I have been an Airbnb host for nearly four years now, meeting people from all over the world and sharing my rural way of life. I currently own a 3 bedroom/2 bath house on 10 acres in Modoc County, CA. Modoc County is in the northeast corner of California bordering Nevada and Oregon. It is quite rural with over 70% public land and just under 10,000 people. Guests that come and stay with me enjoy the amazing summer night skies filled with stars and wake up to a beautiful view of the Warner Mountains. When I first bought the property, I questioned how to earn income on a small property and also educate the public about rural living – Airbnb provided an opportunity. Now, beyond helping you to rent a space, Airbnb can also help you market experiences on your property or in your community.

Airbnb experiences are a relatively new program to Airbnb guests. People from around the world are offering tours, classes, shows and more to people wanting to “experience” new things on their travels. In California, hosts are offering horseback riding, cooking lessons, farm tours, and art lessons to name a few. Hosts get their own page on Airbnb and set their calendar to offer experiences. Airbnb handles payment processing, customer service, and up to $1 million insurance. There are a few things like rock climbing and scuba diving that the insurance doesn't cover so make sure you read the fine print.

A host can choose to participate in the traditional Airbnb program hosting overnight guests, trying out the new experiences program, or both on their small farm or ranch. When starting either program, I suggest that you aim for clean, comfy, and simple. Advertise what you can reasonably accommodate and guests can always ask you questions and you can always offer more if the opportunity arises. I find that guests like to be pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. I have a full time job off the ranch so I offer a clean, comfortable private bedroom and bathroom and have snacks, bottled water, coffee and tea available for guests. I have a collection of hiking maps, restaurant menus, area maps, and local suggestions that guests can look through when they arrive. The space is self-sufficient in case guests arrive when I am at work, so they can immediately make themselves at home.

Over the last couple of years I have raised chickens and quail, raised a steer, cut firewood, and entered into a rangeland restoration project involving cutting down juniper for essential oils. I grow a good sized garden and have canned, dried, and frozen a lot of local produce. Airbnb guests have had the opportunity to ask questions, see new things, and even participate in the regular activities at my homestead. Airbnb guests have helped to bucket feed my 1000 pound steer, weed the garden, and even split firewood just for the experience. When I am able to offer these experiences to guests, I receive really favorably reviews and have often been a “super host” which is a rating based on number of guests and favorable reviews.

One of the reasons my Airbnb has been so successful is that I am one of the only places in my area that allows pets. I have a dog myself and I have found that more and more people traveling these days are looking to travel with their pets. Not only allowing pets but providing dog dishes, pet treats, and dog friendly hikes nearby has also given me an edge. I also try to make accommodations for kids and small families traveling. Although my space is not very large, it is comfortable for a couple traveling with a small child or two. This flexibility targets some of the fastest growing traveling populations. I encourage you to find your hosting niche - do you offer an amazing view, can guests pick fresh fruits and veggies from your garden, or do you offer a rural escape from the city?

I set my price about the average of room rates in Modoc County, $60 per night. The room was full roughly six months out of the year last year, which was plenty of business for me. If I wanted to work harder I probably could have, but Airbnb generated a net income of about $6000 in 2018. In more populated areas where lodging rates and guest interest is higher, I would predict larger income generation. Make sure to check and see if local lodging taxes apply in your area; Airbnb can help you find this out. In Modoc County there are no additional taxes.

Although Airbnb makes it easy, I still had some adjusting to do in sharing my house with complete strangers. The way my house is set up, there is a private entrance into a mudroom that leads to a private bathroom and bedroom for guests. Even though this is a private area of the house, it is still attached to the main house and the kitchen and living room are shared spaces. For my peace of mind and safety I do not use the automatic booking option on Airbnb. Automatic booking was not an option when I started and I feel more comfortable renting to people who are willing to write a short note or story about who they are and why they are visiting. I have denied requests for staying if someone writes a one word message or uses poor language. Using this system, I have had very few guests over the past four years that I would not invite back and I have never had a situation where I felt unsafe.

One of the things I get asked about really often is liability insurance and policy coverage through Airbnb. Although I have never had to file a claim (and hope I never have to) Airbnb has a pretty robust insurance policy of a million dollars for hosts. I choose to add extra insurance costing $12/month on my home owners' policy and feel comfortable with the coverage. There is also a million dollar policy on Airbnb experiences that covers almost everything you might want to do with guests. Even if you never thought of taking people into your home, Airbnb experiences might be a great way to offer tours of your property, take people on a favorite hike or teach them a new trade or craft.

Airbnb has provided many benefits for my homestead over the past four years from making new friends, educating the public and generating income. If you have ever thought about becoming a host for overnight guests or the new experiences program, I suggest you give it a try. Finding your hosting niche and telling your story will help you get more guests while also bringing interest to your property and community.

Tony Azevedo's father moved the family from Watsonville, where he operated a small dairy, to Stevenson in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley in 1958. Azevedo rented 15 acres of land that had become alkaline through irrigation with no drainage for many years. He put in drainage, worked the land and put it into pasture. Starting with this land and adding 10 or 15 acres at a time, Azevedo developed the 400 acre Double T Ranch as the first organic dairy in the San Joaquin Valley.

