This website serves Farmers and Ranchers in the Kansas AgriTourism Industry.
Welcome to Kansas AgriTourism!
This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
the Kansas Agriculture Marketing Division and the Travel and Tourism Division of the Department of Commerce
and with financial assistance from Frontier Farm Credit.
We invite you to explore this website to find a variety of articles and resources that will help you succeed in agritourism.
If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, and ask for the Agritourism Liaison.
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 December 2007 Featured Destination:
Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm
Lawrence, Kansas
Can You Draw
A Christmas Tree?
When you apply to work at the Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm, in Lawrence, Kansas, you may be surprised with this interview question from veteran Kansas tree grower, Eric Walther. The question applies only to those that help shear and shape the trees in the early summer, but Eric asks potential shearers to draw a Christmas tree, as he has found that this is a pretty good indicator of how well they’ll do with the real thing.
“When we can,” said his wife Lyn, “We try to hire architectural students from the University for the tree shaping (Referring to the nearby University of Kansas). They typically have a good sense of the shape and form we want.”
 These are just a few of the things that Eric and Lyn Walther and their son Mitchell have learned since they planted their first 500 Christmas trees among the wild strawberries on the hill.
When the Vietnam veteran (thank you, Eric) retired from the Air Force, he and Lyn had shared 22 homes around the country. An employer, TRW, transferred them to Lawrence, Kansas. Lyn remembers thinking “Oh no, anywhere but Kansas,” though she chuckles at that now, vowing there is no place on earth where she’d rather live.
Presenting the Governor's Christmas Tree-2007
Eric wanted to buy 80 acres, planning to put some of it in hay and cattle, and Christmas trees. Eric dreamed of a landing field and a home on the remainder. As it turned out, they were able to buy 20 acres on highway 40 west of Lawrence. Having heard of some Iowa farmers that literally made a fortune selling Christmas trees, they contacted Kansas State University, bought root sets for 10 cents apiece, and set out one March to plant their small pine forest.
“Later, we learned that the Iowa guys were getting land subsidies to take the land out of grain, they had all their tree stock given to them, and they were located right at a railroad siding. They made millions. We’re not quite there yet,” laughed the 76 year old Eric.
 The Walther’s planted more trees each year, and started selling the first planting in 1984. By 1996, they had more than 12,000 trees growing. Now they plant about 1,000 new trees each year, basically replacing those that were sold, and those that give way to drought or other conditions.
They now plant the trees with a radius of 8 foot per tree, 2 feet more than they used to allow, which affords more room for the necessary sprayers, shearers, mowers, etc.
To maximize tree growth and minimize damage by pests and disease, the grass beneath the trees is mowed fairly regularly. It takes about 40 hours each mowing.
Over the years, they’ve used hedge trimmers, then thin, 24” shear knives, and now the trimmers use Beneke trimmers, a 10” rotary blade that operates from an extended arm.
The Family Experience
 A visit to the Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm is really about the family experience more than it is about the trees. Families return to the farm year after year for this cherished tradition. The visit begins with a wagon ride out to the trees. Then the search begins to find the perfect tree. Most of the trees are 6 to 8 foot Scotch Pine, as the popularity of the Austrian Pine has diminished in the Midwest. There are also taller trees for families with vaulted ceilings, or an exaggerated sense of the size of their homes. Once found, the tree is cut, and on the wagon ride back, all thoughts turn to the free hot-spiced cider and “black and white cookies” that await them in the barn.
“Black and white cookies” are a highly anticipated part of the Strawberry Hill tradition. Lyn says it was born more out of necessity.
“Originally, I tried to bake cookies for everyone, but that job, on top of everything else, just got to be too much. I finally resorted to the grocery store,” she laughs. “I bought a bunch of those generic, vanilla and chocolate cookies with the cream filling. Now, everyone expects our ‘black and white’ cookies!”
 In the barn, visitors can also find an interesting array of gifts, antiques and holiday decorations, and can watch as their own wreaths, swags, or other decorations are woven and bowed. About one in every seven visitors will also buy a wreath or bow. Visitors looking for something besides scotch pines will also find pre-cut Austrian pines, Fraser fir, and white pine trees available for sale.
