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A KENTUCKY AGRITOURISM INDUSTRY MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER “A lot of things in this bill, taken by themselves, are very minor. But if you put them together, it is a major piece of legislation that is going to have a major impact on this industry. — Sen. John Schickel Information for this article came from news coverage by Brad Bowman, The State Journal, Frankfort; Ellie Hobgood, Kentucky Living magazine; and reporting from the website of the Kentucky Association of Counties. Senate passes bipartisan alcohol rules reform Will affect Bourbon Trail, distillers, wineries, B&Bs, quadricycles AT PRESS TIME The Senate-passed bill was in the House Occupations and Licensing Committee. A floor amendment had been filed in the House. TRACK SB11’s PROGRESS: www.lrc.ky.gov/ record/16RS/SB11.htm See OMNIBUS, Page 2 March/April 2016 A g ritourism Kentucky Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Ryan F. Quarles, Commissioner Amelia Brown Wilson, Director, Division of Agritourism (502) 782-4136 amelia.wilson@ky.gov SB11 co-sponsor Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, said the general provisions of the bill include: outlawing powdered alcohol; allowing malt beverages to be sold at festivals; allowing drinking on quadricycles, commonly called party bikes; specifying who pays for special elections to expand alcohol sales; allowing bed and breakfasts to sell liquor by the drink; allowing alcohol wholesalers to give discounts to retailers; allowing brewers, distillers and vintners to taste their products for quality control; authorizing package liquor stores to give samples; and synchronizing all alcohol license renewal dates. Kentucky Association of Counties website, https://www.kaco.org/en/news-articles/lrc-news- omnibus-alcohol-bill-passes-senate-committee.aspx e Kentucky Senate has approved and sent to the House an alcohol omnibus bill, the first to clear either legislative chamber in the 2016 legislative session. Bourbon tourism is at the heart of SB 11, which passed the Senate 29-8 with strong bipartisan support. Members of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association met with Gov. Matt Bevin and state lawmakers to push for the statutory changes. Backed by the Kentucky Distillers Association, the booming Kentucky bourbon industry, and craſt beer makers, the legislation is intended to modernize Kentucky’s 1930s-era alcohol laws. e bill would affect the state’s native spirit, bourbon; the Bourbon Trail; the Commonwealth’s booming microbrewery industry; its small-farm wineries, and the bed-and-breakfast industry. Multiple effects e bill’s provisions would allow all Kentucky microbreweries to increase their production levels from 25,000 to 50,000 barrels and maintain their own tap rooms. It also would allow them to sell malt beverage products by the drink or package at statewide fairs, festivals, and events.

Transcript of Agritourism Kentuckykentuckyfarmsarefun.com/newsletter/2016/March-April-2016.pdf · • Agritourism...

Page 1: Agritourism Kentuckykentuckyfarmsarefun.com/newsletter/2016/March-April-2016.pdf · • Agritourism Kentucky • March-April 2016 Brewers, distillers, and vintners would be allowed

A KENTUCKY AGRITOURISM INDUSTRY MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER

“A lot of things in this bill, taken bythemselves, are very minor. But if you put them together, it is a major piece of legislation that is going to have a major impact on this industry.” — Sen. John Schickel

Information for this article came from news coverage by Brad Bowman, The State Journal, Frankfort; Ellie Hobgood, Kentucky Living magazine; and reporting from the website of the Kentucky Association of Counties.

Senate passes bipartisan alcohol rules reformWill affect Bourbon Trail, distillers, wineries, B&Bs, quadricycles

AT PRESS TIMEThe Senate-passed bill was in the

House Occupations and Licensing Committee. A floor amendment had been filed in the House.

TRACK SB11’s PROGRESS: www.lrc.ky.gov/record/16RS/SB11.htm

See OMNIBUS, Page 2

March/April 2016Agritourism Kentucky

Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Ryan F. Quarles, Commissioner • Amelia Brown Wilson, Director, Division of Agritourism • (502) 782- 4136 • [email protected]

SB11 co-sponsor Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, said the general provisions of the bill include:

• outlawing powdered alcohol;• allowing malt beverages to be sold at

festivals;• allowing drinking on quadricycles,

commonly called party bikes;• specifying who pays for special elections

to expand alcohol sales;• allowing bed and breakfasts to sell liquor

by the drink;• allowing alcohol wholesalers to give

discounts to retailers;• allowing brewers, distillers and vintners

to taste their products for quality control;• authorizing package liquor stores to give

samples;• and synchronizing all alcohol license

renewal dates.— Kentucky Association of Counties website,

https://www.kaco.org/en/news-articles/lrc-news- omnibus-alcohol-bill-passes-senate-committee.aspx

The Kentucky Senate has approved and sent to the House an alcohol omnibus bill, the first to clear either legislative chamber in the 2016 legislative session.

