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Parson says Missouri will benefit from MORE agritourism

Missouri Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson says agritourism is huge to Missouri’s economy, “Agriculture being number-one, tourism being number-two. So, it’s not hard to put those two together and they’re both a successful program. The more we can put them together and promote them is better for Missouri. And, I think there’s some huge opportunities for us to do a better job of bringing agriculture into the tourism arena.”

Parson was the keynote speaker, kicking off the Missouri Farm Bureau AgriTourism Conference in Columbia on Sunday. He tells Brownfield the opportunities in agri-tourism are unlimited “Whether you do a corn maze, whether you farmers markets, whether you have pumpkin patches, people are wanting to experience that real life on a farm. So, I think there’s some huge opportunities to bring people on the farm, let them live the day and life of a farmer and I think there’s some opportunities there. Other states are doing this and it’s going to be very successful.”

Parson also says Missouri must deal with the need for improved infrastructure to support agriculture, tourism, and agri-tourism in the state.