What Makes a Town Tripworthy?

[xchrom]

http://www.dailyyonder.com/agritourism-iowa/2012/01/30/3728


Jimmy Emerson Dyas Hexagonal Barn, built 1921, south of Bellevue, Iowa, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On a morning in late January, the sun crested the limestone bluffs lining the mostly frozen Mississippi River east of Bellevue, Iowa. A patch of water below Lock and Dam 12 was still open, and dozens of bald eagles swooped and pivoted on black wingtips to snag bait fish. In a restaurant/art gallery across the street from the river, several dozen people sat at large round tables eating pastries prepared from local ingredients. Among the group were local agriculture producers, tourism boosters, and high school students representing groups such as 4-H and FFA. They’d come together to ponder ways to bottle their way of life and package it for visitors. They were pondering agri-tourism.

Planning sessions like this one in Bellevue happen routinely around the country as small towns in rural areas struggle to keep their economic heads above water. This is not a news flash. But in Bellevue, the local chamber brought in sponsors and other supporters to fund a day-long event. They brought in Marsha Laux, a program coordinator of the Value Added Agriculture unit and the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, affiliated with Iowa State University Extension.

Laux told her personal story, about running a successful farming operation with her husband in the early 1980s, raising hogs, planting corn, and “doing very well.” Then the farm crisis hit, and she and her husband lost everything. Eventually she found herself working a “job in town” and now coaches people to make farming practices safe and successful. On this day, Laux was in Bellevue to help people figure out how do to more than simply produce food and offer tourism opportunities. She was there to illustrate how to link the two and increase revenues for everyone.


Julianne Couch Keith Weuste, Amy Cone, Barb Kilburg, Rob Roben, Sue Roben (hidden), and Steve Tebbe listen as Bellevue Chamber of Commerce director Colleen Myers helps the group consider agri-tourism possibilities.

[Owlet]

1. I don't know the answer to the question

but if you're taking a trip to New England, you're welcome to stop in and visit.

My front yard early last Spring.

[xchrom]

2. gasp! well done!

i used to garden -- until my dogs petunia and effie chewd they hell out of anything with in reach -- and more than a few things that i don't want to think about how they got to.