Become Part of the Agritourism Map

Jefferson City, MO - infoZine - Agritourism in Missouri continues to be a growing trend offering opportunities to learn about where their food comes from and how it is produced. Farmers are adding agritourism businesses to their farms to provide these opportunities for Missourians. For many farmers across the state, marketing has often been viewed as one of the hardest parts of owning and running an agritourism business. The AgriMissouri program, a part of the Missouri Department of Agriculture's Ag Business Development division, helps Missouri farmers to promote their agritourism operations and assists with marketing ideas and opportunities.

"Missouri agriculture is even stronger because of our commitment to Missouri farm families," Gov. Matt Blunt said. "We must continue to build on our past accomplishments to ensure Missouri's farm families remain competitive in our global economy, and one way to ensure future prosperity for agricultural producers is through agritourism."

Since 1985, AgriMissouri has assisted members in marketing their agritourism destinations and helped members with their Missouri-made products. Others areas of the program include a membership program where members are listed on an online Buyer's Guide - a simple tool where Missourians can locate locally grown and produced products.

"Agritourism is a growing sector of Missouri agriculture and many producers are taking advantage of the opportunity to add value to their farmland by establishing pumpkin patches, corn mazes, Christmas tree farms and farmers' markets," said Sarah Gehring, member services coordinator with AgriMissouri. "Many agritourism operations are small pieces of larger farms. Some of these farmers are not used to marketing their products directly to the public - that is where AgriMissouri can help."

AgriMissouri memberships are available to all Missouri agritourism farms. Each agritourism member receives a listing on the Agritourism Map and a page on the online AgriMissouri Buyer's Guide. In 2007, more than 10,000 Agritourism Maps were distributed to consumers across the state.

To learn more about becoming a member of AgriMissouri and being included in the 2008 Agritourism Map, contact Sarah Gehring at (866) 466-8283 or visit www.agrimissouri.com. Annual AgriMissouri memberships are $50 and include the listing on the map, listing in the AgriMissouri Buyer's Guide and other great membership benefits and promotions.