Fall's rising industry

The Beggs family loves fall. Not because of relief from summer heat, not because of colorful leaves, but because of the money.

Members of the Beggs family own two local agritourism operations: Pioneer Orchard in Jackson and Beggs Family Farm in Blodgett, Mo. Like the many agritourism operations in the area, fall is the season that brings in the visitors for both sections of the Beggs family.

At Jackson's Pioneer Orchard, owner Stanley Beggs said his operation -- which includes sales of fresh produce and homemade products like apple butter, hay rides, orchard tours and a petting zoo -- brings as many as 500 people for orchard tours any day of the week during the fall. The money brought in during the fall sustains the farm year-round.

Pioneer just held its annual Fall Harvest Festival, and Beggs estimates between 2,000 and 3,000 people attended to hear musical performances and take part in orchard activities. The importance of the agritourism aspect of the Pioneer operation increases as the years go by.

"Times have changed," said the 70-year-old Beggs. "People don't can, and they don't cook. We realized that, to get people out to these types of events, we need to entertain them."

The orchard had 32,000 apple trees after the Jackson operation started in 1946, but the number of trees has now been scaled down while the emphasis on tourism activities has been ratcheted up.

Proponents of the state's movement toward agritourism say cases like Pioneer Orchard illustrate the importance of creating an agritourism industry throughout Missouri.

"The definition of agritourism is pretty broad," said Sarah Gehring, a members services coordinator with AgriMissouri, a section of the Missouri Department of Agriculture that promotes agritourism as one of its duties. "We use as our definition the act of sharing an agricultural experience with consumers or tourists."

Agritourism can include anything from wineries that serve locally made wines to farms that give tours to orchards that sell fresh produce to farmers markets, Gehring said.

Missouri's push to promote agritourism is a fairly recent phenomenon, she said. Her office has been in existence since 1985, but only started promoting agritourism in the past five years.

The Missouri Regional Cuisines Project -- a collaboration between the University of Missouri, the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Division of Tourism -- formed in 2003. Using the Mississippi River Hills region from the St. Louis area south through Southeast Missouri, the MRCP is trying to market regional food products and agritourism operations in the area.

Gehring said the state's emphasis on agritourism is so new that AgriMissouri doesn't have figures on its economic impact in the state. A study is being conducted, she said.

Those who push for expanded emphasis on agritourism say this new perspective on agriculture provides farmers with another way to add value to their operations as the economy changes. That means more money, something to make farmers and the state coffers happy.

Like Pioneer Orchard, Gehring said most of these operations are seasonal. And the successful operations give people products and experiences they can't get in the city -- things like pumpkin patches, strawberry patches and corn mazes. And when people visit agritourism operations, they're also more likely to spend money in the surrounding small communities, Gehring said.

David Diebold didn't start out trying to attract city dwellers to his Diebold Orchards store just off Interstate 55 near Benton, Mo. Instead he focused on developing a strong local clientele who love his seasonal products. The city people just happened to follow.

"My goal has always been to be a good local farm market, and if I'm a good local farm market the tourists will love me," Diebold said. "I've never targeted tourists, but they stop here. I get regulars from all the way up and down the interstate. They start as tourists, then they become regular customers."

Diebold said customers came from as far away as Iowa and Louisiana last year for his sweet corn. His store sells the products grown at the orchard in the hills of Scott County -- such as apples, pumpkins, squash, pears, peaches, mums, corn.

Chuck Martin, director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said while some local agritourism operations bring in tourist dollars, most of those in this area serve as places for locals to get out on a weekend or to buy fresh produce.

Agritourism operations aren't the priority for the CVB, but they are important to area tourism activities, Martin said.

"It is one segment of the business that we try to let people know that they can take advantage of in our region," Martin said. "It's not a major component, but it is a component and one that we do promote."

Martin said wineries and farmers markets are probably the two biggest local agritourism draws. But family farm operations add to the area's culture and give families something to do in their free time.

"It's still great fun to ride on the back of a wagon behind a tractor being pulled through an orchard," Martin said.

Agritourism operations count families as their primary customer base. For Stanley Beggs, serving families is the mission of his operation.

"We're here for the children, for the future," he said. "This is a non-alcoholic, Christian atmosphere for families to bond together in these stressful days we're going through now."

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182