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People like cows

By Becky McCray

I don’t know why it is that people like cows so much, but they do. And there is an important tourism lesson in that.

I think @stargardener had a good time with the cattle.
Stargardener had a great time
meeting my cows. 

Pam Mandel, Nerd’s Eye View, spent July in Austria amongst a dairy herd. Her conclusion? She likes cows, even when confronted with the realities of life and death. Read about her thoughts in Goodnight, Ladies.

I’ve been posting more pictures of my cows to my Twitter and Google+. They consistently draw interest and reactions. When I shared the struggle for life of a new baby calf, I was inundated with people interested in him. People still ask about him, six months later.

I’ve had two friends drive for hours and hours to come for a visit recently. They’ve had a great time meeting my cows.

Something less than 2% of the US population is involved in production agriculture. Most people are 3-5 generations removed from the farm. That means fewer and fewer people grew up farming.

Translation: big opportunity for small towns.

Farming is different. Cows are interesting. Baby chicks are a marvel.

Visitors want to experience it, even for a little while. It’s different, and it’s fascinating.

Corollary: Stop trying to sell your small town like it’s a big city. Be who you are. 

Small Town Tourism Action Item: Start planning your fall farm tour.

    Touring the pasture
    Heading out for a pasture tour. 
  1. Get four or five local farmers, orchards, ranchers, you-picks, what-have-you, to allow visitors on a special weekend this fall.
  2. Encourage them to plan special activities or fun that day.
  3. Put together a driving tour to the locations. Make a mobile friendly online version at Google Maps, and a printed paper one to hand out. Put the QR code and the short URL on the paper brochure. 
  4. Talk to your local or regional CVB (if that’s not you). Ask them to help promote it.
  5. Pitch it to the nearest metro news.
  6. Do all the other things you know you need to do on an event. 
  7. Report back. How did it go?

And make sure the visitors get a chance to see some cows. Because people love cows.

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  • About the Author
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About Becky McCray

Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
  • Downtown is your town’s core: How to make your case - February 22, 2021
  • Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
  • In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
  • Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
  • How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
  • The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
  • Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
  • Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
  • Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
  • Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020

July 26, 2011 Filed Under: entrepreneurship, rural, tourism

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Comments

  1. danny says

    July 26, 2011 at 1:28 pm

    Hi, I’m from the Philippines but this article inspired me.

    Thanks

  2. Becky McCray says

    July 26, 2011 at 1:34 pm

    Danny, I bet you can do something similar in the Philippines. People from the city would love to take a tour in the country.

  3. Dave Kemick says

    July 26, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Excellent idea! I’m in rural PA and one thing we’re not short on is farms. I love your note about a small town being what it is and taking advantage of what it has rather than trying to masquerade as a big city.

    I think sometimes it’s tough for folks living or running businesses in small town America to key into the great parts of their environment because they experience it everyday, things like farms and cows. Great post!

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