Your field of dreams may be for the public to come to your ranch or farm to enjoy a hayride, cut a Christmas tree, watch birds or partake in any number of outdoor activities. But improper planning could make it your nightmare, says Miles Phillips, a Texas Cooperative Extension recreation, parks and tourism specialist.

"We've launched an online service to help people plan and develop nature tourism businesses," Phillips said. "It will help users make a very simple revenue and cost projection for their tourism products."

The tool automatically creates graphics of gross income, net income, cash flow, visitation summaries by month or by activity, and other necessary info for a business. An Extension booklet titled "Nature Tourism: Evaluating Enterprise Feasibility," is available for $30 and can be used with the online service.

Visit naturetourism.tamu.edu to access the online service, and click on the Business Planning section. To order the book, visit tcebookstore.org and search for booklet B-6147.
-- Texas A&M University release