A Millarville garlic grower is fixing to mentor 10 like-minded entrepreneurs in diversifying their offerings.
Forage & Farm co-owner Cheryl Greisinger was contracted by Foothills Tourism to provide one-on-one coaching for farmers and ranchers interested in pursuing agritourism to offer local agricultural workers an additional income stream by combining the agriculture and tourism sectors.
She expects to begin this fall.
“There is a huge demand for people wanting to visit farmers, but we’re not necessarily set up to have visitors,” she said. “A lot of farmers are busy doing what they do, but they don’t know how to incorporate a tasting event or workshop on their property.”
Greisinger is connecting with farmers and ranchers who are in the position to develop their agritourism offerings in the near future and will spend the next year mentoring them.
“To start, we’re going to work with people who already have something they can offer,” she said. “The Foothills Tourism Association has about 150 businesses. About 35 are identified as true agritourism.”
Delving into the agritourism industry can be a steep learning curve as entrepreneurs learn the ins and outs of occupational health and safety, liability and marketing, said Greisinger.
Speaking from personal experience, Greisinger said the benefits are well worth it.
Forage & Farm specializes in growing a variety of gourmet hard neck garlic, with its black garlic being the 2019 winner of the Made in Alberta Awards Food Category. Greisinger also hosts a variety of homesteading classes and workshops on the property and at festivals, while her husband James operates a blacksmithing artisan studio and school through his company Stone Wood & Steel.
Greisinger said she would like to see more Foothills County farmers and ranchers diversify.
“The benefit for business owners themselves will be to provide them with a sustainable livelihood that diversifies their income stream,” she said. “A lot of farming is seasonal. This allows for them to have another prong to their income. A lot of farmers have to work off the farm to sustain their lifestyle. It’s enabling people to be at home and still work in their area of passion year round.”
Agritourism also has its benefits for visitors, Greisinger said.
“It allows people to really get in touch with what food is available within their own region,” she said. “It creates connections to really be in touch with what’s nourishing you and who’s behind it. There is a family and story and skill behind it. It makes you respect your food more and it’s something that’s been lost over the years.”
Foothills Tourism had contracted Culinary Tourism Alliance to research the potential for agritourism in the Foothills region, delving into the history, political landscape, bylaws, challenges and opportunities for agritourism growth. The research summary report was released last month.
To assist businesses with expanding their offerings and getting started in agritourism, the Culinary Tourism Alliance’s report contains six resources ranging from a video series of agritourism practitioners sharing their experiences to a checklist for operators to identify their agritourism attributes and activities.
With the potential for more than 30 businesses to join the agritourism movement, Greisinger sees a lot of possibilities in Foothills County.
“For a lot of people it’s conceptual, but it’s about building on that,” she said. “Now that we have a whole inventory of the different businesses in the Foothills I’m looking at which ones are set up as agritourism and which ones have the ability to set up something for agritourism.”
Greisinger is planning to develop annual agritourism events from harvest festivals to seasonal dinners.
To access Foothills Tourism's agritourism research summary report and toolkit, visit https://foothillstourism.com/market-studies.
Those interested in pursuing agritourism can contact Foothills Tourism at [email protected]
