Bryan and Julie Boeckmann's agritourism venture treats the public to a taste of agriculture in a fun-filled learning environment.
By Joann Pipkin for Heartbeat Magazine
The puddles are a welcome sight this early August morning. Field after field, pasture after pasture, parched plants glisten in the sunlight. After weeks of extreme heat and high humidity, the moisture brings a sigh of relief to its caretakers and the land, turning it from dust to verdant.
The vision continues all along the four-lane as our travels venture from the south to the north, then east crossing the Osage River before it joins the Big Muddy just outside our state’s capital.
Leaving the hustle and bustle of the suits and ties, we shift to the south on Highway 63 and embrace the rolling hillsides of Osage County. The quiet countryside here is home to quaint, wide spots in the road. Well-kept homesteads and century-old churches paint the Norman Rockwell backdrop.
Rounding the bend atop the tiny butte, our journey comes to a close where a sign marks our destination: Westphalia Trading Co. LLC/Beyond the Barn. Here, Bryan and Julie Boeckmann, blend farm roots with the public’s yearning to experience all things agriculture. But as the sign implies, there’s more to their story.
What began as Westphalia Trading Company, a maker of custom, chic chicken coops, blossomed into the agritourism venue Beyond the Barn, plus a seasonal greenhouse and a nostalgic vacation rental. As everyone everywhere seems to seek a connection between pasture and plate, here the Boeckmanns create a culture of experiences that bring folks from near and far to pick, pet and play all while engaging them in the flavor of the farm.
Feeding their roots
It seems Bryan and Julie Boeckmann found their way back home.
Both Osage County natives, Bryan grew up on a diversified crop and livestock farm on the outskirts of Loose Creek while Julie was raised in the French River town of Bonnots Mill. Boeckmann earned a degree in agriculture and natural resources, spent time in the military and worked for the USDA before life would bring him back to his native homeland.
“I always wanted to get back to agriculture,” Bryan says.
When he and Julie, his bride of 32 years, moved to Westphalia in 1998, they had already relocated more than a dozen times.
In fact, Bryan says Julie tapped him as the solo mover if they ever needed to pack up their belongings again.
Settling into their careers in nearby Jefferson City, Bryan worked as a firefighter, Julie as a communications professional for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
In 2011, Julie’s father, Edgar, was a carpenter by trade. Modeled after a photo of a birdhouse, Edgar assisted Bryan with crafting that first coop. Their project’s intention was nothing more than a desire to design a full-size version of what Bryan had seen in the photo.
As Bryan’s construction project continued, he soon decided if he was going to build chicken coops that he also needed chickens. That need led to a goat, which eventually led to a donkey.
“I sat the first coop, with no intentions of selling it, down next to the road where we had a little petting zoo,” Bryan explains. “Then, I heard tires squealing, saw gravel flying.”
A very adamant lady appeared on scene, shrieking about her desire to have the coop.
And the rest of the story is Bryan sold the coop, pledging to Julie that he’d build another one.
“They got better,” Bryan says. “Then I kept building and had to hire a guy.”
All the while he worked full-time as a fireman, one by one, Bryan and his helper formed chicken coop after chicken coop.
Working what Julie calls a weird shift, Bryan’s projects developed because “he had too much time on his hands.”
“It’s a disease,” Bryan admits.
On the cusp of a booming business and a petting zoo that had outgrown its one-acre home, Bryan had his eye on a 16-acre property, which had been stuck in probate.
“The real estate signs were falling down,” Bryan says.
Inquisitive of the asking price, Bryan learned the property would be out of probate by the end of that year. The real estate agent encouraged him to be first in if he really wanted the property.
With branches overshadowing the path, the historic homestead appeared in a clearing.
“We both love old houses,” Bryan says, adding, “She goes, ‘yeah, I’ll move here.’”
In 2015, the Boeckmanns purchased the original 16 acres, which came with two older houses and other antiquated buildings.
“This seemed like a good location to have a petting zoo type of agritourism site,” Bryan explains. “The buildings seemed to have a lot of potential. So, we just started building on those 16 acres.”
After their purchase, the Boeckmanns renovated both houses, transforming one into their home and the other into a vacation rental. They constructed many of the other buildings on the property a little bit at a time. And each year continue to add new attractions to the venue.
Today, the location serves as home base for the couple’s four intertwined businesses: Westphalia Trading Company, Beyond the Barn, Herman’s House and a seasonal greenhouse. With assistance from FCS Financial, they’ve since acquired an additional 24 acres that they previously rented. The corner parcel provides parking, a pumpkin patch and sunflower field.
