Agri-Tourism a Boon for Central Illinois Farms

                                    
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Transcript for file: focus130925a.mp3

00:00:00



have you ever visited a farm to pick your own apples are berries or Bible

precious possible Halloween pumpkin a Christmas tree Electric kids get up close to

most awsome livestock try to figure out of corn maze Farms that offer the zone

these activities are part of the anchor tourism industry with additional farming act

00:00:30

rest up for pain custom mg Medical Center

focus Blue Book agritourism with guests from Hardy’s reindeer ranch

Curtis orchard to Agra tourism successful in Champaign County

placenta agritourism expert Illinois Extension tourism

today on Fox

are program begins after the news welcome to

the focus MGM Meadows Hardy’s reindeer ranch Rantoul and Curtis

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Curtis orchard and pumpkin patch near Champaign both draughts Thousand visitors

Jersey cheer that’s a point worth driving home most farms are not looking for

visitors most people are not looking to visit them but Hardees and critters

what is a part of the second farming notice agritourism today will be talkin Steve Perry

the Bears of the U of I extension about agritourism but we are also talking with 2

is too agritourism farmers in the studio with me is that Randy Graham

the grand corner of a Curtis orchard welcome to focus Randy Jim and on the phone

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on the phone because it so its real busy this time of year are marcar de corner of Hardees reindeer

reindeer ranch good morning mark a good morning okay no one experience of both of you on

if you offer to the public which is fascinating us here to station for some reason is a

is a corn maze what is literally amazed carbon to a cornfield people

people go in after figure figure out how to get out without being able to see the hole pattern

pattern in Denmark how many people are you expecting to visit your mates at Hardees reindeer

reindeer ranch what usually have Ridge around 10,000 people going through the maze

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now this is a desert there’s a picture off of your maze at your website

and I should know that there are there a link to both the Curtis in the Hardees websites

website will.illinois.edu/focus.macys.

is actually a picture in your face Mark Wright yeah if its an image weave

like pictures images a.m. Easy Rider chopper

and I anyway covers 10 acres in and has different checkpoint out there

fare thee well liked a chopper motorcycles and takes an hour to 3 hours

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hours to complete  and how do you make these things

why I start out I can I come up with an idea like with different things

things from weed in a bears made when the Bears played in town of Salina

the Final Four but anyway come up with a images I can draw that fits into

send to a 10 acre field and I draw the image

plant a field and I work for the company that well I can a company to have to relax

will Acura GPS in a will help me map I will let them take the Imaging Center

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send it up the satellites and somebody out there backpack Creator and Lana 4 wheeler

Miller and images on that the screen I’m following behind them and then we just

flag flag find out if I am and I’m on the corner about a foot taller

so I cut it out so you started early when things alone you can see over everything

everything yeah yeah and then you can come to feel the image

what is just cuz its short and Capricorn a little

ok and Randy understand your ear mesas Elis is

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is not a picture in your kids that’s correct smaller than marks

about 3 acres and sew weave opted to go for difficulty over

a picture of we have also marking stations

out of the maze ing to give them additional challenge and I

the customers if they can find all of those marking stations in a can redeem that

coupon for an inflatable slide ride or a wagon tours

The Orchard so they get a little extra value of a complete the VMAs b***

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but um my son build the maze and it’s quite difficult

Bible found two of the four pictures station so far myself

well if you ever want to record Mazar pick your own apples and pumpkins

let us know how you find it reboarding tell us about your experience in visiting forms

in the Agra tourism sector are you can ask a question of Mark Rd in Randy Graham

Graham call the toll-free at 1 800 22 29455

that’s toll free 1 800 222 wyll and you can email

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Milas at will dash Tongkat Illinois .edu we also welcome you

questions on Facebook and Twitter at a focus 580

um you just said is 13 hours in in the maze mark

yeah yeah did pending on how good you are navigate yeah yeah

can an hour people just give up after that how do you get out

get out if your if you’re sucking there actually put out how to act like a mergency

urgency exit in different points if you just want to get out and have some people finder

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5123 half of them and some people are determined to find all 8 cell

so what if I want to get out that they can get out of it couple different Pointe

is this something that people go when you get families do you get likes a group

College fields tube comes to lease only get a variety the families with the daytime

time in The Hunger kids and we get a large group of the University of Illinois

why is nearby sew a lot of the kids come out from University of Illinois to take him out