Bourbon tourism is at the heart of SB 11, which passed the Senate 29-8 with strong bipartisan support.

Members of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association met with Gov. Matt Bevin and state lawmakers to push for the statutory changes.

Backed by the Kentucky Distillers Association, the booming Kentucky bourbon industry, and craft beer makers, the legislation is intended to modernize Kentucky’s 1930s-era alcohol laws.

The bill would affect the state’s native spirit, bourbon; the Bourbon Trail; the Commonwealth’s booming microbrewery industry; its small-farm wineries, and the bed-and-breakfast industry.

Multiple effects

The bill’s provisions would allow all Kentucky microbreweries to increase their production levels from 25,000 to 50,000 barrels and maintain their own tap rooms. It also would allow them to sell malt beverage products by the drink or package at statewide fairs, festivals, and events.

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Brewers, distillers, and vintners would be allowed to taste their products for quality control. One distiller commented on the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACO) website that this is a larger deal that it would initially seem — distillers holding tastings off premises now have to bring in caterers to handle the product rather than conduct tastings themselves.

The bill would allow bed and breakfasts to sell liquor by the drink. One KACO website commenter said of this provision, “The goal is to create a Kentucky version of Napa Valley, where you could travel from distillery to distillery, staying on-site at their bed and breakfast, and enjoy a drink, or many drinks, at their on-site restaurant.” Some Kentucky distilleries are said already to be investigating entry into the B&B industry, with reports of one building on-site lodgings.

Small farm wineries in the state could increase their production levels from 50,000 gallons to 100,000 gallons under the proposed legislation, and they could sell and produce brandy and fortified spirits.

For Bourbon Trail enthusiasts, the bill would increase the amount of packaged alcohol that can be sold at distilleries from three to nine liters. The bill also would allow the increase of distillery sample sizes from one ounce to 1.75 ounces.

Commercial quadricycles, the pedal-powered rolling transport between pubs seen currently in Louisville and Lexington, would have their alcohol standards relaxed under the new legislation. On a

OMNIBUS ... from page 1

quadricycle, patrons pedal-power the vehicle at five to eight miles an hour, traveling between downtown pubs.

Administratively, the bill would specify who pays for special elections to expand alcohol sales, and would synchronize all alcohol license renewal dates.

The bill also would outlaw powdered alcohol.

“Take home a piece of Kentucky”

Sen. Julian Carroll (D-Frankfort), a co-sponsor of the legislation along with Sen. John Schickel (R-Union), said the bill gives out-of-state visitors a better chance to take home Kentucky’s products, as their buying habits usually don’t include shopping at local liquor stores when they visit distilleries.

“When we have these visitors on the Bourbon Trail coming in from out of state, they come to taste that particular bourbon, and they want to buy a case and take it home because they can’t buy it at their local liquor stores,” Carroll said.

Discussion of concerns

SB 11 also embodies a number of additional provisions targeted specifically at distilleries and small-farm wineries, and one of those provisions prompted a lively debate, as reported on the website of the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACO), www.kaco.org. That provision would raise the amount of packaged alcohol that could be sold at distilleries to nine liters from the current three liters.

Part of SB11 would relax standards for liquor consumption on “commercial quadricycles.” This part of the proposal pertains to unique vehicles on the roads of Lexington and Louisville currently. Patrons provide pedal-power while a (sober) driver steers and brakes, taking the vehicle’s clients on a pub crawl. Current open-container law makes it illegal to drink while riding the vehicle; the pending regulation would remove that restriction. The vehicle shown is operated by the Thirsty Pedaler of Lexington. (Photo from Thirsty Pedaler’s Facebook page.)

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Agritourism Kentucky • March-April 2016 • 3

Jason Underwood, who handles government relations for Sazerac Company, the owner of Buffalo Trace, 1792 and Glenmore distilleries in Kentucky, expressed some reservations to legislators, but seemed to allow room for compromise, saying “Senate Bill 11 is not fatally flawed, however, there are some issues that we do have.”

