Bringing in the buckaroos – New Mexico ranchers and farmers open their spreads to tourists to supplement their income in drought-strapped times – Farmers strike pay dirt with Web

Kim Chesser takes photographs on the banks of the Pecos River near Fort Sumner in southeastern New Mexico. Chesser, who runs a working dude ranch near Roswell, was taking part in the Trail of Billy’s Last Ride, a 169-mile trail ride aimed at increasing tourism in Lincoln and DeBaca counties. "There are all kinds of unique and new ways in which farming and ranching areas are learning to increase income," says Kevin Robinson of New Mexico State University.

By Nancy Salem
Tribune Reporter

http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/business04/051704_business_agritour.shtml

If lifestyle has a value, Jane Frost is a rich woman.

Her Quay County cattle ranch is in an area called the Caprock, where the sweeping Estacado plain meets an escarpment, dropping into a rugged canyon.

There her ranch sits, surrounded by mountains, grass, flowers, turkey and deer.

Frost and her husband, Bob, are the real thing, real cowboys.

They spend days tending cattle and nights grilling thick steaks near an outdoor fire pit. They ride. They rope. They listen to country music.

It’s a lifestyle city slickers have dreamed of for as long as there have been cities.

But – snap out of it – there’s a downside.

Farming and ranching is a $2 billion industry in New Mexico that’s struggling.

Drought has forced many ranchers to sell off big parts of their cattle herds. And cheap produce from abroad has cut into the income of farmers closer to home.

The Frosts, like scores of other New Mexico ranchers and farmers, have turned to their lifestyle for help.

"We decided to diversify, to get more cash going year round," Jane Frost said. "We turned to entertainment, so others could enjoy the sights and sounds we take for granted in the open spaces."

Seven years ago, the Frosts formed Caprock Creek Ranch Adventures Inc. and opened the 15,000-acre spread they’ve owned more than 40 years to mule-drawn wagon rides, scenic tours, roping, leather crafting, milking, chuck wagon dinners and evening music. A three-hour cowboy experience, including a 12-ounce rib-eye steak, costs $17.50.

"Walk in the Boots of the Cowboy’s Way of Life," says a promotion for the ranch on the Quay County Web site.

Plenty of people have walked in those boots. The Frosts draw hundreds of schoolchildren and visitors yearly, and offer catering for events in Tucumcari, 22 miles away. It adds about $1,200 a month to their income.

"It’s not a lot of extra money, but it does come in handy," Jane Frost said. "It fills in some of the dry spots. It’s worth it to us, because a lot of what we do is educational. We want people to know where their food supply comes from."

Catching up

The Frosts are part of a growing movement in New Mexico called agritourism, or using farmers’ and ranchers’ activities to draw visitors and increase income.

It’s a natural for a state with vast rural properties.

"People can learn about that lifestyle and spend money in the places they visit," said Kevin Robinson of the department of agricultural communications at New Mexico State University.

"There are all kinds of unique and new ways in which farming and ranching areas are learning to increase income."

Robinson said New Mexico is a bit behind other states in tapping into agritourism.

"Big ag states in the Midwest have been opening farms to tours for years. The same with ranches in Western states," Robinson said. "It’s been gaining momentum in New Mexico in just the past few years."

New Mexico had its first-ever agritourism conference in March, set up by NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service.

"There are pretty serious economic opportunities that can be taken advantage of to add value to what we already do on farms and ranches in New Mexico," said the service’s Gerald Chacon, who helped organize the conference.

"There had never been an effort to identify the specific needs of this part of the tourism industry and develop educational and marketing programs to help further these businesses."

About 130 people attended the conference and were briefed on the fine print of starting and running a tourism-related business, such as liability insurance, legal and tax issues, and federal and state regulation of such activities as food preparation.

"They’re up for it," Chacon said. "They’re really feeling the economic pinch."

Extra income

Among the avenues for agritourism are festivals, farmers’ markets, hunting, you-pick-it produce, bed and breakfasts, horseback and hayrides, dude ranching, farm tours and wildlife safaris – all of which New Mexico is taking advantage of.

There are countless festivals, showcasing products from wine to chile to apples to nuts.

A pecan festival started 10 years ago in the town of Cuchillo, near Truth or Consequences, has helped Bernice and Bill Ritch increase the income from their pecan and candy store from $1,300 a year to more than $20,000. "I’d say two-thirds of it is a result of tourism," Bernice Ritch said.