Afterdark for the most part and what will do it with September 18

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open till 8 weeks 10 hours just on Fridays and Saturdays till 10

just a kind of accomodate am I have to be here by 9 to get your tickets

NAT but it will fill up like from 7 o’clock to 9

Anamosa University kids in high school on at OK

brandy you said you eat you confirm or complexity in the maze

lost in your own eyes yeah this years its really challenging

some years you can get the your bearings even from inside decor naked

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I can see where the apple trees are there a tower in the center in AZ can see the tower

this year because the weather was so perfect for growing corn the corner store tallit

what you can’t see anything and usually if you got a person if you’re out there

Raptor the team you got a person in the tower the tower person could have a cyst the ones down in the Navy

Avett this year did the tower doesn’t even do a benefit to get the the corner

cornstarch also its really challenging mission mark you have you have a larger acreage for you

search for your corn maze what is it like in there being inside that field

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is a quiet or can you hear other people in the maze depends on affairs

under the kids up there I’m down all your people yelling back and forth

trying to find different stuff to know Marco Polo Stephanie Way

trying to help each other to hear that sometimes get you high kid after the extremely loud

college kids not so much and down

I get sad but that anyway

can I tell that you may have 500 kids out there in a reaction

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higher we come corn cobs in a patrol the maze in a liter help

help or if the kids are misbehaving like heading to the corner throwing corner

smoking pray tell their escorted out attack

anyway I take a little bit just a manager just and unjust the size of numbers and stuff like that

that and mean well this is this is a cornfield are you going to harvest corn

porn thats growing there a yeah yeah the corn and Mike last year at night I think hundred

Baker after the kids travel it and it stayed upto usually after

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after Thanksgiving this year actually looks very good replanet

probably not tell the first Jenner so so so I load a green light

Janet but that it usually does a bushel amor compared to

5200 normal around here randy Houser

does your corn crop looking this year Wellers doesn’t usually you very much because some

some part of what I do to make the major difficulties like I plant in

n3 directions  east west north south

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diagonal me the rows of corn correct I would make it easier to get to lose your sense of direction

directions yeah because then there is no rose any night Icona crossroads diagonal

signal a cell that there’s a solid corn wherever you look so you can’t just run down

30 inch wide cornrow to make progress you can’t you have to it’s like a mash

maps of corn so I’m not looking for you and I’m looking to make life difficult for you

no I’m wondering for both of you this is not the first

the first feature that you opened up to attract a public has this been a big party

00:09:50

part of it off the traction for both of you my mark I was at work for you

just because we attract a temp different Democrat

grafica de chistes your high school college kids Witcher

things like this it it attract sandwiches kind of Nate and yet

yes it’s been fun it probably one more profitable things we do here

here we do a lot of other activities but it seems to draw the most attention

tension ing surprise me sometimes because I didn’t

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mazes we’ve been doing for 14 years I didn’t think they hang in there but they still

still intrigue people on an people to come back year after year did to do

do it and I hit it seems to hold on to its size

Georgia its side now is my understanding is you really start

started looking for the public when you when you up with your brother the reindeer and how many years ago

Larry started out with just a reindeer with 5 acres

acres of Christmas tree to grow Christmas tree that here and I was going to just sell Matic garage

00:11:00

Rajan at my married a gallon work for Avon

is a manager and she wanted to do I call Christmas here so anyway

verdad my dad we built a gift shop Banda belt on a nice gift shop

shop the trees and she want to get anything on animal attraction that went with

with Christmas time in and found out we can get reindeer picked up

what are first to Reindeer than and then went back and got another 13

Alaskan had a ship Dan just because I work

00:11:35

never bring people and kinda want to expand you know you know I love it

falling and possibly around I know you know justice

is a cat a lot of the pictures I saw of reindeer as in Santa’s reindeer

reindeer were not quite accurate I think they were actually thinking of deer

beer bread reindeer Rangers are good b**** stockier the deer a reindeer is like

like to me that look like a small cat how fast they are they called cabin North

hey would be a domesticated caribou basically in an event

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domesticated plan which is Norway in Siberia

Golia for a thousand thousands of years and I’m very important animals

because of their ability to survive extreme temperature Kohls like a 50

Diplo um they’re there actually very amazing animals and end

Caroline like I said a Calic ideal job

guys really don’t think that they just there just happy to stay with the grass

what were the fetus I take Gas X while so yeah do you have any of the domestic

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masticated enough to staple Slayer something like that there extremely friend

friendly the more you work with them just like a horse in Mario work with the better than I have

