The obstacle-strewn road to success in agritourism

Monday, December 6, 2010

Roughly 2,000 Ontario farms practice some form of agritourism. But many are finding that provincial policies and local approval processes are lagging far behind. 'Somebody has to make judgment calls on these things,' says one regional official

by Mary Baxter

Agritourism hadn't been their first choice. But by the early 2000s, even with two jobs each, Lynne Ellis and Mark Henry were finding it difficult to meet the costs of their 80-acre farm and small herd of sheep in Prince Edward County near Picton.

"It was getting to the point that we actually thought we may have to sell and leave here," says Henry.

Instead, they diversified their farm business, Fields on West Lake. They considered greenhouse and hog production before finally settling on agritourism. With their sheep, historic house, barn buildings and an old orchard, "we thought we could have a centre for people to come to," says Henry. They opened a corn maze in 2004, and spent $500,000 to convert their barn into an events facility.

Although 4,000 people visited it the first year, the couple quickly realized the corn maze was a bust. It was not a strong enough draw to attract urban consumers.

Their barn conversion, on the other hand, produced unexpected results. By 2007, the facility had hosted 50 weddings and more than 80 special events, including theatre productions, bridal and environmental shows and a birding festival. About 12,000 people visited their farm in 2007 alone. But, despite the attendance, the business wasn't generating as much revenue as the couple, who now shared the business with Ellis' daughter, Kailey Chapman, had hoped.

Most of their clients came from urban centres such as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal, so the couple thought adding accommodation might help them capture a greater share of their visitors' travel dollars. "We think that for every $5,000 we generate, we turn over about $20,000 to other suppliers in the community," says Henry.

Henry's mother had offered vacations on the farm in the 1980s before switching over to a bed and breakfast so Henry and Ellis reintroduced the bed and breakfast after Henry's children started school. But the scale they now had in mind was something entirely different: enough room to accommodate 30 to 40 guests.

The couple knew that offering accommodation on prime agricultural land was unusual. But they claim their 2004 rezoning application had already set the precedent for tourism use on the land. The municipality, Prince Edward County, had noted that the property was located in a designated tourist corridor. Other than comments from the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the 2004 application had sparked few questions. Some minor adjustments appeased the ministry.

When they applied for permission to add accommodation in 2008, though, neighbours raised concerns. And as Henry and Ellis waded into bureaucratic waters to win approval for their business expansion, they discovered local troubles were merely the tip of a much larger, submerged problem: Government officials didn't know whether to treat the proposal as value-added agriculture or tourism. The provincial policies that should have mapped directions were woefully out of date.

Harvesting sun and smiles
Look in any nook or cranny of Ontario's rural areas these days and you're bound to find at least one on-farm agritourism venture. They range from pick-your-owns to markets to paid admission entertainment such as haunted hayrides, corn mazes and even classical music concerts. Roughly 2,000 farms in the province conduct some form of agricultural tourism on their premises, estimates Mark Saunders, a board member of the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association and past president of the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association. Farmers' interest in running agritourism ventures is rising not just here but throughout North America, he says. His own family's 100-acre farm near Munster, southwest of Ottawa, offers 30 seasonal family attractions.

Cathy Bartolic, executive director of the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association, attributes the interest to a desire to capture better value for products. Over the past two and a half years, membership in the organization has doubled and now stands at about 300. About half the new members are existing farmers who have never marketed direct from their farm. A fair number of these are livestock producers who had shipped wholesale. "They want to try to capture that consumer dollar themselves, so they're looking at setting up something direct from the farm," Bartolic says.

Agritourism is not for everyone, Saunders emphasizes. You have to enjoy people. "It's a different kind of harvest. I like to say you're harvesting sun and smiles and memories" as well as produce. Developing the business "takes a tremendous amount of energy," he adds. "You need to be willing to try something different." For some farmers, it means stepping "out of your comfort zone a bit."

Be prepared for increased labour and insurance costs as well as marketing expenses, say those involved. But, most of all, expect to encounter problems with government policy and regulation.

It took two years for the Bering family to obtain approval from the Niagara Escarpment Commission to build a pancake house on the family's White Meadows Farms, a 600-acre maple syrup and hay operation near St. Catharines, says Richard Bering. The family has spent the past six years negotiating with the Commission to expand its store.

