Join us on February 6, 2025 for a bonus day of educational sessions!

Choose from one of the following five full day sessions.

Important note: Each session requires a minimum registration count of 15 attendees.

  • From Interview to Exit: Embracing the Employee Life Cycle Confidently

    Session Cost: $395

    Kirsten's Session

  • The Superhero Shift: Must-Have Skills for New & Emerging Team Leaders

    Session Cost: $395

    Courtney's Session

  • Marketing Audit and Workshop: Develop an End to End Marketing Plan for 2025

    Session Cost: $395

    Marketing Audit Session

  • Adding Craft Alcohol to Your Agritourism Operation (Education & Tour)

    Session Cost: $495

    Janine's Session

  • Enhancing Your Retail Operations (Education & Tour)

    Session Cost: $495

    John's Session

From Interview to Exit: Embracing the Employee Life Cycle Confidently

Presented by Kirsten Ramos

Participants will walk away with tangible tools to help them interview more effectively, hire better, motivate more deeply, and confidently exit team members that need to go.

Real-life scenarios and mock employee engagements will be incorporated throughout the day.

Specific topics will include:

  • Creating compelling job descriptions

  • Behavioral interviewing – why this matters and what you can learn from your candidates.

  • Setting expectations vocally and in writing

  • The Employee Handbook – what revisions do we need for success?

  • Interacting with your team members

  • Having the tough conversations and documentation

  • Exiting an employee confidently (legally and swiftly)

The Superhero Shift: Must-Have Skills for New & Emerging Team Leaders

Presented by Courtney Ramsey

As new leaders, many of us come from being the go-to person in our teams—the superhero who always swoops in to save the day. However, stepping into a leadership role requires us to take off the cape and empower our teams to become heroes in their own right.

This workshop, designed specifically for young leaders in the agritourism industry, will equip you with the essential skills to make this crucial transition.

In this interactive Bonus Day session, you’ll gain insights into your behavioral style, enhance your emotional intelligence, and master the art of delegation. By the end of the workshop, you’ll be prepared to lead with confidence, foster a collaborative environment, and drive your team’s success.

What’s covered:

  • Blind Spots Behavioral/Communication Style Assessment: Understand how you’re “hard-wired” & how to leverage it for better team dynamics.

  • Emotional Intelligence for Leaders: Develop the emotional acumen needed to connect with and motivate your team.

  • Effective Delegation: Learn to delegate tasks efficiently, allowing you to focus on strategic leadership while empowering your team members.

Marketing Audit and Workshop: Develop an End to End Marketing Plan for 2025

Presented by Shadi Hayek, Justin Zoradi & Eric Unterberger — TicketSpice

This workshop is limited to 50 participants. Register early to guarantee your spot.

Hosted by executives and marketing professionals from TicketSpice. TicketSpice has spent years crafting their brand and marketing strategy. In this workshop, you’ll walk away with…

  1. A renewed perspective on your brand and how you talk about your farm on your website, in your community, in your advertising, and with your staff. 

  2. A marketing audit, step by step guide, and training for measuring all of your marketing channels and their success. 

  3. An implementation plan for every event to drive engagement, conversions, and revenue prior to arrival, onsite at your farm, and after customers leave. 

Part 1: StoryBrand: The Language & Story of Your Farm. Certified StoryBrand Coach & TicketSpice’s Vice President of Marketing, Justin Zoradi walks you through how to develop the messaging for your farm and activate your customer’s journey. 

Part 2: Audit, Track, Manage: You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure. Search & Social Advertising, SEO, Google Ads, and Conversion Attribution Technology. Audit, Setup, and Track using the latest tools and technology in the marketplace. This is for newbies and veteran marketers. 

Part 3: Execute Execute Execute. We will provide you with all of the starting blocks. Walk away from this workshop with all of your SEO Google Ads and Social Tracking setup, a handful of digital ads, and pre-built email and SMS marketing campaigns. 

This workshop will require you to complete approximately 10 hours of pre-work.

Enhancing Your Retail Operations (Education & Tour)

Presented by John Stanley

This workshop is limited to 75 participants. Register early to guarantee your spot.

Please note that this tour will begin in Cincinnati, OH and end at the Host Hotel in Lexington, KY.

You MUST book your room for Feb 5th - 6th at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Cincinnati Eastgate (4521 Eastgate Blvd, Cincinnati, OH 45245) and then the remaining dates for the Convention at the Hyatt Regency Lexington (401 W High St, Lexington, KY 40507).

Whether you are a new or established farm retailer, you cannot afford to miss this unique retail workshop led by John Stanley that combines detailed education with an off-site visit at Jungle Jims.

Topics will include:

  • Communicating a consistent message to your customers.

  • Retail basics to ensure customer engagement

  • Retail trends that apply exclusively to farm markets

  • Best practices to enhance your retail operation

  • Keys to increasing the average sale per customer

  • What we can learn from non-agritourism retail operations

  • Developing an action plan for your business

Tour Location:

Jungle Jims: https://junglejims.com/

Jungle Jim’s International Market Eastgate

4450 Eastgate South Drive Cincinnati, Ohio 45245

With two locations, more than 500,000 square feet combined, hundreds of thousands of products, and over 70 countries represented, Jungle Jim’s International Market is locally grown, but internationally known. They’re a destination for foodies, tourists, and weekly shoppers alike; from just around the corner to across the pond and beyond.

 

Schedule:

7:00 - 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast in hotel

7:30 - 8:30 a.m. | Check-in in hotel lobby

8:30 a.m. | Load buses & depart hotel

9:00 a.m. | Welcome by Jungle Jim’s staff

9:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. | Education led by John Stanley

12:00 - 12:30 p.m. | Lunch

12:30 - 2:30 p.m. | Self tour of Jungle Jims

2:30 - 3:30 p.m. | Recap led by John Stanley

3:30 p.m. | Load buses and departure to Lexington Hotel

Adding Craft Alcohol to Your Agritourism Operation (Education & Tour)

Presented by Janine Aquino

Whether it be your own venture or a collaboration with an established cidery, winery, meadery, distillery or brewery, we will cover the various components of what is involved in adding an alcohol component to your agritourism operation.

We will also visit two established operations in the Lexington, KY area: Wise Bird Cider Co. and West Sixth Farm.

Throughout the full-day workshop, we will cover the following:

  • Pros & cons of building your own brand vs collaborating with an established brand

  • Length of time it takes to open based on type of craft alcohol business

  • Competitor analysis

  • Developing a business plan and a professional team (accountant, attorney, etc.)

  • Financial investment & grants

  • Zoning & permitting

  • Staffing & training

  • Marketing, promotion & relations with local association & tourism groups

  • Customer service & experience

  • Food & merchandise offerings

Schedule:

8:00 - 11:00 a.m. | Education at Central Bank Center

11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. | Visit & Lunch at Wise Bird Cider Co.

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. | Visit West Sixth Farm

3:30 p.m. | Arrival back to Central Bank Center