I have a couple 2 or 3 that that can be displayed like I go Chicago

Chicago to Peoria somebody’s gonna pray to ride Christmas program also

all set up and display the animals night and day to find there

typically females like taken and they do fine this is focus

Kassam G Meadows we are talking about agritourism was to farmers were pretty successful at it

00:13:20

mark hardy of parties reindeer ranch in rent a gram of Curtis orchard pumpkin patch

plus we have with SSC bears with the U of I extension whos who perk

who works with a small farmers and and and and local food systems phone number

1 800 222 9455 and

and that’s 1 800 222 wyll the email address will dash talking

illinois.edu I’m both of you started out

you know with a single attraction in all the reindeer and I guess for you Randy was the the pic

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the pick your own orchard correct and you both at a lot of things over the

over the years how do you figure out what people want is a pretty eyes

competitive environment figuring out figuring out what will bring people into my meat market

can I start with you sure um yeah okay to let you know what their ass

rafter I mean that how to cut your own tree is there a popular I start bringing precap

cat and an app that works good it’s kind of nice combination

and then after awhile you have to start do you like if you got numbers are you you got leather shop

00:14:30

popular bass only so big so we built a banquet hall here

what is mainly for traveling groups like singers like clubs in Napa travel

and we had enough coming that we would justify saying okay well built

and then we can do some local stuff like in weddings and things like that

like that company picnics in so many ways Whitehead Belfast building and then I guess that’s enough room tour

operate the spread people out yet that he did buildings

rooms in parking all that it just kind of wine legend of the other

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I’m ready and in your case you were starting with the really pick your own

make your own and um what was the next thing you did and how did you get the idea

the idea for doing well on my my inlaws apologize Curtis

actually found the orchard they plan to the first trees in 1977 in their first crop

crop was in 1980 and that year

there and their Magin picking the apples are letting people pick their own and then selling the rest of

rest of their garage well it wasn’t long before that didn’t work out because they

00:15:40

they had more Appleton I knew what to do with a net first year they had a hail storm ends

they were completely inexperienced apple growers Nathalie discovered not every Apple the number one

413 went out and bought a cider press so that was the start of another portion of Art

Navarre business and then some years later on we were trying to mark

marketmore apples in October it seem like October things are slowing down a bit so it’ll maybe

maybe we put in a few Pumpkins people come out for pumpkins and buy some apples it was all about trying to

trying to sell the apple crop initially but then the pumpkins to coffin and now they

00:16:15

now they rivalry apples far is sales goes to somebody sings stumble into other thing

other things you see what other orchards in and similar businesses are doing and

men and develop friendship center network and people are pretty Willie

the willing to share in this business sound because it is such a small group of people in Thai

Titan it will all kind of live the same life so you really were willing to share

cher what works for some what doesnt work in that helps a lot what works for 11 Esterly work

work for another so you have to kind of evaluate it discuss it as a management team

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women say this direction we should go with whatever new idea comes along um Francis

ncysa bakery idea we saw torture doing bakeries without all we should make some donuts

I guess you know but we didn’t really think that would ever be profitable in and now its like

like the tail wagging the dog in all day apple crisp donuts are there lines for the Mets

unbelievable up mark for you what’s what is the biggest attraction what

what’s the biggest part of your operation now and then we do

when we do a lot of activities we also do you like group sex like weenie roast

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and because of my location what kind of an hour away from everything but that

anyway we offer packages include activities and like a cook at a weenie roast

smores in hotdogs and things like that so we do a lot of youth groups birthday party

things like that um and then it’s just general public

you got ass how your weekend in October they’re coming out to do hair I

Verizon apahm Kenan and do a reindeer coloring and activity

Kennedy’s out here we we do have concessions I’m just in October

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I’m like 1104 on Saturday at 12 to 4 on Sunday and that’s not

not as big a part of our operations what we do of rich people

through the lunch I’ll run that there are people out here doing

activities that I’m so its it’s really an experience

getting a Corsair Foxx show me to buy Christmas trees but right but

but but they really getting experience from coming over the coming over to your place riders are coming

coming back to the pharmacy girl pretty Avenue got all the trees and flowers in Hobbit coming out

00:18:35

after the farm to get back to the summit ridge or whatever but that just text

experience being out in the country the Falling Man

corn maze are going to hayride around the farmer when Im gone Anna visit with a reindeer

shopping at the antique shop in Napa to stuff like that

just want to get to get out of the country how many people do you employ

employee for Hardy’s reindeer ranch 68 10 on the week

weekends only bring in family transom at a time

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just just on a busy weekend otherwise of it like they just me and my wife