The Berings want 2,000 square feet of retail space as well as a kitchen to make products. The Commission will only permit 1,800 square feet for the entire building. At that size, the family "would be throwing money away," says Richard.

For Birtch Farms and Estate Winery near Woodstock, the most persistent issue has been provincial legislation which limits how they can market their fruit wine and assigns the LCBO a hefty percentage when the product is sold in permitted venues (other than their own farm). This year, the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation applied commercial and industrial designations to a greater share of the property, even though there have been no recent expansions or renovations. The decision means an extra $2,500 a year in taxes. "That's a pretty big lump to swallow all of a sudden," says Dyann Birtch, who operates the business with her husband, Bob, and their children. "We've followed the steps to try to launch an appeal, but we've been advised by those who do these things that it's not worth it."

In Simcoe County, at least three farm bed and breakfasts shut down because of the drinking water standards introduced after the Walkerton water crisis in 2000, says Suzanne Ainley. Ainley is a former community economic development officer in Simcoe County and a PhD candidate in the University of Waterloo's recreation and leisure studies program. She is specializing in agritourism. "It wasn't worth it for them to go through those requirements to continue to do it," she says.

Bartolic says what her organization's members are finding is that the policy issues vary from region to region. "Some regions have been incredibly supportive," she says.

"Others put a lot of obstacles in their way and seem to be quite heavy-handed."

Sometimes, treatment boils down to the different health inspectors or bylaw officers "and just how they read between the lines."

Ainley wonders if problems are arising because the province's land use policy can't recognize the characteristics or needs of a mature agritourism business or the role it can play in farming. The Provincial Policy Statement permits secondary and agriculture-related uses on prime agricultural land as long as they are "compatible with, and shall not hinder, surrounding agricultural operations." 

Conflicting demands
In its early stages, agritourism seems to fit in well with normal farm practice, Ainley explains. As the business matures, however, it becomes harder to reconcile with a working farm operation. European studies suggest that eventually the conflicting demands force a choice, with tourism being the favoured option.

In Ontario, most agritourism businesses have grown slowly, almost organically, she says.

A temporary stall at the end of the road might lead to the introduction of a more regular store; an invitation to people to help pick strawberries during a bumper year might become an annual event. That annual event, which might have lasted a few days or a couple of weeks, eventually stretches over an entire season. Today, many of these businesses are now of a size to have an impact. Factor in a marketplace of eager urban consumers whose interests have been fanned by the local food movement and you've got entirely different expectations for agritourism.

Ainley says those involved in agritourism regulation are divided on whether it should be permitted as a primary source of farm activity and income and included as normal farm practice or defined as tourism once it reaches a certain size and, at that point, where its owners are no longer considered as farmers.

It's just this kind of dilemma that faced planners dealing with Henry and Ellis' 2008 application to add accommodation to their farm resort vision, say Jo-Anne Egan, Prince Edward County's director of planning and Ryan Leary, the county's senior planner. Had the couple been applying to change the zoning on land with a different kind of designation, "the process probably would have been smoother," says Egan. Decisions at the county level must comply with the Provincial Policy Statement. "That's something we can't ignore as planners."

And because the land was designated prime agricultural, the county had questioned whether the type and extent of the development was appropriate. "The main function of the farm had to be farming."

The first proposal called for adding 12 rooms: five in the main house, one in a former carriage house and six in the barn. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing objected because the use wasn't consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement and because the couple did not live in the main house.

Henry and Ellis then asked the county to split the zoning on the 24-acre property where the buildings were located so that 18 acres would remain prime agricultural and the other six would be designated a special tourist commercial holding zone. The proposal now called for the addition of 26 rooms: five in the house, one in the carriage house and 20 in an addition that would become an inn.

Acting against the advice of staff, county council approved the application in June 2009 with the provision that certain conditions, such as addressing noise concerns and adding structural improvements had to be met before the project could proceed. Shortly after, neighbours who had objected to the proposal appealed the decision to the Ontario Municipal Board. Not complying with the Provincial Policy Statement was one of their concerns. The Board conducted a hearing in January and issued an interim decision the same month.

