• Countryside. Picturesque scenery at every turn.
• Horse and buggy. It’s the only thing that will slow our busses down. There’s no big city travel on the route.
• Food. Pennsylvania Dutch Style.
• Business. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania consistently ranks #1 among all counties in the United States on the chart of Direct Sales from Farms to Consumers by USDA’s Census of Agriculture.
• Tried and true. There is no shortage of new ideas in this region. Even so, the hallmark of success is its tradition and maturity of the industry. Everything in farm direct marketing and agritourism is time-tested in Lancaster County. If you see it happening here… it works. 
• Simple as that!

Two tour options
Look at the bus tour table to compare stops and make your choice between Group 1 and Group 2. They are similar. Both visit many of the same stops. Both criss-cross through Lancaster County. Both join together at the start and end of each day for lodging, breakfast and dinner.

General overview
A feature of the NAFDMA convention is the three-day Networking Bus Tour. It’s commonly referred to as NAFDMA’s School on Wheels. You’ll spend three full days on and off a bus with about 50 other people. You’ll develop relationships and learn as much from your bus colleagues as from the tour stops. And THAT’S saying something!

We have about half a dozen featured stops lined up for you. These are the “must see” destinations for every farm direct marketer and agritourism operator who visits Lancaster County. All tour busses will see these features. Incidentally, each of the key stops is owned and operated by longtime members of NAFDMA. Is it a coincidence that these are among the most successful businesses in the area? We’re thrilled to be hosted by our friends at Cherry Hill Orchards, Brown’s Orchards and Farm Market, Maze Quest and Maple Lawn Farm, Weaver’s Orchards, Country Barn and Cherry Crest Farm. 

We’ll also bring you to three other key locations that are unique to Lancaster County. They’ll give you the full flavor of rural tourism in this area. Our stops at Bird-in-Hand, the Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, and Shady Maple have been selected because of the multi-faceted businesses at each stop. You’ll choose from as many as 3 or even 12 different businesses to visit when the bus drops you at each of these locations. Be forewarned, you won’t be able to see them all, but with a little preparation on your part, there is no down side. Concentrate on what you want to see, experience, and learn from, not on the things you’ll miss. After all, this is only a three-day tour. Tourists and locals alike are apt to spend a full day at each of these destinations.

That’s not all. We have been coordinating with nearly 20 other operations too! Each bus visits 3 or 4 of them.  Many of these are very small. They can handle only one bus in a day, let alone one bus at a time. Others see thousands of visitors each day in peak season. But that’s what makes Lancaster County so special. From its Amish families to its mega-attractions, thousands of businesses prosper in this region. For some, prosperity is measured by sharing their life with a family from the city for a couple hours while earning a couple thousand dollars extra each year through tourism. For others, a one million dollar investment for an expansion is a starting point. We’ll expose each NAFDMA tour goer to this diversity one bus at a time. You’ll compare notes with other busses during meal times and evening social events to get the full breadth of this wondrous phenomenon.

This is the Mecca of rural tourism and farm direct marketing. It’s known as Lancaster County. And, There is nothing simple about this.

More questions?
Click on the buttons below for more details. You can even link to the web site of most locations for a preliminary virtual tour. But if you want to take your own business to the next level, then nothing compares to being on one of our busses.

Also refer to Travel, Lodging, and Registration buttons on these pages for additional details.