By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.
Some people are hunting for ways to diversify the rural economy. Today we’ll meet a Kansas entrepreneur who uses hunting itself to create additional opportunities on his farm.
Leon and Nancy Winfrey are founders and owners of Flying W Outfitters at Plains, Kansas. Leon grew up at Plains, attended Dodge City Community College, married Nancy, and came back to farm with his dad. “The section where we live was homesteaded by my great-grandparents in ’01,” he said. That’s 1901.
During the tough farm economy of the 1980s, Leon looked for ways to supplement the family’s farm income such as offering pheasant hunting.
“People would come and hunt, stay with us and become friends,” Leon said. In those days, paying to hunt was less typical. “Now, it’s customary to pay for an outfitter for hunting and a guide to fish,” he said.
In 1989, Leon obtained the necessary licenses to set up a controlled shooting area where guests could come and hunt birds. He called his business Flying W Pheasant Ranch. As the business grew, it was renamed Flying W Outfitters. Continue reading “Leon Winfrey, Flying W Outfitters”