In its decision, the Board ruled that it would dismiss the appeal as long as the couple met county council's conditions, reduced the scale of the accommodation and submitted the revised proposal to the county's heritage committee and council for review. The Board also removed the tourist commercial designation for the six acres.

The Board's decision acknowledged that the precedent of tourism had already been established on the property and complemented the county's plans for fostering tourism and preserving agricultural heritage. Because most of the property was still being used for agriculture, the resort technically qualified as a secondary use under the Provincial Planning Statement. The statement defines secondary use in terms of the amount of land used.

Yet, when writing the decision, Board member Norman Jackson also noted that "secondary (use) should also be clear in design and scale."

Ellis and Henry estimate they've spent $100,000 to obtain government approvals for their expansion. "It would have been less than half that if the neighbours hadn't gotten involved," Henry says. They suspended their business plan for three years and struggled to cover their costs. "And it's taken its toll on us personally, because we've had to hold our tongues the entire time."

They have faced other unexpected costs and challenges. In 2008, police arrived at the farm during Ellis' daughter's wedding, following up on a neighbour's noise complaint. No charges were laid. Since then, the county has charged the couple twice for violating noise bylaws. Court costs so far are $18,000. "We had to have professional sound engineers in from Toronto," Henry explains.

After the police visit in 2008, the couple listed their property for sale. "That was the final straw," says Henry. He suspects all three incidents are related to the proposal to add accommodation. For the first three years of the resort's operation, the couple hadn't received one complaint, he points out.

However, the property hasn't sold and that may be fortuitous, says Henry. County council reviewed their proposal in October and the couple is hopeful they can finally obtain approval for additional accommodation.  

Henry believes their project is precedent-setting and Jo-Anne Egan agrees. There's nothing "equivalent to this," in the county, she says.

Leary says agritourism in the county is "growing and growing." He admits the county's planning policy needs updating. The county has also sent comments to provincial staff, which has begun a review of the Provincial Planning Statement, "to try to bring this movement into the light so perhaps some of their policy can also follow suit." But Egan says conversations with provincial staff indicate that they're not anticipating a lot of changes.

Streamline approvals
Alan Gummo, Niagara Region's associate director of regional policy, says it's too early to tell whether there is political will at the provincial level to change the plan to better accommodate agritourism. The review has just begun. Recommendations likely will be made to politicians in the spring.

A report the region produced in 2009 calls for the province to expand the types of value-added agricultural activities allowed under the Provincial Planning Act. It also recommends streamlining the approvals for value-added ventures by co-ordinating across different government agencies. "We have a lot of confusion because of contradiction, which really doesn't serve anybody," says Gummo.

There appears to be some interest in the issue at the provincial staff level, he says. Other municipalities with a strong agriculture base in the Greater Toronto Area are looking at the region's proposal. People want to see farmers succeed.

Gummo, a former strawberry farmer, remembers attending Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' sessions in the 1980s that tackled the question of when a farm market crossed the line to become a grocery store. Similar questions exist in agritourism, he says. There's a lot of difference between a farm family that runs a two-room bed and breakfast and an hotelier who buys a working farm property with the intent to establish a 100-room hotel.

"You know, somebody has to make some judgment calls on these things." BF



Is agritourism good for agriculture?

Earning income is the top reason for farmers to become involved in agritourism, says Suzanne Ainley, a PhD candidate in the University of Waterloo's recreation and leisure studies program who is specializing in agritourism. But a desire to educate urban consumers about agriculture is usually a priority as well.

Yet the opportunity for urbanites to obtain an authentic experience of life on a working farm varies widely, depending on the type of agritourism presented.

Ainley says that, in Ontario, most agritourism ventures are geared to attract day trippers. Most of these experiences are carefully staged in order to meet tourists' expectations of the farm and ensure their safety while visiting. Having hundreds, if not thousands of people "wandering around a farm,"is not its natural state.

Farms that become destinations for longer stays offer a greater opportunity for giving people "a more holistic and real experience," she says. She uses the example of Western Canadian ranches that offer farm holidays or organic farms that participate in the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms network, which matches travellers with farms in different countries where they can stay and work.

But if most on-farm agritourism ventures in Ontario are staged and do not offer a genuine experience of a working farm, are they really as good ambassadors for the industry as their owners might hope?