He said his top concern was the provision increasing on-premise distillery sales to nine liters. “Nine liters is a case of spirits,” Underwood said. “Currently, you can buy three bottles in the souvenir shops.” He said increasing the limit to nine liters could hurt mom-and-pop liquor stores.

Sen. Joe Bowen, R-Owensboro, said he too was concerned for the small retailer. He was the only committee member to vote against SB11.

Sen. Carroll’s assessment differed. “Increasing the sales helps our tax revenue, and we’re not really hurting the local store at all because that visitor isn’t going to go

The 2016 season is almost here. Below are four steps suggested by the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD) to enhance your ability to evaluate your agritourism operation for 2015 and evolve your plan for 2016. 1. Pull your financial records together. For some,

this is really difficult; for others it’s a breeze. But whether you have a bookkeeper on your payroll, or you have a shoe box full of receipts that haven’t even been entered yet, you have to get this step done before you can do anything else.

2. Summarize the year in numbers. Start with the big picture: total revenue, total expenses, and net profit. Then, run these numbers as compilied for the different enterprises, profit centers, or locations in your business. For example, a pumpkin patch might have categories for general public, pick-your-own visits, school groups, and food concessions.

Some of your enterprises, you will see, do a better job than others at making money. Break down the numbers to figure out which ones were winners or losers for the year.

3. Review the year. Now that you have your financials in order, it’s time to take a look at how

Making your agritourism business plan for 2016your business got here. Pull out your business plan and any other planning documents and review last year’s goals. Which did you not meet, or not meet to a satisfactory level? Why did your business not hit these goals? What barriers did you face that you weren’t expecting and had not prepared to meet?

4. Re-evaluate goals for 2016. How have your goals changed based on last year’s goals? Are there goals you didn’t meet last year that you can now meet in the upcoming year? Is your business continuing in the direction you envisioned? Were the goals you set last year measurable? If not, consider that as you put together your goals for 2016.

* * * KCARD offers business planning services

— some free, some at nominal cost — that can help Kentucky agribusiness operators plan ahead, including decision-making assistance through on-site business consultations, business plan development, recordkeeping assistance, cost analysis, store layout revisions, and marketing plan development.

-- KCARD press release

For more information: (270) 763-8358 or [email protected].

to a local store and buy bottles individually,” he said. An estimated 750,000 visitors toured the Bourbon

Trail last year, Carroll said.Senate Majority floor leader Damon Thayer,

R-Georgetown, said that he didn’t think SB11 would economically harm small liquor stores.

“Not one single retailer will be put out of business because of this,” Thayer said. “My experience doing research on the Bourbon Trail is that a majority of guests come in from out of town. They are not going to make a trip to the local liquor store and stock up.”

Getting government out of the way

“If you go anywhere around the world, someone will ask you about Kentucky bourbon,” Schickel said. “You hear it said all the time: Government just needs to get out of the way and let industry work, let industry soar. Now, we really need to get out of the way of the bourbon industry, and let it soar.”

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Josh Lindau of the Marketing staff of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture was among the presenters at the 2016 annual education meeting of Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Certified Roadside Farm Market members held March 1.

Dr. Amelia Brown Wilson, director of the KDA Division of Agritourism, and Sharon Spencer, KDA farmers’ market coordinator, also attended the meeting.

Spencer told Agritourism Kentucky that the KFB group is made up largely of on-site markets connected to a farm or an agritourism attraction, as contrasted with free-standing farmers’ markets.

New food safety legislation

Lindau’s presentation concerned the Food Safety Modernization Act and how it will affect farmers’ market businesses. The legislation is the most sweeping reform of food safety and inspection laws in several decades, according to news accounts. It seeks to shift the emphasis in food inspections from reaction against problems to prevention.

Producers under a certain size and sales volume are exempted from many of the Act’s restrictions, reported Kelly Damewood on the “Food Safety News” website. During long discussions over implementing the legislation, signed in 2011, a two-part test was devised to determine whether a farm qualifies for exemption from some of the FSMA rules, Damewood said.

A farm (1) with average annual gross revenue of less than $500,000 over the previous three years is exempt if it also (2) sells the majority of its products to qualified end users, Damewood’s report said.