44 working here just be a few cars come through but now we prepare for the weekend

weekend and and and get some help and Andover Curtis orchard Randy how many hours

what’s on the payroll there we have some five families

families that are supported full time you’re around by the orchard and

liking a day like today we have about 30 and on the weekends probably about

about 80  8080 people working a lot of people

00:19:45

people working out so this is this is really a lot of different if you were just growing a crown

Trump on your own as dead as soon as the what both of you would be doing

how is very very different yeah I think God that’s one thing that

people who are interested in Agra tourism need to consider is

you’re getting into a whole different line of work yet growing the crop is a portion of the eye

that work but its much larger than that okay

mark I’m wondering um its just did you sounds like a business

00:20:20

what you really have to be adventurous cause this is certainly not exactly what you were doing

where do in a few years ago what’s what’s the most

most unexpected thing you’ve had to learn how to do

dealing with public is interesting um I’m I’m I’m the guy

guided in the tree to plant a tree in Belton things like that my wife is

target marketing in at a time

LeapPad like a couple weeks ago had to big groups of Brazilians ass here and now

00:20:55

how to French group that come out just to see what I guess what actress

must have a time there for them anyway it’s interesting to people

I get a kick out of a group of people that come true

um  the rest of the reindeer you never know

never know you know I had a lot of problems can having this year witch

which is a big problem that can I talk to other reindeer people on cycle

what do you treat your castle if you know so that live in an apartment

00:21:30

the animal that has a day going to ride in a dangerous heart deal with

the rest of it and I you hear your building plan and the weather to be a problem

problem but somebody that can be very challenging to work with

I’m so you do you have a growing heard cheap 18

1820 animals like last year we had sex cast born with

lost Rihanna what was actually good year this year we had forecast morning

morning and a little week or so and then they would die which animals are very

00:22:05

very valuable like their people on a Bagon me to buy the animals

weather getting kind of hard to find just getting everything right

dan and being able to save a Catholic is a big deal now

what I get past a monster to INR Deli have 15 18 years or so

cell but I’ve got animals ever getting older and I need to replace

place to have them people going clear back up the laughter trying to find something

better than just not I’m not sure if they’re there

00:22:40

doing okay down here but they’re not like to know that you know that you were

get your calf crop of other stuff so it it it it it it

it is a tricky business keeping Reindeer I hit a kind of Italy

Dairy Farm for this in a semana mean animals are in a week

University that’s out here and they can help with a lot of stuff for some staffing

traffic to make an attack yeah yeah I can say that they

what is calving problems as is not a good thing if you don’t want to run out of animals

00:23:15

just cuz we need a certain number animals just for display and a half

how to replace the older animals passing away

one more question before I let you go mark I know yeah I know you have to have to leave midpoint

when are program the Christmas tree market how has the Christmas tree market

Market done over the years I know there’s a definite market for artificial Christmas

mysteries a work will hard to make those things realistic is possible but but

it sounds like you still have people coming in water Realtree we do

00:23:50

do a pretty good business the trees out at ya

I got a certain number cut your own hair to grow 2 or 3 times at number

the great if there’s a big demand for cut your own disappearing lil phat

fat people that do it or retiring in getting out of bed challenging

I do bringin like Fraser firs Inn at Perry

Chandlers um yeah that the Christmas tree market Pretty consistent

Aaron and can it seems pretty consist

00:24:25

consistently we try to order the right now so you have to throw a punch out loud and

Christmas trees are probably like it that they are there a big part of your heart

Christmas time around here ok what my cardio and I know you have to

take off early but I want to thank you for being on the program today marcar de of Hardees rain

is reindeer ranch near Rantoul you find a link to the website at our website at

Atwill dot illinois.edu and thank you very much for being on the program

program with us thank you for having me okay

00:25:00

time for short break and I will be back in a moment with more of

more about agritourism on focus on wyll

Rebecca focus on wyll im Jim Meadows just a note tomorrow in the Pro

the program will be around the sum of the latest news and trends in politics with the panel off

political junkies including Ahmed Beneke of Illinois public radio Elverta

the Springfield bureau on Friday Barbara conversation with award winning science fiction authors

author Kim Stanley Robinson town for symposium about science fiction in humanity

00:25:35

Humanities at the University of Illinois Arnex lawn and garden advice program

is set for a week from Friday October 4th right now we’re talking about

agritourism without rent a gram of credits orchard and pumpkin patch in with Steve Ayers

heirs of the U of I extension and we welcome you questions at 333

33 94551 802 229 455 that’s the toll

the toll free number 1-800 222 WILL email

email addresses will dash talk at illinois.edu

00:26:10

Randy and I understand this is not the pharmacy in the family in the car

Curtis family for a long time yes sign is part of the centennial

Centennial farm the Curtis is moved to Syria 1878 and established that

the farm there at the corner of Curtis and Duncan Road and I dispose

this portion of farmers acquire just a little later but yes the family been here for a long time