Building a framework for fun
From the very first chicken coop Bryan constructed under the direction of his father-in-law to each one he designs today; quality workmanship shines through. Each custom project is made to order.
“Nobody builds quality like they used to,” Bryan says. “People are willing to pay the extra dollar for quality. They’re tired of the throw away appliances, throw away cars. It’s a niche.”
From chicken coops to playhouses and storage sheds, Westphalia Trading Company buildings are crafted under Boeckmann’s watchful eye. Today, two employees handle most of the construction while Bryan oversees the projects and focuses on customer service and sales.
Bryan’s creativeness in the trading company projects overflows into the couple’s agritourism venue, Beyond the Barn. From meager beginnings to its present-day learning tour, petting zoo and u-pick enterprise, the Boeckmanns provide a unique agricultural experience for guests of all ages.
“Agritourism is unique,” Bryan explains. “It falls between the cracks of a lot of different things. Some people say it’s not agriculture, it’s a business. It’s probably what saved us.”
A walk-through trail, train ride and animals help the Boeckmanns share agriculture’s story. All along the way, unique structures built by the trading company line the landscape.
“We love to see the interaction of the families, grandma and grandpa with their grandkids, and mom and dad with their kids,” Bryan says. “It’s an escape from everything that you see on the news. And that’s what we love, the family atmosphere and people seeing farm animals for the first time in their life.”
Julie adds, “It gets kids outside. It gets them away from their phones and into playing and interacting with other kids, learning in the fresh air.”
According to Bryan, the experience they offer invites guests to come from urban areas like St. Louis to stay in Herman’s House, a vacation rental home that is also listed on Airbnb. Patrons can walk out the back door, hear donkeys bray and let kids run down the hill to gather eggs.
“You can’t buy that anywhere,” Bryan says. “It’s just a unique experience, and we love to interact with those people.”
He adds that as the public becomes further removed from agriculture, we must educate them or lose the battle against urbanization.
“Nobody can survive without agriculture,” Bryan notes. “People need to know that. We do educate our guests. A lot of people don’t understand you grow a pumpkin from a seed.”
Beyond the half mile long storybook trail, the Boeckmanns offer a u-pick pumpkin patch, hayride, sudan grass maze, u-pick sunflower bouquets, a farmer play place, and games for guest enjoyment. A plethora of concessions — from kettle corn, homemade donuts and slushies to hamburgers, hotdogs and pretzels — fill tummies of all ages. School groups can schedule tours at the venue during the week, while the experience is available to the public on the weekends during September and October.
“Concessions are a huge part of what we do,” Julie explains. “And it’s hard.”
After resisting the need to offer food and beverages, Julie says Bryan returned from an agritourism conference and announced, “We’re going to make donuts.”
“So, now we’re making donuts,” Julie says. “If we didn’t have concessions, people would leave.”
Still, the couple continually seeks out ways to streamline their food services. This season, they’ll offer two flavors of donuts in rotation each weekend, compared to the four they featured simultaneously last year. Cups of nacho cheese and individual bags will replace cheese that had to be prepared in a Crockpot.
As challenging as it is to offer the service, Julie says it does help them capture added revenue. For example, similar venues might allow food trucks on site. However, in that case, she says you lose out on that income.
A seasonal greenhouse completes the Boeckmann’s interlaced agribusinesses. Open each spring, the flowerama serves customers with a variety of annuals to spruce up their container gardens. The greenhouse also provides the Boeckmanns with easy access to plants for their venue’s landscaping needs.
Private parties can be booked at the venue on weeknights, although concessions are not offered during that time.
“We had a number of companies host picnics out here last year,” Julie notes. “School tours in the morning, private parties at night, if necessary, and then we’re open to the public on weekends.”
Hammering out the challenges
Labor. Insurance. Legalities. The weather. It’s a complicated list of hurdles for any business owner to clear.
For the Boeckmanns, a steadfast drive to press on, even when the obstacles seem to dominate, fuels the couple’s passion to succeed at providing an extraordinary agricultural adventure for the public.
The challenges call for a balancing act amid managing four distinct businesses.
“I go over to the shop, none of the stuff we build has a blueprint,” Bryan explains. “It’s just ‘take notes,’ because I’ve had a lot of turnover. When it’s built this next time, I’m not going to be standing here.”
Not one to micromanage, Bryan says he’s lost employees because they didn’t understand how to work with minimal guidance.
“That’s been a huge challenge, but the flexibility of just somebody coming in and showing me a picture and asking, ‘can you build this’ is tough,” Bryan says. “I can look at a picture, and I can build it.”