“Our staff at Christmas time are all personable young people. Originally I tried to hire all Eagle Scouts, knowing the quality of young men that achieved that high honor,” Eric recalled. “Many of our employees return each year, and refer their friends. Now we look for boys and girls who are responsible and comfortable talking with people. “
 Lyn said the training begins with a 5-page manual she has written which tells the employees how they should greet guests, how they should look and dress, and what is expected of them in helping families in the field. Students sign every page indicating that they have read and understand their responsibilities. On workdays, the workers are fed lunch, which also helps keep all hands available for unexpected busy periods.
Friendly Marketing
Like similar businesses that have become family traditions, the Walther’s emphasize friendly, community connections for marketing. Eric (a former Meteorologist in the Air Force) reports area rain fall to the local radio station, KLWN, which often turns to a short conversation about how the trees are doing out at the Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm. Station manager Arden Booth’s chatty conversations were one of the first clues to Lyn that Kansas was her place to call home. They also will advertise on KLWN’s special Celebration of the Christmas Season.
 On two other area radio stations, the Walther’s underwrite select broadcasts on Kansas Public Radio stations KPR (KANU) at the University of Kansas, and Topeka’s KTWU, Washburn University. The farm often provides gift certificates for wreaths or swags to local fundraising events, and will list in the Christmas shopping section of the Lawrence Journal World.
 The farm has been a successful venture for the Walther’s. They’ve raised four boys there—Matthew, Mitchell, Eric Michael, and Mark—and Mitchell now lives on the property and helps with the farm. Their extended family includes the Kansas Christmas Tree Growers Association (KCTGA), and they’ve also used many of the National Christmas Tree Association’s resources for free educational school tours.
“The KCTGA has really been a blessing to us,” Lyn said. “We meet twice a year, once on one of the farms, and once at K-State, to share ideas and learn about caring for the trees, managing a gift shop, and just sharing ideas.” “The association is now establishing a mentoring program,” Eric added. “If you want to get started now, you can be assigned a personal mentor to help you learn some of tricks of making it all come together.”
“We really are not planning on retiring,” Lyn said, although they do hire out more of the physical labor, such as shearing the trees.
 “I’ve always been interested in good health, and I think staying physically active is an important part of that. And I’d like it to be useful. I’d rather go out and weed around the trees for four hours than spend an hour in a gym. We are retirement age, but I think that just means that it’s time to discover what you really like to do.”
Stop by the Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm, especially in November and December, and I think you’ll find out what Eric and Lyn Walther really like to do.
The Marriage Saver...
The Perfect Holder for the Perfect-or Imperfect-Tree
Enjoying the harmony and satisfaction of selecting “the perfect Christmas tree,” the family triumphantly brings the tree into their living room and prepares to install it into the stand. “A little to the left,” mother says from the center of the room. “It’s leaning too far back,” says sis from the side. “Dad,” says her brother, laying on his belly beside father, beneath the prickling pine branches, “The screws won’t even reach if you tip it that far!” “It has to go back to the right,” mother intones. Frustrated, father finally bellows, “Alice, the darn thing is going to fall over if we lean it any farther!”
 As many readers know from personal experience, this squabble is also a holiday tradition in many homes. But in the early 1980’s, a Desoto, Kansas man, Jack Russell, Jr., came up with a solution he named the Cedar Valley Christmas Tree Stand. An interesting collection of welded steel, wooden dowels, chains, and various size pots, the CV stand, also known as “the Marriage Saver Christmas Tree Stand,” is said to provide for a quick and perfect adjustment.
In 1994, Jack decided to retire from making the stands, and sold the business to a friend, Patty Lehman, of Louisburg, Kansas. Patty said that today’s stand comes in three sizes, 5 qt, 2 gal, and 3.5 gal. She, her husband Bill, and now their son, all work in manufacturing the stands, which are currently being sold in more than 7 states, ranging from Oregon to Mississippi. The stands are only sold wholesale.
For more information about this Kansas industry, the Cedar Valley Christmas Tree Stand, email cvtreeholders@mokancomm.net, or call 913-837-5751. You can purchase your personal CV stand at this month’s featured farm, Strawberry Hill Christmas Tree Farm in Lawrence, and other Kansas Christmas tree farms.
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