I’m mostly corn soybean hog farmers that’s not what you do now

no not at all through the inheritance end

00:26:45

divisions of the farm my father in law and I was married

1956 penny had dysentery this 80 acre plot that is why

is where the orchard is now na had a little bit ground the cross the road

it was really nice to make a living on and so he came back to university got a PhD

steam plant physiology became one of the founding faculty members of Parkland College

and then it is mid 30’s this is probably the early 70’s

he had a dramatic conversion to Christianity Annie started revaluate every fasciitis

00:27:20

is life and part of it included this small farm that he you know

you know couldn’t quite make a living off of b*** die young land with something that

something that is in the blood you don’t sell it you know so he was working two jobs

essentially to make this thing work and he also realize through his

is studies that alot of very few people lived on working farm anymore

when he was going up alot high percentage did you realize people are losing touch

touch with their roots on the farm so his goal was to become an ambassador for abs

00:27:55

for agriculture and to provide a place that people could visit to reestablish

stablish connection with agriculture because we live in arguably within the Richer

the richest agricultural areas in the world um mean we sit here and look at

Atlanta corn fields in a lot of people sell this is boring you know there’s no mountain ocean

ocean basin ho a lot of people would give anything to live in this Richmond

which of an agricultural climate so he wanted people to have that connection

and it came down to basic principle he liked Apple safety plan if you apple tree

00:28:30

tree but he was a corn soybean hot guys had no application

variance so he stuck in 9700 these little twigs and they look like with sticks

fixing the ground that’s nothing else is the next re put 1700 more in the ground

and uh ah the first year they had any kind of crop

I had begun dating her daughter and I had worked in Ag because my best friend

best friend and junior high school was determined he was going to be a farmer and I became his right hand man

man so I had to experience walking soy beans and stuff suck the life

00:29:05

help out on the farm a little bit and I in the early 80’s we went into this sudden

sudden exponential crop growth hates

there was no coolant capacity there was a hell of a sudden the apple tree started yet they start

they start producing in each year it’s an exponential growth from the previous years far is

far is production and it was overwhelming in those earliest when were you

were you if you have it out as a picture on a warrior harvesting It Yourself both both YouTube

do you really have to do both in order to IDE to get the crop of a timely fashion

00:29:40

Fashion Bug customer customers coming in the picture on a can I get the whole Trina well in Franklin

nobody even knew we were out there in the early 80’s you know no one at her to Curtis orchard and

and sew in on top of that we were building facilities each year

shear at an exponential right as well we were at in coolers space for prom

for processing expanding the story modeling the store with used to be there

video hot house on and overtime weave

Baxley done an expansion on average every two and a half years of that some p****

00:30:15

pornoverdose 33 years has Steven Harris with your extensions you work with small farm

Farms your sitting here with a big smile in your face listening to listen to the story making

making me think there’s a pattern here because I guess if this was a larger

Archer farm in probably woman might have gone to corn and soybeans which is the dominant

dominant crop in in this part of the country and you know that would be that

I guess but I’m ready to start your telling you sounds like one of continuum

tenuous improvise a shin of a youngest learning as you go is Atwood

00:30:50

is is that what happens with small farms allotted what weather in Ecuador Zamar elsewhere

elsewhere well it’s not for everyone and number one you gotta be a people person

A & D a guy is Mark center earlier dealing with the publican sometimes be

is beer at a challenging and so that’s not for everyone so you know obviously in Illinois

Boca farmers raise corn soy beans in your Casely might have a group apps

the farm but not every day that I have a

of hundreds or thousands of people of the tower visiting your farm

00:31:25

and that’s that’s what a great tourism is about getting people to your location

what what is your uniqueness of the town

of your draws a family to your location we focused on

locust onto agritourism operations Hardees and Curtis here in Champaign

campaign County from where we broadcast but there must be others around

around the state people listening in other parts of Illinois may be close to Love

other agritourism operations how many are there others around 700

00:32:00

100 in the state of Illinois 700 diesel places they may not have

what have reindeer are they may not have a corn maze what a place where you might go um

