Agriculture and tourism are locked hand in hand in Wisconsin and together they are a winning combination. That’s the message that Wisconsin Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett shouts loud and clear.
Agricultural tourism is nothing new in the state. “After all, the Wisconsin State Fair has long been one of our largest ag tourism events, dating back to 1851,” Klett pointed out. “But today less than one percent of our nation’s consumers live on farms, with many being four to five generations removed from even knowing anyone that farmed. We are raising a generation of children who do not know how apples grow on trees, or how a gallon of milk gets into the grocer’s cooler,” she asserted.
Klett emphasized that getting away from the rush of urban living is more than merely looking at a cow. Ag adventures now range from cooking classes at NuGenesis Farm (nugenesisfarm.org), experiencing 19th harvesting methods at Old World Wisconsin (oldworldwisconsin.org), spending an organic weekend at Brambleberry Farms (brambleberrybandb.com) or dancing up a storm at the Cheesemakers’ Ball during the Green County Cheese Days (cheesedays.com).
According to Klett, promoting agricultural tourism was also a hot topic at the Wisconsin Governor’s Conference on Tourism in March, with more and more tourism and ag leaders realizing the sector’s economic punch.
With agriculture and tourism among the top revenue generators for the state of Wisconsin, combining these two categories into “ag-tourism” is an ideal way to capitalize on unlimited opportunities for education, entertainment, and economic gain, agreed Steve Peterson of the Wisconsin Agricultural Tourism Association.
