OTTAWA — More and more eastern Ontario farmers are opening their doors to the public in search of new farm income through ventures that include farmgate products and direct marketing. Other ventures are building on "agri-tainment", turning the farm into an entertainment centre, turning homemade pies or pumpkins into an attraction that includes ideas such as mini-golf and corn maizes.

These farmers are in the tourism business and like it or not, except for working from home, their businesses are often very much unlike the farm that their owners were used to.

New "agri-tainment" markets are out there for the right farmer in the right location, says Toronto-area based Cathy Bertolic, executive director of the Farm Fresh Marketing Association, a 225-member non-profit group that helps farmers develop marketing skills for their agri-tourism services and products. While it might seem that all the good ideas have been done, Bertolic insists agri-tourism is a growth industry and "Ontario is definitely the leader in Canada and possibly North America," she said.

One reason for this is that Ontario is one of the few places that uses government signage along highways to announce tourist

attractions, she said. The famous roadside blue and white tourist directional signs can cost up to $500 per year per sign but farmers who use them are amazed at the results, she said. "New members can’t believe the difference.’

Certainly demographics show where the markets are: This year Canada’s urban population surpassed 80 per cent of total population. That means, of Canada’s more than 33 million people, 26.5 million are urban.

How do I get them to come to my farm is not the first question to ask. Every farmer looking at a new agri-toursim venture must first ask themselves: Do I enjoy working with people?

"That’s the big question," said Bertolic, "because now you are face-to-face with the consumer. You now have the public on your farm. You have to be comfortable with that and your family has to be on board."

One of the biggest agri-tourism success stories in eastern Ontario started with a Halloween haunted hay ride 16 years ago and has been in expansion ever since. Saunders Farm, just south of urban Ottawa, at the village of Munster, has turned "entertaining" into a full-time money maker that now boasts of overnight activities and corporate lunches.

"You create an experience on your farm when people visit it." says Mark Saunders, the fun director. People want to connect with the land. "They want to see what it’s like on a real farm."

Local food movements and rising gas prices have contributed to the agritourism’s popularity, he said. So many people like a short day trip, it has turned tourism into a critical revenue generator for some farmers. "We’re a little skewed at Saunders Farm," said Saunders. "Eighty per cent of our revenue comes from our visitors."

Getting the consumer there is half the battle. The farm needs activities to entertain and to keep customers coming back. A farm must have parking, washrooms or portable toilets, wagon rides, play structures and food. "When people visit farms, they love to eat," he says.

October is their busiest month of the year, as thousands of people came for Halloween screams, he said. Their list of activites are impressive. Here are only some of the things at Sanders Farm: hayrides, eduction discovery barn, treehouse, pirate ship play house, tractor trike trial you young children, scary barn of terror, pioneer village, puppet shows, Hillbilly band, monstor parade, a corn cannon that shoots a cob 400 feet in the air, pick-you-own pumpkin patch, monster mini-put, apple chucking (hit a monster in a pond a win a prize), Boo-tique farm ship, turnip bowling,11 mazes and water park for cooling off on hot days. You can even book an overnight stay.

He says they are always looking for ways to diversify. "We are going to build a new bakery and expect to see more produce."

Mark’s parents, both teachers, first opened Saunders Farm as a pick-you-own strawberry farm in the late 1970s. With the idea for a new attraction, their first Halloween haunted hay ride opened in 1992. Its success encouraged them to expand.

Starting small is the best way to test market your new business.

Both Saunders and Bertolic agree that new ventures should start small but there’s no need to stay small. Test the water with new features or products each year, Bertolic says.