essentially get your own crop rent right you know that they got a an anchor

anchor weather return orchard or the reindeer some people have

will have the pumpkin patches their main draw a and soda

and then there just add other activities are there arsenic

some that have ziplines a zipline yeah you know the cable

00:32:35

cable with strong from a tower that you ride a rather

weather up citing a 30 seconds are so as you what is it

zip down the line mi secretaria head right and the soeed

age is just the more activities in the broad range of activities adjust gif

gives people more to do if its baby sound machine parts

anythink park but you’re talking hear about the small businesses because you notes

theme parks heavy duty theme parks around the Run by corporations from RI

00:33:10

REI corporations involved in the surfing in Agra tourism in Illinois are are these for

is family businesses like like like like to do in Champaign County it is

what is a pretty much it up multigenerational IA it allows a fil A

a family your number families interstate Negra culture to basically stay on the phone

the farm without having to expand to thousands of acres that you might need

fra corn soybean operation ready to people aspect what time is it

is is that a particular skill just understanding understanding your customers working

00:33:45

working with him I guess both on a Renault one to one basis but also figuring out

going out what will the tractor another people to keep the businesses are going well

yeah I mean it that’s a big aspect of the business I think

Which Wich take the educational aspect of it very seriously still

tell you know I think it’s amazing to us how many people come out

who have never picked an apple off of the tree does a simple active yeah

who don’t understand the season ality of fruit in fact

00:34:20

duck come out for writing with a weld we had that ride in August but it’s gone now

what do you mean gone you know well it’s even came in Atlanta next year the bee

will be another crop of that bright Yelp people have really lost touch

touch with agriculture too large to create a lot of people have never picked a pumpkin from the vine

vine have never seen a pumpkin growing on a vine and you know we talk about corn maze

corn mazes earlier as a child I don’t think I had ever

ever walked into a cornfield I didn’t grow up on a farm you know I got it

00:34:55

its its a unique experience to walk into a cornfield in to see you know

all this is the air of corn right here on the stock in this is a tassel on top and

the leaves are in a 45 inches wide and its it’s

if your a curious person at all it Agriculture the very fascinating

Fastlane subject and we see that any not only in the kids but in the adult

Dulce is well and I think one of the beautiful aspects of agritourism

is one of the few things that you can do all together as a family NH

00:35:30

everybody off every age theres something there for them you know if you go to

go to the movie theater well there’s a type of movie the kids want to see there’s one that I don’t want to see the pictures

this is something they do as a family and we see that so often that all these

all these generations are interacting together on our farm in ur having a share

shared experience NFL thing that there is a lot of opportunity for

the foreign life anymore that’s interesting its not like you’re giving out a grease in English

culture there but if people want to find out sings especially starting from square one

00:36:05

Square One where I think um a lot of city folks are terms of Agriculture

this is one way to do it yeah and we have some eggs at the educational boards up fat

people can a question answer type things you know how many miles does a bee fly

lifetime that’s Worthing house how much honey can a bee make in a lifetime

the people are fascinated by that we also have several thousand

um children come out on school tours and those are educational tours that explain

Blaine the function of honey bees how apples are grown how pumpkins are grown house spiders mate

00:36:40

where is made and more more we have adult groups coming on tours and asthma

as Mark said we also have quite a few International Group stick come out on

Delta someone do tours someone to do a weiner roast or some other activities

activity we have um actually groups from some of the large corporations

rations will bring a department out Eenadu team building activities el break up into team

the teams and no go into the corn maze and try to solve the maze of the team to build camaraderie

lottery NY work together attitude for back at the office so there are so many

00:37:15

how many aspects to this business that I know you can’t even think of all of them

sometimes your customers will will surprise you with something do they start off limits

let me take a call now this is a line 1 Bobby from champagne good morning

good morning I was wondering

Ben to Chris orchard and Ike MI

um find is it from Chicago to go there with his little kids but I was

I was wondering why you didn’t I have anything about the more organic operation Federer

00:37:50

champion Connie like um I think it’s a Prairie fruits farm

fun North Lincoln I’m away I’m aware of it like they do they raise money

things go to the produce place is there yeah and then they have dinners

did they have tours the charge for the tourism you get some official Lotto

Toland um that I don’t know what else cause I haven’t actually down

event formal tours but um there are there different levels of

Equatorial phone and um I think it would

00:38:25

with so I don’t I don’t know if that’s being counted the favorite Ora

TV repair itself like its on the radar alright I mean pursuits

lots of Tours to lots of people at a soul

so there’s always all sorts of different operations that say you know everything from

apple orchards up to wineries 10 ways is exactly what was going to come

going to come up next to my mind is the place is like a Alto vineyards um I don’t know if they have a