Kevin and Kirsten McCall have a pumpkin farm in Moriarty visited yearly by about 23,000 schoolchildren and 17,000 others during its five-week harvest season. They offer pumpkin picking, hayrides, a pedal cart racetrack and other activities.

"It’s a huge part of our business," Kirsten McCall said. "It’s about 50 percent of our yearly income."

The state’s first farmers’ market took place in 1971 in Los Alamos. Now there are 33 of them. Chacon said there are dozens of dude ranches and hundreds of spreads with hunting permits.

"I would say there are scores of farms that open their doors, from wineries to dairy operations," Chacon said.

He said that, depending on the level of commitment, agritourism can add a few hundred dollars a month – or thousands.

"There are examples of farms and ranches where income from these opportunities has exceeded the regular income," Chacon said. "It can be very substantial, particularly for ranches with wildlife, elk."

A premium, two- to three-day elk hunt on a private ranch can cost a single hunter $14,000, Chacon said.

Taking notice

Tourism is a $2 billion industry in New Mexico. There are about 12 million visitors a year to the state, and nearly 75 percent of them travel by car, many seeking rural attractions.

"We’ve found out there are a lot of people who are trying to reconnect with the natural world," Chacon said. "What happens on farms and ranches is intriguing to them. There’s a big market for it."

The state Department of Tourism has noticed.

"There is a renewed interest in agritourism," the department’s Mike Stauffer said. "It’s interesting that in the old days, people used to come to the city to get away, now they go to the farm to get away. There is an effort to attract more tourism to these kinds of areas."

A tough business

The drought and the economy have made such efforts necessary, Chacon said.

"Lots of farmers and ranchers are having to take alternative jobs," he said.

Erik Ness of the New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau, the state’s largest private agricultural organization, said up to a third of the state’s cattle herd – which is now about 2 million head – has been liquidated in the past few years because of drought. Ranchers rely on grass to feed cattle, commercial feed being too expensive to economically raise calves.

"If you look at it in a myopic way, ranchers are in the grass business, and there’s no business if there’s no grass," Ness said.

Jane Frost said she has reduced her herd from 750 to about 500.

Edmund Gomez, who was a rancher near Dulce before selling and joining the Cooperative Extension Service years ago, said three to five farmers a day get out of the business or cut back their operations in New Mexico because of the economy.

"It’s gross sales that determine if you’re going to make it or not in an industry, especially in farming and ranching," Gomez said.

He said the U.S. Department of Agriculture definition of a small farm is one with annual sales of $250,000 or less. He said the average profit margin on a farm in that category – which is most common in New Mexico – is 5 percent to 10 percent, or $12,500 to $25,000.

"You have to be in the business because you love it," Gomez said. "You’re not going to get rich being a conventional farmer."

He said he sold his ranch because he couldn’t afford to buy it outright from family members – and make a mortgage payment – plus make a living. Most successful farmers and ranchers inherit their property and don’t make loan payments, he said.

Gomez said farmers and ranchers "are at the mercy of foreign markets and the mercy of supply and demand."

Agriculture in other parts of the world is highly subsidized and not subject to strict regulation, and labor is cheaper so produce and meat can carry lower price tags, Gomez said.

"When it’s cheaper to import fruits and vegetables from other countries, we’re at a big disadvantage," he said. "Green chile from Hatch costs twice what you pay for green chile from Mexico. We’re competing with those kinds of markets. Probably the biggest threat we have is of unfair foreign markets. It’s worse than drought."

Diversifying

Gomez said survival depends on finding niche markets and diversifying business.

"I think agritourism will play a very important role in many farms and ranches for continued survival," he said. "Not everyone is equipped to do it, but we’ll have to find other ways, be very creative in how we can market what we have to add more value to our property."

Patricia Chesser turned a love of entertaining into a dude ranch business on her 15,000-acre Burnt Well Ranch southwest of Roswell. For years, she and her husband, Kim, entertained people for free while their herd of sheep and cattle shrank from 1,360 head to 550 because of drought.

"I said, ‘People get paid to do this,’ " Patricia Chesser said. "We quit laughing about it and started talking about it."

The Chessers, who worked with the New Mexico Small Business Development Center on a business plan, built a two-bedroom, 10-person bunkhouse and went into business last June.

They offer an authentic cowboy experience over six days, complete with ranch meals, trail rides, work, campfires, music and a day trip to an attraction like Carlsbad Caverns. It costs $190 a day per person. They market mainly on the Internet through their own and other dude ranch and vacation Web sites but also with brochures at visitors’ centers.

The extra income is about $2,000 a month.

