Elmer has fifty calves this season, plus pigs, chickens, and sheep. Dane County parents will pay real money for their kids to be outside on a real working farm. This is the plan for turning that asset into a year-round agritourism business — summer camp, school field trips, fall harvest weekends, and private events.
You are sitting on something that most Dane County parents would drive an hour for. Fifty calves this season, plus pigs, chickens, and sheep, plus a real working landscape that hasn't been aestheticized into a petting zoo — that combination is rare, and it is exactly what families are paying for right now.
The screen-fatigue generation of parents, the ones driving Audis and asking if their 6-year-old can please, please just be outside for a week — those are your customers. They are currently paying $425–550 per week for suburban day camps that promise "outdoor experiences" on manicured three-acre plots. You have a hundred-plus acres, fifty calves, and pigs. The gap in value is obvious.
This plan proposes four programs layered on top of your existing farm operation — a summer camp, school and scout field trips, fall harvest events, and private parties. It assumes you start as the host (not the lead) in year one, then decide whether you want to be the face of the brand. It projects roughly $75–100k of net contribution in year one, rising toward $150k in year three. And it flags the one thing most farm-camp businesses blow: Wisconsin agritourism liability law, which is strict, specific, and unforgiving if you get it wrong.
You don't need to become a different farmer. The cows stay cows. You add a second business on the same land.
Most "farm camps" in Dane County have one pony and a chicken. You have a full working menagerie. Each animal group is its own activity station, its own hero moment, its own Instagram post from a parent.
Every camper gets "their calf" for the week. The single strongest Instagram driver — parents will post photos of their kids with "their calf" every single day.
Kids arrive scared, leave obsessed. Pigs are the part of the farm camp parents remember for decades — and the part they weren't expecting to.
Egg collection every morning. Every egg a camper gathers goes home with them in a pastel cardboard carton labeled with their name.
For the nervous camper, the quiet moment. Grooming, haltering, hand-feeding. The species that turns an afraid kid into a confident one.
Four species is eight times the experiential variety of the single-pony "farm camp" down the road. That's not marketing — that's the actual moat.
Year one runs all four. Summer camp is the headline and the reputation-builder. The other three layer onto the calendar and pay the off-season bills.
The flagship. Week-long day camps for ages 5–10 (deliberately younger than the LaFleur horse camp to avoid overlap, capture the not-yet-riding kid). Mon–Fri, 9 AM – 3 PM.
Half-day farm experiences for structured groups. This is the recurring, off-season revenue line that makes you resilient to a bad summer. Dane County schools do not have a good farm-trip option within 45 minutes — you fill a real gap.
Four signature weekend events anchor the non-summer calendar. These are the "the Smiths are going to the farm this Saturday" moments that become community traditions — which means recurring visits, not one-time.
High-margin, low-volume. The product is exclusivity — private access to the farm for two hours, catered or self-catered, one group at a time. Takes minimal incremental effort once the infrastructure is in place for programs 1–3.
Industry benchmarks for agritourism operations, applied to Elmer's menagerie and to Dane County's income profile. Three scenarios — conservative, base, and expansion.
Fill in what you can realistically run this year. The page recalculates your annual net, monthly average, and how fast the $28k of capital pays back. Toggle programs on and off to see how each one moves the number. Numbers persist in this browser.
+$0Week-long day camps, ages 5–10. Default assumes 12 campers × 8 weeks × $475.
+$0Half-day school / scout / homeschool visits. Spring and fall, weekday mornings.
+$0Four anchor weekends across the year. Set each one's projected gross; we apply a uniform variable cost rate.
+$0Birthdays, corporate visits, and farm photo sessions — high-margin Saturday bookings.
Costs that happen whether or not a kid shows up. Spread across all programs.
Year 1 capital ask: $28,000. With these numbers, you recoup it in roughly — months.
Break-even — adjust any input to see when costs cover themselves.
Conservative case: ~$20k · Base case: ~$95k · Year-three expansion: ~$145k
Your projection tracks closest to the — case.
Elmer — this is the single most important question in the plan. There are two real paths. You don't have to choose today, but you need to know the tradeoff before you start.
You provide the land, the animals, and a few hours of "Farmer Elmer" guest appearances per week. A hired coordinator (or Neva in the off-season) handles day-to-day operations.
A part-time coordinator salary (~$6,000/yr for May–Sept). ~15–20% of operating income goes to labor that would otherwise be yours.
You keep running the farm at full capacity. No disruption to your existing operation. The agritourism business runs parallel, not in place of. If it flops, you've lost coordinator pay, not your livelihood.
Lower authenticity, lower marketing ceiling. "Farmer Elmer's Camp" is a stronger brand than "Camp at Someone's Farm."
The whole program is built around you. "Farmer Elmer's Farm Camp." Marketing features you. Kids love you. Parents Instagram you.
20–30 hrs/week during the season. You become a primary instructor, storyteller, tractor driver, and host. Less time for the cattle operation during peak summer.
