NAFDMA Annual Convention

2008 North American Farmers'

Direct Marketing Convention

Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday		Tuesday	Wednesday
Feb. 15	Feb. 16	Feb. 17	Feb. 18		Feb. 19	Feb. 20
Bus Tour			Workshops		Conference Sessions
Join us for all or part of the convention!				Trade Show

2008 Bus Tour: FIVE tours to choose from!!!

Bus tour lodging
Schedule for bus tour participants
If you plan to drive to the convention

Imagine getting to know 50 of the best farm direct marketers from across the country. You'll look through their photo albums and scrapbooks. You'll ask some questions and answer others. You'll learn a mind-dizzying amount of information. How can you possibly sort through all of these ideas? We guarantee that you won't be able to use all of the ideas you learn from the bus tour alone in one season.

Some insider tips:

Bring your photo album.
Know what specifically you want to learn from the bus tour.
Bring a good notebook and a camera.
Split up your group. We encourage spouses and employees to go on different tours or at least be on different buses. Divide and conquer!

This year, we're offering five different bus tours.

We intend for each tour to fill up to two buses. They’ll be filled on a first registered and paid, first-served basis. Breaking down the tours into smaller groups is our way to ensure each attendee is provided the best possible networking and education opportunities available in our world-class NAFDMA setting.

The tours are all SIMILAR in that they all address the farm direct marketing and agritourism industry. They all promote networking, innovation, education and participation. We guarantee every tour option will give you new ideas and introduce you to peers from across the continent who will be valuable contacts in your business for years to come.

The tours VARY in that each one will focus on a different nuance of our industry. The stops on each tour, and more importantly to your overall tour experience, the other passengers on each tour, will focus your attention on that tour’s theme throughout the three days.

The tour descriptions below will help you decide which tour best suits you this year. At their core, all tours provide the coveted “NAFDMA School on Wheels.” The descriptions and labels used for any one tour are not mutually exclusive from the others. All five tours represent the common interests shared by all operators in one industry.

When you consider your choices of tours, keep in mind that you may or may not want to focus on the things you already excel at in your place of business. Many people make their tour choices to gain insights into areas of expertise they are moving toward. And, many NAFDMA member farms will bring 3 or 4 people to focus on their different areas of management within the overall scheme of the home business. Whatever tour choice you make, you won’t go wrong. But, don’t procrastinate; because obviously, one of these incredible tours will be the first to be filled up.

Lodging logistics notes: Your tour registration includes three nights lodging. NAFDMA makes your TOUR hotel arrangements for you, based on the detailed information you provide to us on your Convention Registration form.

ALL five tours begin in the same hotel (Madison Marriott West)
on arrival/registration day, Thursday, Feb. 14.
Tours A, B, C return to this same hotel EVERY night of their tour
(Friday, Feb. 15 and Saturday, Feb. 16).
Tours D & E will overnight at Chicago Marriott Shaumburg on Friday, Feb. 15. They will then return with A, B, C to Madison Marriott West for Saturday night, Feb. 16.
ALL five tours will board the buses with their luggage on the morning of the last day of the tour (Sunday, February 17) and will end at the Convention Headquarters, Kalahari Resort and Convention Center.

(Please note: NAFDMA has negotiated a complete bundled package with our hotels, caterers and other service providers. We can not give rebates for staying 2 of the 3 nights, or prorate out pieces for not utilizing the arranged transportation, meals, etc.)

Tour descriptions

Tour A: A Little of This, a Little of That
This tour looks most generally at all elements of our industry. Some might say it’s the most like the “old fashioned” NAFDMA tours. The ones in which there was one choice, and we’d cover all facets of on-farm retail, entertainment, activities, farmers markets, PYO and farm family challenges in one fell swoop.

If you constantly find yourself saying things like …

“Bigger isn’t better”
“My family does nearly all the work on this farm”
“My business plan is to avoid hiring dozens of employees”
“I’ll never put all my eggs in one basket, but I sure can use pointers on how my family can carry all those baskets at the same time”

…then this is the tour for you.

Tour B: Grow it, Bake it, Sell it
Tours B & C would be labeled “Retail Tours.” Tour B will focus on growing and producing farm products on your farm and selling them. It will also spend a bit more time looking at and talking about bakeries in greater detail. Having different sales departments and balancing the farm’s offerings by purchasing some products for resale are also included.

If

you want your attention this year on developing further ways to earn a living by growing and selling your farm products through PYO, farmers’ markets, and roadside stands;
if you are going to give more attention to your bakery in the upcoming years; or
if your farm and family mission is to keep the farm viable through retailing,

... then this is the tour for you.

Tour C: Buy it, Stack it, Track it
Tours C & B would be labeled “Retail Tours.” This tour is focused more on strategies that expand overall sales beyond the traditional farm market offerings. Much of the discussion will include strategies for buying products for resale, merchandising techniques and advancing use of technology to manage inventory.

If …

your retailing interests go way beyond selling the crops from your own fields;
you’re successful in agritourism activities, but you’re leaving money on the table because your only source of income is gate fees, or
advancing in the whole area of gifts sales is important to you

… then this is the tour for you.

Tour D: Apples, Pumpkins and More
Our “agritourism” offerings this year are Tours D & E. Tour D will have other passengers with your interests and will stop at businesses that focus their attention on the crops and the farm as the backdrop, and keep on developing ways to provide activities that will attract families to the farm. Sure, it’s mostly about apples and pumpkins, but there is more, too.

If…

you are always on the lookout for fresh ideas to bring the harvest season to life,
family entertainment and sometimes even a soft spoken “boo” is in your game plans,
you are one who likes to visit lots of farms that offer similar venues so you can compare and contrast the many different approaches to apply them to your brand of agritourism

… then this tour is for you.

Tour E: Dreams and Screams
Our “agritourism” offerings this year are Tours E & D. Dreams and Screams is for those people who are currently looking at focusing attention on things that might take their farm to the next level. Providing entertainment and activities that invoke fantasy, drama and intensity are more the focus of these discussions.

If…

you’ve already got the basics down and your next step is to go in-depth developing your entertainment venues,
you are still looking to fulfill your own dream of providing memories for your customers,
the one thing you’re looking at right now is haunted attractions on the farm, and
picking up ideas for your farm by visiting non-farm family attractions is your thing

… then this is the tour for you

Bus tour lodging
The 2008 Bus Tour will be based in Madison. Three nights of lodging will be included in your bus tour registration. There is no need for you to make hotel reservations for bus tour*. Lodging for arrival day (Thursday, Feb. 14) and Friday and Saturday nights are INCLUDED. Be sure to start your reservation at the Kalahari on Sunday, Feb. 17 (the last day of the bus tour).

* If you plan to arrive a day early (on Wednesday, Feb. 13), please contact Charlie Touchette at Charlie@WhiteLoafRidge.com to make your special arrangements.

Schedule for bus tour participants
Thursday, Feb. 14 (Arrival Day): Fly into the Dane County Regional Airport and take the free hotel shuttle to the Marriott Madison West, our bus tour headquarters hotel, located on the West side of Madison. In the evening, come to registration to receive your bus tour booklet and other materials, and to meet your tour guides and fellow bus passengers.

Friday, Feb. 15 (Bus tour begins): Board your bus to begin the three-day bus tour.

Sunday, Feb. 17 (Last day of bus tour): The bus will deliver you to the Kalahari in the Dells. Begin your Kalahari reservation on Feb. 17.

If you plan to drive to the convention, no problem!
We are arranging for convenient transportation to help you get your vehicle to the Kalahari.

Phone: 413-529-0386

Fax: 413-529-9101 (new fax number)