"We’re not trying to get rich. This is to relieve the pressure of the drought and enable us to do what we really like to do," Patricia Chesser said.

"The small guys are having a hard time staying in the business. The money is in recreation. It’s a shame, but that’s the way our world is.

"What we are is a dying way of life – the family-owned and -operated ranch. We want to preserve it and share it."

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SADDLE UP

Here are some places to start the search for the perfect rural New Mexico experience:

• Rural Economic Development Through Tourism, New Mexico State University: (505) 646-5994, (505) 646-8100, http://www.nmquest.org. NMSU keeps a list of farms and ranches that offer activities and has information on festivals statewide.

• New Mexico Tourism Department, (505) 827-7400, http://www.newmexico.org.

• BearWallow Basin Outfitters, Glenwood, (505) 539-2185.

• BackCountry Hunts, Carlsbad, (505) 887-6178

• Elite Outfitters, Ruidoso, (505) 257-5379 or (505) 354-7307

• Burnt Well Guest Ranch, Roswell, (866) 729-0974.

• Double E Guest Ranch, Silver City, (866) 242-3500.

• Hartley Guest Ranch, Roy, (800) OUR-DUDE or (800) 687-3833.

• Caprock Creek Ranch Adventure, San Jon, (888) GID-DYUP or (888) 443-3987.

• http://www.ranchweb.com, for other dude ranches.

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Farmers strike pay dirt with Web

By Maureen Groppe, Gannett News Service

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2004-05-18-webfarms_x.htm

WASHINGTON — Royal Oak Farm Orchard in Harvard, Ill., offers old-fashioned fun for the family. But the "U-pick" apple and peach orchard wouldn’t draw as many visitors without the newfangled Internet.

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On the Internet, no one knows you’re a goat unless you tell them for marketing purposes.

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"We’ve found that, at least for what I would call the agritourism business, the Web site is a necessity," said Dennis Norton, Webmaster for the family operation.

People are constantly trying to find out what’s in season and what kinds of activities are going on at the orchard, Norton says. He estimates that the Web site, royaloakfarmorchard.com, has had more than 500,000 hits since it was created about four years ago.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture is trying to harness that marketing power for other state farmers. Last month, the state launched buyillinoisproducts.com, which offers information on more than 40 agricultural producers.

"We just have a lot of companies, small companies in Illinois, that have a difficult time getting into the marketplace or the grocery store," said Larry Aldag, marketing representative for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. "This may provide much-needed marketing opportunities for them."

Indiana launched a similar Web site last year, and other states have been promoting their products even longer.

Promoters say the Web sites give consumers an alternative to supermarkets’ often-anonymous produce.

When John O’Malley Burns created a Web site to promote his Virginia farm, Goat Hill (goathillfarm.com), he added a link to "Contact the Goat."

"It’s just like ‘contact us,’ but it’s a little bit more catchy," Burns said. "The kids say, ‘Is that really you? What do you look like?’ "

For him, Burns says, word of mouth still beats "word of mouse" in drawing buyers of specialty vegetables to his farm an hour west of Washington, D.C.

But state and national agricultural groups are trying to change that. For example:

• The National Farmers Union is using a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to teach farmers to market their goods through the Internet. Started last year, the Web site —e-cooperatives.com— got 150,000 hits from producers and others in its first year.

• Farmers market organizations are using the Internet to help people find the nearest market. The California Federation of Certified Farmers’ Markets updates its site almost daily with markets’ changing hours, locations and products. The site, cafarmersmarkets.com, gets about 60,000 hits a month. "It’s huge," said Randii MacNear, one of the group’s founders.

MacNear and others say the growth in e-commerce is coinciding with people’s increasing interest in knowing where and how their food was grown.

"A lot of people are interested in finding out where they can buy local food," said Gary Truitt, whose company used government grants to launch indianafarmdirect.com last fall to promote Indiana farm products. "We can show people it’s locally produced. It’s in their community."

One impediment farmers have had is the lack of high-speed Internet access in many rural areas.

Farmers were early adopters of computer software to help manage their operations, said Bob Davis, the Internet director of Iowa Farmer Today, a weekly agricultural newspaper. But "when it came time to hook up to the Internet, the connection was just not there for them," Davis said.

Although high-speed Internet access continues to be a challenge, Norton said he knew early on that the Illinois orchard couldn’t be left off the information superhighway.

In many ways, he said, the Web is more useful than radio or TV advertising. "We get more and more usage out of the site," Norton said. "It just continues to increase."