana.blogspot.com/. Then consider joining us at one of the workshops. Feel free to give me a call or email if you have any questions. Or, you can email our Agritourism Manager, Martha Glass at martha.glass@ncagr.gov.

Hope to see you there,
Tami Thompson
SE ANA District Director
919-934-1132

2009 ANA Workshops

Are you registered yet? Agritourism farmers, rural tourism service providers and Cooperative Extension staff members have a great opportunity to attend one of our district workshops sponsored by the ANA in the coming weeks. The workshops are held in the late afternoon and dinner is provided. Almost 400 agritourism farmers and supporters belong to the ANA. Registration and agendas are available at the Agritourism Office link.

March 19 - South Central District, Cypress Bend Vineyards, Scotland County
March 26 - North Central District, Chinqua Penn Plantation, Rockingham County
April 2 - West Central District, Ijames Heritage Farm, Davie County
April 16 - Northeast District Hope Plantation, Bertie County
April 23 - Southeast District Duplin Winery, Duplin County
April 30 - West District The Orchard at Altapass, McDowell County

Success at our 2009 Winter Conference

Over 100 agritourism farmers, vineyard owners, and sponsors attended this year's winter conference at the Park Inn Conference Center in Hickory, NC on February 20. Breakout sessions afforded everyone an opportunity to learn, network, and enjoy the sharing of information. The conference was supported by over twelve sponsors and vendors. Storytelling and music by the Ammons Sisters, Amy and Doreyl, highlighted the conference presentations. Other workshops included Business Planning for Small Businesses, Web Design Tips, Storytelling: How to Tell Your Story, and Lobbying Public Officials. Attendees also heard Success Stories from the Woosley Farm, Helms Christmas Tree Farm, WoodMill Winery, A Day at the Farm, Gillis Hill Farm, and Cypress Bend Vineyards. You can check out the conference evaluation summary at the NCDA&CS Agritourism link. Contact Cathy Lewis or Martha Glass for future program suggestions. Thanks to all who participated in this year's conference.