“Qualified end users” are defined as consumers, restaurants, or grocery stores located either in the same state as the farm, or within 275 miles of the farm.

Farms must still give their customers notice of their business name and address at the point of sale, but most producers will not have sales levels high enough to require they comply with the more stringent FSMA requirements such as recordkeeping and plan development, Lindau said.

Non-exempt farms have until at least 2018 to complete the GAP (Good Agriculture Practices) training, which Lindau is helping develop for University of Kentucky Extension agents to conduct starting in January, 2017. Farms with larger sales volume must be in compliance sooner.

Guest speakers relate histories

In other meeting sessions, Rhonda Roberts of Roberts Family Farm in Guston (Meade County) told the story of its development from a pumpkin farm into a family-owned and -operated agritourism facility.

The farm, in the Roberts family for over 100 years, features hay rides, a corn maze, U-pick blackberries in summer, Christmas trees in the winter off-season, school field trips, and group events. They have launched

KDA’s Lindau presents to KFB farmers’ market education session

Roberts Family Farm, an enterprise with over a century of family history, has recently expanded its agritourism offerings dramatically. (Photo, farm website.)

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Corbin revitalizes its struggling downtown with local food CORBIN, Ky. (The Rural Blog*) — Corbin, a town of 7,300 in southeastern Kentucky, has revitalized its downtown through a local food renaissance.

Corbin’s main street, once filled with vacant buildings and few businesses, is now thriving, adding 20 new businesses since 2012 while reducing a 40 percent vacancy rate to nearly zero, reports Patty Cantrell of the Missouri-based consulting firm Regional Food Solutions.

“Corbin is among a growing number of towns discovering and capitalizing on the power of local food to provide that new economy stimulus,” Cantrell wrote.

Big changes began in Corbin “when Main Street Manager Andy Salmons partnered with the successful Whitley County Farmers Market,” Cantrell wrote. “Two years ago, they brought vendors and live music to downtown’s Nibroc Park on Tuesday evenings through the growing season.”

Map and more: www.kyforward.com/rural-blog-corbin-revitalized-its-struggling-main-street-with-local-food-and-local-businesses* The Rural Blog is a digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, from the Institute for Rural Journalism

and Community Issues based at the University of Kentucky. The IRJCI (Al Cross, director) is an extension program for rural journalists and news outlets. For more information see www.RuralJournalism.org.

an on-site bakery, and on August 20 will host a Farm Fest 2016 music festival featuring four Kentucky bands. They will make available 1,000 tickets for the event at $30 each, the farm’s website announces.

Great speaker Rob Leeds and his wife, Christy, with Ohio State University Extension Service and owners of Leeds Farm of Ostrander, Ohio, also described for the group their agritourism additions, including a zip line attraction.

Traveling to find ideas

The KFB organization offers its certified fee-paid members this spring training and a summer bus tour. This year’s tour, June 27-30, will travel Indiana and Michigan roadside markets, nurseries, orchards, and other businesses, observing good practices and picking up ideas.

The Kentucky Farm Bureau Certified Roadside Farm Market program began 20 years ago, helping

farmers to market their fruits and vegetables directly to consumers. KFB publishes an annual comprehensive locator directory of its member organizations.

The program has expanded to include farm enterprises such as greenhouses, landscape nurseries, Christmas tree farms, vineyards, wineries, livestock operations, fiber markets, and meat/cheese farm markets.

For enrollment information in the KFB Certified Farm Market Program, visit www.kyfb.com/rfmenrollment .

More information on Roberts Family Farm: (270) 422-2361 or www.robertsfamilyfarmky.com .

The full Dec. 13, 2013 “Food Safety News” report by Kelly Damewood is at www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/12/understanding-small-farm-

exemptions-under-fsmas-produce-safety-rule/#.VthNAk32Yfd .

Notice anything different about us?The newsletter now comes out every other month, so now we’re Agritourism Kentucky rather than Monthly. The deadline for contributions to the next issue, May-June, is April 20.

If you read and enjoy Agritourism Kentucky, call or email and let us know what your venue has scheduled for this spring, summer, and fall, or tell us a topic to explore. Contact Jim Trammel, editor, at (502) 564-1136 or [email protected].

KDA’s Josh Lindau makes his presentation to the KFB Certified Farmers’ Markets

meeting. (Kentucky Farm Bureau photo)