Eckert AgriMarketing Newsletter- November 2006

(click here for directory of past newsletters)

Just a quick reminder:

if you have a website, it is very important that you keep your domain registration information current.

If you change your email address or phone number, you must change these records, or risk losing your domain name!

Here's how it works: Your registration is monitored by an organization called ICANN that makes sure that every website in the world has a unique name and number. You pay a small fee to register your domain name, and you must continue to pay an annual fee to keep that domain name. (for more information, see www.ICANN.org.)

Simple enough. It's like renewing your car license.

But if you're like me, you probably aren't looking at that license regularly to see when it expires-- instead, you expect them to notify you at renewal time.

You get this same service from your domain registrar: They email you to tell you when to renew your domain registration, or when you or someone else are trying to move that registration to another registration provider.

The system obviously runs afoul if you have changed your email address since you registered it-say, five or six years ago.

Now they can't contact you. You don't get the reminder! Your domain name expires! Your website disappears from the Internet!

If you have changed your email address, you will need to contact your domain name registrar and prove your identity in order to update the records.

If you don't know who your registrar is, or how to contact them, drop me an email and Bill, our web designer, will try to help you.

November 2006

Can We Make Agricultural Zoning Work for Us?

As I travel around North America, I continue to receive questions regarding the fact that state regulations and local zoning statutes are limiting the farmers and ranchers in their pursuit of many agritourism endeavors.

I am now getting at least one inquiry every month from a farmer that is having to fight “city hall/local government” for the right to offer agritourism on the farm. Many farmers are having to seek special permits each year just to have an event, expand your parking area, offer camping, host large company picnics, put in a bakery and to sell products other than what you grow.

We are seeing governments defining their local zoning to include further uses for housing developments and shopping centers, but these accumulating ordinances tend to ignore and often restrict the farmers’ use of his land. They fail to acknowledge the unique and seasonal nature of agritourism, not to mention the critical fact that agritourism may be a key component to the very survival of the farm.

I believe it’s time to be more proactive. We need to set up a better network to share information, and to learn from each other.

If zoning issues have been holding you back, or if you have already solved these problems, I’d like to hear from you.

I also want to hear if you have had success in dealing with your neighbors over your expanded business ventures.

If you’ll help me learn more, I’ll pass it on to others through my articles and presentations. Together, we can make a difference.

Please click here, to go online and complete this important survey on Agriculture Zoning.

This information, coming in from throughout North America, will allow me to get a better grasp of what’s happening out there. And once I have this information, I’ll get back to you and other farmers having a difficult time just trying to conduct your business.

Last month, I was working in Nova Scotia, and learned about the Annapolis Valley Pumpkin Fest along the Minas Basin north of Halifax. The guide map shows 19 Farm Markets, 11 U-Pick Farms, and a great list of weekend festivities. As the brochure says, "October is Giant Fun!" But what really caught my eye in the list of month long activities is the Parade of Pumpkin Paddlers, followed closely by the 7th Annual Pumpkin Regatta.

That's right, these folks are afloat in their giant pumpkins! How about those pumpkins, eh?