As printed in the Pryor Daily Times, October 18, 2007.

Nationally acclaimed direct marketing and agritourism expert, Jane Eckert, is coming to the state Nov. 6 and 7 to be part of the Oklahoma Agritourism and Alternative Agriculture Conference in Ardmore.

Founder of St. Louis based Eckert AgriMarketing, Eckert travels the nation and has appeared on national television promoting agritourism and alternative agriculture, said Abby Cash, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry agritourism director.

"Jane is passionate about saving family farms through alternative agriculture and agritourism ventures," she said. "Not only has Jane traveled the country promoting agritourism and direct marketing, she has helped turn her own family orchard into one of the leading tourist destinations in the country. Jane Sponsored by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry and the Noble Foundation, the conference will begin with a series of farm and agritourism tours and conclude with seminars on reducing insurance premiums and financing alternative agriculture ventures. Cash said the program is geared toward both existing operators and those who are interested in exploring diversification opportunities for their own farms and ranches.

"Our first speaker is Keith Lowry, a motivational speaker from Dallas renowned for his knowledge of customer satisfaction, service and hospitality," she said. "He's an entertaining speaker and the title of his program for the conference is "Putting Your Best Foot Forwardâ??Without Tripping Them Up!""

Mark Schnepf from Schnepf Farms in Arizona is also on the program. Cash said he will talk about how he and his family saved their farm through alternative agriculture and agritourism.

Registration is $100 for the two-day conference if received by Oct. 20. After that date registration is $125. There are reduced fees for those attending the conference for only one day.

Contact Annie Coble with the Noble Foundation to register at (580) 224-6501. The email contact is macoble@noble.org. The ODAFF contact is Sharra Martin at (405) 522-4330. Registration information is also available on the Oklahoma Agritourism website at www.oklahomaagritourism.com.

This article appeared in the Pryor Daily Times, www.pryordailytimes.com, on October 18, 2007.