I have a working if they have a working vineyard up here they said they do Downstate

00:39:00

but that’s something good for people to come where the wine is

when is the weather grapes are being grown were the one is being made and the beat

be a part of the environment right and you know we have Wildwood also over in St Joe

St Joe Indiana Ave which is elderberry wine and then sleepy Creek over

over no quid where they actually have about 10 acres of grapes

are both a vineyard and winery okay so it’s not everything

things for kids when were talking about agritourism I guess what you talkin bout wineries

00:39:35

hot Randy I did what I did want to check with you on the organic part because you

do address a tissue justice far is the way that your own crops work about

looks like you try to be organic is possible but you UC limit is forest

just just just tell production work Siri this part of Illinois

yeah there are there some a pest that there are no natural predators for sew weave

Louisiana grated pest management um basically my family is

the largest consumer of our own products so I want the most effective and safest

00:40:10

first product possible that I can bring to bear on whatever disease or pass time dealing with

we also work closely with University on the latest technologies in past management

management and part of that is computer modeling week we have temperature in leaf lettuce

is monitoring the orchard how we have computer monitors that you can plug that information

information into so it will tell you when to look for passing

scouting to see if the past is actually there an economic threshold level bit

requires treatment if its not then you don’t treat if it is then you find a

00:40:45

the safest product possible that’s the most environmentally friendly

and the safest to the public and to yourself to a dress that passed

fast I’m so our goal is to do at the best way possible

possible the safest most effective with the technologies we have available this is 40

focus MJ Meadows still time for your questions about agritourism and I

any suggestions you have a bow tie agritourism of operations of the Dead

you’ve been to and your part of the state of lettuce know about it I’m here with Randy Graham

00:41:20

Graham from Curtis orchard and Steve Ayers of the University of Illinois Extension

toll free numbers 1 800 2229 4556 1 800

hundred 222 wyll are email addresses will dash talk

Illinois a.edu Steve I’m wondering for for farmer

farmers who are looking at a disorder business at agritourism Rd

ours is are there any basic lines of advice that you have well as Connor

contact number one come up with your idea and then I’d do some

00:41:55

some business planning a assess your land in location

Asian if you’re out in the middle of nowhere and 90 percent of people will get lost

Austrain find you a you might want to reconsider having a

enable tourism operation of obviously Curtis orchard is ideally locate

located in the just opened energy change a few years ago and how is it video

what’s right to Curtis Road what am I thinking how has that way

hat has that had an impact on your business Alyeska most definitely it sits much

00:42:30

simpler to get to a statically from some of the outline markets like Bloomington

10 we we draw visitors from Wells Fargo

Chicago routinely but that 60 mile radius is are real

real common draw and used to be kind of complicated to get people

people from Bloomington to our place before the interchange Wayne and but now you just bring the ride on 57

27 often worked less than a mile from that in the change you have to be marca

Marketing in a different way that if you were just something from to market

00:43:05

because you have to you if you hate you hate you have to reach the customer left a note know you’re out there

there is nothing know what you’re doing and I guess it’s everything from the website

we fly into to the signs on the highway yeah that’s right and actually that

that’s more quite a bit over the years and then we have a lot of Facebook followers now

now and the social media aspect is really revolutionized what we do

what we do how does that work on the social media Part How I was a change things for you today

Willie postings quite frequently like when a new variety comes

00:43:40

available we will post at and immediately people of seas on that

Matt and they will they will come out and sometimes there out before we back

Baxley got the apples on the shelf because I’ll say we all tell

my brother in law pictus variety says what can I tell people as your

you know well I have a great so if it’s almost instantly

amazing we just had an email that came in asking about um

accessibility for a form for people using wheelchairs Network ADA compliant with

00:44:15

with all of our facilities and out we we we have access

access to the orchard sell for you pick people take wheelchairs out into the orchard

we try to keep that u pick apple portion is close to the building that is possible

double for long as possible it’s not always dual Balazs

as the prophets picked out but I will try to save little blocks

locks that are close to the building so that its not too far you never any given weekend

and for people to get to the apples and self now can people get to

00:44:50

do you know if your in a wheelchair can you get kicked can you return Apple know ya

