Experts coming to E. Ky. agri-tourism conference

A conference in Eastern Kentucky on agri-tourism hopes to redefine the region's economic future by highlighting many of its unique opportunities to attract visitors and their money. "It’s Your Idea: Make it Pay!" will be held July 28-30 at Morehead State University's Regional Enterprise Center in West Liberty. The University of Kentucky is co-sponsoring the conference with the Eastern Kentucky Foothills Eco-Agri-Tourism Corporation.

The event will feature presentations from Peter Hille, director of Berea College’s Brushy Fork Institute, Vaughn Grisham, right, director of the George McLean Institute for Community Development at the University of Mississippi, and Todd Comen, founder and manager of the Institute for Integrated Rural Tourism. "We want people in Carter, Elliott, Menifee, Morgan and Wolfe counties to think differently about their communities and economy," Gwenda Adkins, Cooperative Extension agent for family and consumer sciences in Elliott County, told Aimee Nelson of the UK College of Agriculture. "We’re offering free registration to people in those counties to come and learn about making their ideas pay. We’ll emphasize eco-agri-tourism and related businesses." Other registrants will pay $30. Participants will also "tour local farms and businesses including Vertical Acres Farm, a nationally known farm where deer are raised for breeding and research," Nelson writes. (Read more)