Agritourism "has really boosted the profile of agriculture," says Dyann Birtch. She and her family operate Birtch Farms and Estate Winery near Woodstock. The farm includes a pick-your-own apple orchard, pumpkin farm, winery and bakery. They have staged food and music festivals on the farm and conduct tours.

Educating the public about agriculture has been a key focus of the family's operation ever since it began in the early 1990s, Dyann says. "Those in our business have been the ones who have tried to promote the local food idea way before it was the trendy thing to do. We've tried to educate the public about where their food comes from and I think that has gradually helped to build the local food movement."

Visitors to their farm won't receive an experience that's reflective of all agriculture, she admits. But she wonders if there's too much emphasis placed on big agriculture, pointing out that smaller ventures are often the only way younger people can get involved in agriculture. As such, farms like their own "show you can still have a 90-acre farm and nearly make a living off it, with a little bit of extra."

Saunders Farm in Munster, southwest of Ottawa, offers visitors about 30 different attractions that range from festivals, hedge mazes, parades, puppet shows, a haunted house and hay rides to educational tours for schools and facilities to house events such as corporate team building, weddings and picnics. Offering education on its own isn't enough, says Mark Saunders, whose family owns the farm. "We've found over the years that the playing and the entertainment is needed to get them here."

Saunders, a past president of the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association, says some agritourism ventures are great ambassadors for farming and others not so much. It's the same throughout the agriculture industry. "It depends on how it's done."

"I would say that factory farms are not necessarily good for agriculture in terms of PR, but they're needed for food," he notes.

He adds that the Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association offers media and school education training to help people "talk appropriately about farming and talk intelligently about the challenges of farming and the benefits to our world of farming." BF

It's not just money that drives agritourism

For some, socializing and sharing interests can be just as important a motive for getting into agritourism as earning extra income.

Those reasons encouraged Marilyn and Earl Miller to introduce Country Haven, a three-room bed and breakfast on their mixed crops farm near Exeter, Huron County in 1992. The couple accommodates about 75 guests a year – enough to cover expenses with a little bit left over. "A person wouldn't want to go into it with the idea of getting rich, but the other benefits are great just in terms of the people that you meet, the people you become friends with," says Marilyn.

Kim Cornell of Rainy River holds events in his barn's hayloft as much to share his interest in the live arts with his community and summer cottagers as to produce a little extra income. "There's probably lots more we could do if we had the time," he says.

Cornell, a beef farmer, says he's too busy in summers selling his product at area farmers' markets to develop the entertainment venue to its full potential.

Others, such as the Bering family in Niagara, also see agritourism as an opportunity to build room for the next generation. Along with producing maple syrup and hay on White Meadows Farms, their 600-acre farm near St. Catharines, the family conducts sugar bush tours, operates a 140-seat pancake house and seven day a week store on their property. It's an operation large enough to generate income for Murray and Ann Bering and their two sons, Richard and Nicholas.

Most hope agritourism will bolster the farm business. "It has to work for us," explains Julie Budd of the Leaping Deere Legends Corn Maze and Museum that she and her husband Don operate on their farm near Ingersoll.

The couple took a federal buyout for their long-term, 110-sow farrow-to-finish operation after struggling with years of industry woes. They still grow cash crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat and hay but, with the livestock gone, their farm attractions and farm store are now key features of their operation. "If it doesn't (work), we have to go work for somebody else," says Julie.

Market saturation, the bane of niche marketing, isn't really an issue. Suzanne Ainley, a PhD candidate in the University of Waterloo's recreation and leisure studies program who is specializing in agritourism, says much of the type of agritourism taking place in Ontario targets day trippers. A cluster of similar farms appeals to this market and helps farmers build buzz about a particular area. Add in some other local attractions, promote them all together and suddenly the area becomes "that iconic thing that people are willing to make the weekend or make the longer drive to get to."

Another plus is that the money generated by the business has a greater chance of staying in the community. Tourism suffers a little bit from misconceptions about the kind of people it employs, says Ainley, because front line workers receiving minimum wage often personify it. But its impact, especially in rural areas recently hit by manufacturing losses, "can be huge. Because we know that if we diversify our economies locally, then it makes them more resilient over time." BF