Running cattle didn't work
Panola County man utilizes land in nature tourism venture

December 13, 2001 -- When retired lawyer Clayton LaGrone inherited land in Panola County, he first tried running a cow-calf operation which he named Deadwood Land and Cattle Company.

But "I realized I wasn't smart enough to make a go at the cow-calf operation," he admitted to a group gathered at a recent Nature Tourism workshop in Cass County.

But he did know something about corporate retreats - something he could develop on the 2,000 acres he had from the combined inherited land and some adjacent purchased property.

"I first wondered: Where do I start, and who will help me?" said LaGrone. "So I talked to various people, I took beef cattle short courses, I attended a deer management class and went to several Extension seminars."

With the knowledge he gained, LaGrone set a plan to develop a retreat - Cedar Creek Lodge.

LaGrone then created promotional material and advertising for the lodge. He had brochures made and placed advertisements in numerous newspapers. He targeted all parts of Texas and the surrounding area.

It wasn't long before LaGrone said the phone began to ring off the wall.

Today, LaGrone has transformed his property, which includes the inherited land that had been in the family since 1832, into a successful nature tourism operation in Panola County.

Cedar Creek Lodge offers a "get away" and somewhat of a sportsman's paradise for corporate executives, business owners, and more.

The place has a lake, a barn, a two bedroom/ two bath house built in 1934, a four bedroom/two bath house built in 1972. There are also 250 head of grown cows, three tractors and equipment, and various farm ponds.

And it doesn't hurt that LaGrone's retreat happens to only be within one hour of Louisiana Downs and the casinos.

LaGrone told those gathered at the workshop that future opportunities for customers might include a bed and breakfast, bird watching, nature tours, and maybe a recreational vehicle park.

Besides LaGrone's information, workshop attendees learned valuable information on how they too could develop nature tourism on their land, or how they could expand or improve an existing facility.

There's a vast potential for East Texas landowners to supplement their income through nature tourism," said Cliff Todd, a Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) rural economic development expert.

Todd, also present at the workshop, said that tourism generated more than $1 billion to the state economy in 1999, with a substantial percentage of that money going to nature tourism.

He said property could become a supplemental income for the farm or ranch when it is opened to the public.

"Share your farm or ranch land with city people," said Todd. "Nature tourism is something we have been already doing, we just need to enhance it."

Todd said 17 percent of the millions of visitors who come to Texas are involved in nature tourism.

"How do you do it?" asked Todd. "First, you have to have the land, resources, the time, the "want-to," and have proper facilities, activities, and attractive surroundings.

Todd said to also have a business plan, figure expenditures, have a road map, look at points of interest, and found out what the customer wants.

"Usually the customer is stressed or needs a break or wants to spend time with the family, or they may want to share farm life with kids," explained Todd.

Todd said to maybe include activities such as: hay rides, campfires, guitar player/singer, nature tours, fishing, hunting, swimming, mountain bike or atv riding, jeep rides/trails, or even opportunities to play dominoes.

Dr. Greg Clary, Extension economist, offered some helpful information at the workshop as well. Clary said to consider business startup and planning, legal, regulatory and tax issues.

"Eighty percent of the people who live in Texas, live in urban areas," he explained. "These are the people you need to target. These are the people who are looking to 'get away.'"

But he also said to keep in mind the 17.6 percent of Texas residents who are 55 or older, and families who are willing to spend the money in order to have a place to spend time together and to get away.

He said to keep several different things in mind before trying to transform property into a natural tourist attraction.

He said to be realistic, but do take chances; don't fail to plan. The more informed you are, the more successful you'll be; determine feasibility. Develop a business plan; Think about the investment. Where is the best place to get a loan and figure out how much it will cost to do what you want to do;

Do market research. Get information from the Internet. Found out if you will have a big enough market to support your business. Found out how effective the demand is for what you want to do;

Develop a marketing plan. Learn how to understand potential consumers and see how these particular people will benefit from your business. Set your advertising objectives; be positive, passionate and persistent. If you are not all of these, Clary said this would be a strike against you from the beginning. He said to be flexible, be innovative, and try to be the first with your idea.

"Only the strong will survive," he concluded.

The Cass County workshop was co-sponsored by TDA, Texas Cooperative Extension, the Linden Economic Development Corporation and the Southwestern Electric Power Company.