News

Weeds compete with small fruit plants for the elements needed to grow and produce fruit, which means gardeners need to be diligent about weed control. Horticulturists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach provide weed control options for gardeners with strawberries, raspberries and vineyards.

In prior newsletter issues, we highlighted the first two steps a business must do to provide excellent service to its customers. Those steps are “Make it Your Own” and “Make it Personal”.  Step 3 is “Make it EFFICIENT”.

ISU Extension and Outreach experts will discuss best practice topics such as food, farm and consumer safety, understanding legal risks in agritourism, public play area safety, pesticide safety for agritourism destinations, protecting animals and humans from biosecurity risks, and farm emergency preparedness and planning.

When using social media to advertise your business and products, there is power in pictures. Customers cannot touch or feel what you have to offer. Words and photos are the only way to promote your agritourism destination and persuade people to visit your farm and buy your products.

Our tree leaves are coming down, but don’t throw them away - put them to work for you. We’ve talked about creating a traditional compost pile in the past, but if you only have a small amount of yard waste consider bag composting.

What is Blogging? Blogging is a personal web log that was initially used to share feelings, thoughts and ultimately opinions. Today, it has grown into a unique platform that many businesses and corporations utilize as a marketing tactic to increase visibility and growth.

Most gardeners anxiously await planting season and often get over zealous. Either the garden ends up larger than planned or more tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini are planted than are actually needed. It is similar to going to the grocery store when you are hungry – you end up with more than you intended.

Now that we have entered Spring, being outdoors and enjoying the warmer weather is the top priority on our list. Families have begun to gather ideas on how to spend their spring and summer weekends. As an agritourism destination owner or operator, have you thought about how you will promote your destination so yours makes the list of potential visitors?

How can you add value to your business so customers will select you over others? What differentiates you from your competitors? The first step for any business is to make it YOUR OWN. Begin by defining your business’s unique customer service culture. Many businesses skip this step – but it is the most important!

In our last newsletter, we introduced a series of articles about our customer service workshops, and the five steps a business must do to provide excellent service to its customers. In the May, 2018 newsletter, we highlighted the first step of excellent customer service as “Make it Your Own”.