Kansas AgriTourism News

February 2007 Greetings! Brrr-r-r-r! As much as I love Kansas and our four distinct and beautiful seasons, it's sometimes tough to remember that when Carroll has the door open bringing in more firewood. I like to remind him that firewood warms you twice: once when you are splitting and chopping, and then again when it's on the hearth. If you are a producer, we want to ask if you have received your copy of the Kansas Agritourism survey yet? If not, please email me for a copy. This is a very important survey because we need to hear from you in order to best use our resources in meeting your needs. Please help us determine what we can do to make your agritourism operation more successful. If you really don't have time for the survey, at least drop me a note with your suggestions. While I've got a lot of my seeds already purchased, I still have a little time for the seed catalogs, planning my marketing, and thinking through how we can be more efficient and effective next year. Others of you are actually pretty busy this time of year, such as our featured destination, the Lazy D Outfitters in Madison. I hope you'll enjoy Dan Thurston's unique story. Stay warm! Becky Walters, Walters' Pumpkin Patch Chair, Kansas AgriTourism Advisory Council

In This Month's Issue: Featured Destination: Lazy D Outfitters A Hunter's Perspective European Experience Create Your Own Kansas Ready Made Adventures

February 2007 Featured Destination
Lazy D Outfitters

A Hunter's Perspective

Babe Winkleman & Dan Thurston, surrounded by the Winkleman Production Team

Among hunters, there are very few that have not heard of Babe Winkleman. Babe is a nationally-known outdoorsman who has been teaching people to fish and hunt for 25 years on his award-winning “Good Fishing” and “Outdoor Secrets” television shows on The Outdoor Life Network, WGN-TV, Fox Sports Net, The Men’s Channel, The Great American Country, and the Sportsman’s Channel. One source said he’s had more airtime than “The Price is Right.”

In this month’s article, we going to look at Kansas hunting from several perspectives, and that’s how Babe Winkleman fits in. We also talked with Joshua Johnson of Kankakee, Illinois to learn why he chose a Kansas ranch for one of his regular hunting retreats. Finally, we visited with Dan and Carla Thurston, the owners of the Lazy D Outfitters in Madison, Kansas, who have hosted both Babe and Joshua on their Southeast Kansas ranch.

Joshua Johnson of Kankakee, Illinois

Josh is an avid hunter who says he hunts every day from October 1 to the end of the season in mid-January. Somehow, he also owns a construction business, and has a very, very understanding wife who does not hunt. Josh often uses a hunting consultant, Russell Walker, and though he reads many hunting magazines and goes to a lot of hunting shows, he relies on the consultant, and word of mouth, to choose where he will hunt. (If you have never used one, consultants are generally compensated by the outfitter, not the hunter.)

Walker knew and recommended the Lazy D Outfitters. Josh had already heard of them through both the Winkleman broadcasts, and videos that he has seen produced by Drury Outdoors.

“If these guys hunt there,” Josh said, “I know that it’s going to be well managed. I know there will be game, and they’ll also coordinate the space so the hunters are not sitting on top of each other when the sun comes up.”

Terry Drury, Dan & Carla Thurston, & Mark Drury

“Ninety-five percent of my business comes to my by word of mouth,” Dan said about his Lazy D Outfitters business. “A lot of these hunters have seen the videos or tv shows. We’ve done 13 shows with Babe. We also were featured on Dream Season TV, sponsored by Drury Outdoors, where the prize was a trip to the Lazy D. Mark and Terry Drury are here pretty often too.”

“I’ve never gone to one of the trade shows or had a booth,” Dan said. “The guys that have hunted here go home or go to the shows, and they run their mouth a little, and then my phone starts ringing for reservations.”

Between what he owns and leases, Dan has nearly 30,000 acres for hunting. He has about 88 tree stand sets and 41 gun huts, blinds and boxes, but he also is very careful about where the hunters are placed, and how many hunters he allows.

Click here to learn more about why these reknown hunters chose Lazy D Outfitters.

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European Experience

By Katie Bartkoski, Kansas Dept of Commerce, Division of Travel and Tourism

They come from across the ocean, but European travelers make a significant impact on tourism in Kansas. International visitors represent a small percentage of all visitors to Kansas with only 2% of the total visitors, but those numbers translate in to approximately $179 million dollars spent in Kansas. The largest percentage of international travelers coming to Kansas are from Europe, specifically the United Kingdom and German markets.

Click here to read the rest of this story.

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Create Your Own "Ready Made Adventures"

Have you noticed that the Kansas Travel and Tourism Website, www.travelks.com, offers visitors a chance to follow a "Ready Made Adventure"?

Right now, guests can choose from 6 different Ready Made Adventures:

Historic Kansas Ready-Made Adventure
From the old west to the Civil War to the fight for civil rights, Kansas history abounds.

Lewis & Clark Ready-Made Adventure
Follow in the footsteps of the famed explorers.

Sporting Kansas Ready-Made Adventure
A fan of auto racing, fishing, basketball, baseball...or any other sport? This adventure is for you.

Outdoor Kansas Ready-Made Adventure
Get away from the hustle and bustle and experience the great outdoors in Kansas. More.

Quirky Kansas Ready-Made Adventure
Unique, one-of-a-kind destinations characterize the Kansas landscape. More.

Family Fun and Frolic Ready-Made Adventure
Children and adults alike will enjoy traveling through Kansas' central corridor for family fun.

So what is your idea of a Ready Made Adventure? February is a great time to meet with your agritourism friends to design your own Agritourism Adventure and submit the idea to the department of Travel and Tourism.

How about a day visiting farms and ranches, and ending with a relaxing evening at a Kansas winery?

Or maybe you can design a Ready Made Hunting Adventure, a couple of days here, and a couple of days there, showing out of state hunters the great variety of Kansas hunting opportunities.

Put on your thinking caps. Submit your ready made adventure to travtour@kansascommerce.com.

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