Finding workers in the construction field is more difficult than other areas of their businesses, Bryan says.
“There is so much demand for people that are competent in that field,” he explains. “Somehow, it’s a shrinking workforce. As a small business, you can’t always provide the benefits that a big business can. We are lucky to have two good employees now.”
But when it comes to staffing Beyond the Barn, both Bryan and Julie say they’re extremely blessed with eager, willing help.
From high school students who guide guests and staff stations throughout the venue to adults who operate tractors and oversee the Donut Hut, Julie credits luck with their ability to recruit and hire quality workers. She has an ongoing list of people interested in working at the venue and says Osage County is blessed by turning out quality candidates.
“We’re pretty good time managers,” Bryan admits. “But the struggles are time, cashflow and the weather. We’re still at the mercy of Mother Nature. Nobody shows up when it rains. Or when it’s too hot or too cold.”
And when there’s no crowd, there’s no revenue.
“Agritourism is expensive,” Julie admits.
With insurance alone several thousand dollars, Bryan says as a business owner you must think about the legalities of the experience you provide and how to maneuver through those challenges.
“Every day, you continue to navigate because you’re only one bad accident away from being out of business because of something you did wrong,” Bryan explains.
Missouri’s agritourism protection law has yet to be challenged, Julie says, so they remain cautious and continue to guard themselves against accidents through the insurance they purchase.
Relying on professionals like bookkeepers and attorneys has been key for the Boeckmanns in ensuring they effectively manage each of their businesses. In fact, each one was set up as its own LLC at the recommendation of their attorney to better protect each entity.
Finding a partner for the future
“We wouldn’t be here (without them),” Julie says of their relationship with FCS Financial.
Bryan echoes, “We wouldn’t be here. There’s no way. We started with nothing. When there’s something we need, whether it’s equipment or real estate, I need a partner that I can call and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re thinking. Is this a possibility?’”
Flexibility and service are key to the Boeckmann’s relationship with FCS Financial. The farm cooperative understands the needs of a farmer and revolving credit, Bryan adds.
According to FCS Financial’s Curtis Fischer, “One of the fun parts about being a loan officer is the diversity of agriculture. Bryan and Julie’s operation here is a little different than your traditional crop or livestock operation. But it’s still a lot of the same battles.”
Fischer says the Boeckmanns face the same weather, risk management, planning and growth challenges as other farmers. The relationship they share with the ag lender is somewhat unique in that there was no generational rapport already established.
Still, Fischer says he noticed right away that the Boeckmann’s businesses were going to require a keen understanding because of their nontraditional nature.
He credits the Boeckmanns for being good at balancing, being in the moment, working hard and having the ability to look ahead to plan with focused vision of where they want to be and what they need to do on the backside to make that happen.
Dreaming of the next big venture
Self-professed workaholics, Bryan and Julie wonder who might take over the reins of the racehorse they’ve created. Anxious to spend quality time with grandchildren in the future, the couple is unsure whether their son or daughter has an interest in running the business.
Their thoughts aren’t any different than others in the agricultural community.
“Everybody is on your page,” Bryan explains. “They’re workaholics. They’re fighting to pull the next generation in. They’re getting up in age. They love what they’re doing. Even though they consider giving up, they never would.”
Through their involvement in the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association, an agritourism consortium, the Boeckmanns network with peers, troubleshooting business challenges like labor and generational transfer.
The couple is also active in the Missouri Farm Bureau’s agritourism group, which hosts an annual conference.
“The people in agritourism are very open about sharing ideas,” Bryan says. “So, that’s been very helpful.”
Constantly planning and thinking ahead of the next big thing to offer patrons, Bryan says it’s all about new ideas and creativity.
“You have to make it a destination,” he adds. “People don’t really want to see what, maybe, a traditional farm looks like. They kind of want a postcard.”
Julie chimes in, “They don’t want to see the mud.”
Bryan continues, “Yes, the Normal Rockwell version of it, so to speak. And that’s what I think we’ve done a good job of, is making our venue look like a park.”
Julie adds, “Giving people an experience.”
Still, in their wildest imagination, Bryan and Julie Boeckmann just wanted to get back to agriculture. In doing so, they’ve built a bridge between country and city, a niche connecting pasture to plate.
“You could have never predicted this; I’ve done so many things,” Bryan says. “When I was in the Navy, I traveled the world. I saw a lot of things. I’ve been to a lot of places, but there’s nothing better than right here, right now.”
He concludes, “I love agriculture. You won’t see a bigger smile on my face than when I get on the tractor.”
