At Ridder Ranch in Callaway, Nebraska, even the dreariest, coldest weather can charm. Despite the fact that their visit occurred during one of the most aesthetically challenging months of the year (we all know what mud season is like), a pair of ranch visitors (a New York literary agent and her California author client) were won over by the beautiful landscape at the Ridders’ Hereford ranch.
Two years ago, Mary Ridder realized that instead of writing about agritourism, she and her family should give it a try. Through her many years working as a freelance writer reporting about the lives of her fellow Nebraskans, Mary watched farmers and ranchers develop new ways to add income to their agricultural enterprises; she spoke with consumers eager for connection with the growers and producers of their food and clothing; she met people eager to experience the novelty of rural culture, and she discovered how the needs of both rural and urban residents were mutually satisfied through agritourism.
Mary, her husband John, and their six children operate Ridder Ranch, a purebred Hereford operation in Callaway, Nebraska. A regular part of their operation has always been showing cattle buyers around the ranch, so it seemed quite natural to extend the opportunity for a fee to urban and suburban visitors. These visitors know nothing about agriculture or cattle, and arrive prepared to ask questions and watch and learn. Each visitor has a unique perspective on what’s of interest: one may be fascinated by the fences and fencing techniques; another may be charmed by the livestock, especially when there are calves, and a third may be intrigued by the Ridders’ daily routines. The thing to keep in mind with agritourism is that even the most trivial part of a farmer’s life is novel and fascinating to an urban guest. Mary has found that key to their tour is flexibility.
Tours at Ridder Ranch are scheduled around chores, the needs of the family, and the season (they offer no tours during calving season, both to ensure their availability to handle difficult or unexpected births and to ensure that they will have uninterrupted time to devote to their guests). A tour can run an hour or a day, depending on the guest’s wishes. Unlike many agritourist operations, the Ridders offer no scheduled or planned activity, which means that each tour is unique. They enjoy meeting each visitor and seeing their farm and their lives through the eyes of their guests.
A big challenge, Mary says, was arranging affordable liability insurance coverage. The availability of affordable liability insurance has been a problem throughout Nebraska for several years. Numerous horseback riding operations have failed or closed due to lack of insurance coverage. Mary worked with their insurance agent to develop a policy of liability insurance that her farm could afford. She notes that the insurer required very detailed information about the activities to be offered. She and her family had to think through exactly what activities they would offer, but once their carrier was convinced that it understood all the risks involved, it agreed to provide coverage at a rate the Ridders could afford. Mary encourages everyone interested in developing any type of agritourist attraction or event to discuss the parameters of the activities to be offered and any potential risks with their insurance carrier in order to meet the insurer’s requirements.
A particularly memorable tour was given for a three-generation family who were touring Nebraska. The grandparents had been raised on farms, but the parents and grandchildren had never experienced farm life. The Ridder Ranch tour was a special event for the elders, allowing them to introduce and share some of their early life experiences with their children and grandchildren.
For the Ridder family, offering tours was a low capital input opportunity to increase ranch revenue. Because they didn’t need to invest in special facilities or equipment, their major expense to date has been marketing. Nebraska is a sparsely populated state. However, it is on the “Snowbird Corridor” from Canada to Texas, which brings travelers through the region. The trick, of course, is to capture their attention, give them a reason to stop, and provide them with a memorable, joyous experience. The first year they sold very few tours, so last year Mary decided to focus on marketing.
While networking with other enterprises through the Loup Basin Resource Conservation & Development group, Mary learned what a vast opportunity there is for agritourism. “It’s a huge consumer dollar industry,” she says. Mary and six partners from that organization developed their own package tour website called Backroads Nebraska. Participants include two vineyards/wineries (one a new venture), a bird sanctuary, three lodging operations with recreational activities, and the Ridder Ranch. Just reading the description of activities on their website sure made me want to sign up! Imagine: tubing or tanking, bird watching along the Platte River, horseback riding, hiking, wildflower hunting, watching the tumbleweeds drift past, or playing on the sand dunes of the Sandhills, followed by a great meal offered by warm, friendly hosts and then off for the night to a comfortable lodge or cabin. What could be finer? Sign me up, Mary!
For more information (or to sign up for your personal tour), see the Ridders’ website or visit the BackRoads website.