Highest unit economics. Real brand moat (you are not replaceable). Likely the only way to justify $550+/week pricing long-term. Best social content.
All eggs in one basket — if Elmer burns out, gets sick, or simply doesn't enjoy it, the business folds. Path A leaves the option to pivot. Path B does not.
The recommendation: start Path A, run one real summer, see whether you love it, then decide in September whether to shift toward Path B for year two.
Wisconsin has a specific agritourism liability statute (Wis. Stat. § 895.524). It grants real protection — but only if you meet the specific requirements. This is the section that ends businesses when it's skipped.
Wisconsin law requires specific wording on a sign visible at every entry point. Get the exact text from your ag lawyer — generic "enter at your own risk" is not enough.
For minors: a signed parent/guardian waiver. Digital waiver via SignNow or WaiverForever (~$20/month) — logs timestamp, IP, signature. Required before any animal contact.
Your existing farm general liability policy excludes paid public access. Add an agritourism endorsement — expect $1,500–3,000/yr. Talk to an agent who knows ag, not a generic State Farm rep.
Dane or Sauk County — call the zoning office. Most agritourism is permitted by right on A-1 ag zoning, but events over a certain size may need a conditional use permit. Get this confirmed in writing before advertising.
CDC / USDA strongly recommend handwashing stations wherever kids touch animals. Minimum: two stations + soap + drying, plus porta-potties for events (~$150/wk rental per unit during season).
The "farm-to-table lunch" in camp requires either a food service permit from the county health department OR working with a licensed caterer. Cold sack lunches packed elsewhere are simpler.
If a camp runs more than 4 hours/day and 5 days/week, Wisconsin may require a youth-camp license depending on scale. Check before the first week.
Wisconsin statutory background check (SSN-based) for anyone working with minors. CPR + Pediatric First Aid certification for at least one staff member on site at all times. ~$50 per background, ~$100 per cert.
Camp industry standard is 1 adult per 6 kids ages 6–10, or tighter. Budget two counselors for a group of 12, plus Elmer or a host, plus one floater. That's three-plus adults every camp day.
Where do 40 cars park? What happens if a kid gets hurt? Written emergency plan, posted phone numbers, medical intake forms, Epi-pen policy, severe weather shelter. Boring, essential, funded upfront.
Budget ~$6,000 for legal, insurance, and compliance setup in year one. It is not optional and it is what separates agritourism businesses that last from the ones that get sued in year two.
To fund one season of agritourism at the farm — insurance, infrastructure, marketing, staffing, compliance. Designed to pay back in year one, profit in year two.
| Line Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Agritourism liability insurance (year one) | $3,000 |
| Legal review: lease, waivers, statutory compliance | $2,000 |
| Statutory warning signage + farm wayfinding | $800 |
| Parking gravel, hay-wagon benches, shade structure | $5,000 |
| Handwashing station, porta-potty season reservation | $1,500 |
| Part-time coordinator (May–Sept, Path A) | $6,000 |
| Staff training, background checks, first-aid certs | $1,200 |
| Website, booking system (WaiverForever, JackRabbit) | $2,500 |
| Marketing (Meta ads, school outreach, press) | $4,000 |
| Contingency (8%) | $2,000 |
| Total Year One Capital | $28,000 |
Base-case net income of ~$95k covers this capital in year one and leaves meaningful profit. Conservative case (~$20k net) pays the capital off in year two.
Elmer's farm is 20–45 minutes from LaFleur Stables. Too far for a combined daily drop-off — but exactly right for a brand family. Three businesses, one name, three experiences that compound.
Saddle-seat riding, Madison Riding Academy, since 1965. The heritage anchor. Neva's sixty-one-year barn in Verona.
Co-located with LaFleur on Meadow Road. The everyday-customer engine. Families come weekly for the dog, get exposed to the horses and the farm.
Elmer's working farm — calves, pigs, chickens, sheep. The "outside experience" that the horses and dogs make parents crave.
Five decisions and phone calls. None of them cost money. All of them unlock the plan.
The single decision with the biggest downstream consequence. Working shortlist: Meadow Rise Farm, Elmer's Family Farm, Oak & Oat Farm, Greenway Calves, or a name you already use. Heritage signaling matters. Pick something that sounds like it was named in 1895, not 2026.
So we know what the cattle/pig/chicken/sheep operation makes on its own today. Agritourism layers on top — we need the base to model against.
Ask specifically: what does an agritourism endorsement cost, and what does it cover? Get two quotes. Farm Bureau and Nationwide Agribusiness are the obvious starters.
Confirm in writing that agritourism (camp, field trips, events up to 100 people) is permitted by right on your parcel. If a conditional use permit is required for anything, know that now — CUPs take 90–120 days.
You don't have to commit forever. But Year 1 needs a direction. Talk to Neva. Sleep on it. Then pick one and we build the plan around that answer.
Share this plan with Elmer. When he has a gut reaction, we refine — name the farm, choose the path, nail the insurance.