At the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Foundation Spring Seminar, Associate Farm Editor Reagan Calk had the chance to catch up with one of the featured speakers, Kelli Payne. Payne gave a captivating presentation about her personal experience of diversifying her own operation and provided advice and insight on how to take the first steps.
“A lot of times, we look at our outfit, and we think, ‘gosh, this only has one use,’ and my family and our farm is proof that you can diversity in a manner where you are opening up to the public,” Payne said.
Payne talked about how there may be new ways of income right in front of your eyes, and it just takes looking at things in a different light. One of the ways Payne increased diversity on their operation was by allowing people to come and take photoshoots on the property.
“I am a big fan of saying, ‘let’s try it one time,’” Payne said. “The fear of failure is just something you are going to have to remove sometimes. I like to call it ‘failing forward.’ If we don’t take the chances and see what else is out there, we are maybe missing an opportunity.”
Producers in agriculture are constantly being urged to share their stories, Payne said, and a great way to do that is by opening the doors to your operation and providing educational opportunities there.
“Folks are hungry for agriculture,” Payne said.
One example of how Payne worked to diversify her family’s operation was by growing strawberries in greenhouses.
“That really opened some doors for us to have the public come out,” Payne said. “They want to pick their own, they want to learn about it, they want to see it,” Payne said. “Some folks have never seen strawberry plants, and then that has just morphed into two festivals a year.”
Adding strawberries to the operation was not only a way to add extra income to the farm, Payne said, but it also allowed her family to tell the story of agriculture to the urban community.
With the help of the Oklahoma Agritourism program, Payne said she was able to receive help with any questions she had and receive the support of those at the Department of Ag.
“Extremely helpful resources,” Payne said. “They are very hands-on. They do a lot of traveling so they can bring back new ideas and help this agritourism industry flourish in the state of Oklahoma. Just a fabulous team and I cannot say enough about how helpful they were.”
To learn more about Growing Paynes Farm, visit their Facebook page by clicking here.