Seattle are trees are all either full dwarf or semi dwarf

dwarf tree just give an idea what what’s the size of fully dwarf trees about 6 feet

feet all of a semi dwarf we keep our Zeta 10 but the branches hang down

down to the ground so high yeah I mean you can I get it going up on letters

no you don’t want that now what’s up something was it something alarm for trial and error

was your original Crawford on the wharf the original crop with semi dwarf

00:45:25

dwarf with my father Leonard the business that was the standard people have moved away from the old fat

old fashioned standard ceiling that were 40 feet tall um probably back in the

50’s and 60’s I would gas now the standard is more fully dwarf in high dance

density so it’s even taking a step smaller since we entered the market

market and so now most of our new plantains are even at higher density smaller tree

tree now I’m wondering in that case is that it would you use that

who’s that tree for the part of the crop were that that you harvest yourself or is that really just

00:46:00

just a meeting at the you pick it we the for both because its independence

it’s enough production to make a worthwhile it more production actually yeah you got a lot more production

production per acre you get into production quicker which is key to ask because

because we’re always looking for new varieties that will attract the public in new Verizon

is that they may be can’t get anywhere else for that are common so you can

you can get into production in 3 to 5 years with with a fully dwarf tree and it’s more like 5

57 for a semi dwarf tree and you know people in the computer

00:46:35

computer age are used to this instant gratification with you you’re not quite ever going to get their fur

orchards but you know ya le sacan speed the process of a little bit by going with those trees

and I’m you know I’m wondering what talking about what is really the bay

the basis of the original products the apples but I’m looking at your website website

the cafe the bakery the country store the parties the tours the active

activities this is really a lot of things that you that you’re doing to go beyond

just having a farm you wear a lot of hats in if you’re not a type of person

00:47:10

person that that is comfortable with a lot of job descriptions it may not be

Minot be the right business for you um like some people are very

just wired differently than they like one interested in one area and that’s it

yeah but in our job you have to be to be a semi

expert had many different areas de Vere’s ym&.intl conformers about

doubt about this business is that something you eat is that something people need to be

b1 about her is that a surprise at there just so many different

00:47:45

maybe new skill sets that you’re going to have to pick up to

Dr Minnesota 5 will you have to value a yourself and your family and see what your

what your interests are and then go from there and obviously the Opera

operations have grown over the years its taking decades two

expand a heater operation which talking

talking about the difference between a small format a big farm and I don’t know this working

twerking definition what’s what’s when you think small for much of a creature talk about

00:48:20

West Mall formal we’ve got to close to us 1400

hundred farms in Champaign County and there are 447

47 less than 90 acres so there’s a 98 Kors less than 90 acres

Lakers and the USDA back in the day do a egg census every 5

35 years so they just started looking at Law of less than 40

149 acres back in 2007 so that’s where they came up with the 440

47 farms or less than 9 Curtis orchard you’re all your total acreage is

00:48:55

running 80 acre block B a big small farm going to buy that would be a

via a big small farm yes but and and digest

do just to get by with with commercial production I mean just growing crops some

the 50 60 acres is going to be tough is it

it depends on what you’re growing and yellow and corn soy beans would be you

talking hundreds on into thousands it might be um 100000

South Santa Fe cost of a cruise ship would be the way to make it work maybe do what what what

00:49:30

autozone Altus do they just Lisa turtle and let somebody else take the red scar

are do they just struggle or do they all go and operations like a

Curtis orchard about that lease 2/3 of the land at least a quart

corn soybean production is tenant farming and so the sea

you can be a landowner in and not actually Farm it very common

but of a book but it’s also sounds like this is this could be a good candidate

Canada depending on the other factors for some soda factory tours Rite Aid

00:50:05

Wright & M much are the specialty crop production is done part time

is Paul Curtis you dont was working for three different jobs

jobs ISC building orchard in that’s very very common issues you don’t

make a tourism your full time occupation just starting out

it sounds like a 40 full time job for you right now the Red O yes its full time job

job for a number family members now but at the time it was not in the in the early

earlier than it took about 9 years really to become profitable cell

00:50:40

so it’s not something that you enter into a lightly and expecting to make a

make a quick quick profit on it takes a lot of capital to establish

something like this we have 20 seconds before we have to go but I do want to get one more emails

email question at least for Curtis orchard any special activities for Halloween

where’s the weed not really focused on Halloween purse

per se a weekend to draw the fall crowd and um

when did have anything scary out there cuz we want to have it really fun for kids even young kids

00:51:15

peaceful Halloween at least at least this one example of alliteration

thank you very much rent a gram of Curtis orchard and Steve a Roz Varon

U of I extension thanks also the mark hardy of Hardy’s reindeer ranch earlier the program

this is focus on will