Tony Azevedo, with his wife Carol and other family members, kept the organic dairy operating for many years until consolidation and competition in the industry forced them to get out of the dairy business. Fortunately, Tony and Carol had also been growing another passion on the Double T Ranch: The Double T Agriculture Museum and the History Train.

The Double T Agricultural Museum was built as a tribute to all the farm families of the past who have fed Americans. The exhibits reflect the life and times of family farmers and industry from the 1800s to the 1950s. From lovingly restored horse-drawn vehicles and carriages to a full-size restored steam locomotive, the collection is host to many vintage treasures. School-children enjoy visiting the old west town and learning the story of how trains transported California crops throughout the country and brought new life to small towns. Brides can enjoy a ride in an elegant historic horse-drawn carriage before their wedding ceremony at the Double T Ranch venue.

This year, with daughter Arlean Azevedo joining the team, The Double T is inviting the public to enjoy a train journey like no other. Here is how Arlean describes the latest adventure:

"Climb aboard our Historical Dinner Train for an evening of fine dining and a chance to see how the steam locomotive changed agricultural history in the San Joaquin Valley. Your evening will begin with a cocktail hour and a tour of one of California's premier Agricultural Museums. At the sound of the train whistle we'll begin boarding for the two hour virtual reality experience that includes a fifteen minute documentary while enjoying appetizers, followed by dinner. The History Train will leave you with a deep appreciation of what travel was like 100 years ago. Your evening will conclude with dessert and a walk through the “Baggage Car” filled with rail history memorabilia, antiques and collectibles."

Although the next History Train Dinner Tour on May 17, 2019 is sold out, seats are still available for the Saturday June 1, 2019 voyage. Prices are $70 per person and include all beverages, dinner and dessert. Advance reservations and payment are required. 

Learn more about the train and reserve your tickets here.

 

 

Nevada County, with gold country foothills and Sierra Nevada mountains, has almost 100,000 residents and many visitors. Nevada County Grown, dedicated to promoting, empowering and connecting local farmers, ranchers and food makers, is twelve years old and ready for new adventures. On Saturday and Sunday, July 7- 8, 2018, twelve local farms and ranches will host the public for tours, tastes, demonstrations, workshops and music at the first annual Nevada County Farm Trail Weekend.

Nevada County Grown board member Sammie Bass is coordinating the event. Today, a few days before the big weekend, she shared a little bit about the process and challenges of organizing something never done before in Nevada County.

Organizing participating farms and ranches: Sammie started planning the July event in April and May, so, understandably, communication with potential participating farmers was a major challenge. It was difficult to get clear answers from farmers about what tours, product sales and activities each would be offering to visitors, and to make sure that each participating farm was appropriately safe and prepared. Sammie visited each of the farms and worked with the owners to plan parking and safe access. Would room for ten cars be enough? Is the turn into the driveway from a busy road safe enough? She had no way to know.

Permits needed? Nevada County recently adopted new zoning ordinances that clarified that agritourism activities including tours, farm dinners and U-Pick are allowed by right on agricultural zoned lots over five acres. To make sure that all interested farms and ranches qualified under this zoning, Sammie shared her list of fifteen potential participants with the county agricultural commissioner. The Commissioner rejected several on the list as being less than five acres or zoned rural residential rather than agricultural, so not eligible to host visitors on their land without an expensive conditional use permit. However, as a work-around, these few farms are allowed to have farm stands and to sell their products during the event, but not host tours or other activities.

Insurance? Nevada County Grown required that all participating farms and ranches have liability insurance coverage of at least a million dollars, and that each list Nevada County Grown as an additional insured on their policies. In addition, Nevada County Grown has insurance coverage for events that they organize.

Day-of ticket sales? The Passport Weekend ticket (actually a wristband) is priced at $20 for advance sales and $25 on the day of the event. It was tough to organize enough volunteers to staff check-in and ticket sales tables at each of the twelve participating venues. Therefore, four visitor check-in hubs will be set up at four of the venues. If visitors show up at the other locations without wristbands, the participating farmers and ranchers will include them in tours and activities and instruct them to check in and pay at one of the four check-in hubs for their next stop.

Food? Lunch stop? Since this is the first-ever Nevada County Farm Trail Weekend, and since most of the farms and ranches are not set up to cater food for guests, Sammie investigated inviting a food truck to feed the guests. However, she could not promise more than 150 - 200 visitors total, which is not enough to pay for a food truck's time, labor and travel costs. Instead, the Nevada county Food Bank, one of the stops on the trail, will put on a barbecue, offering lunch for a donation (on Saturday at least) and giving tours of the Food Bank Garden. Farm Trail visitors may want to bring along a picnic this time.

Promotion: Good Day Sacramento came out and took videos, as did CBS13, helping to promote the event. In addition, local newspaper, The Union, interviewed organizers and wrote an article showcasing participating farms and ranches to local readers.

Sponsors? Maybe next year.

Sammie Bass and other Nevada County Grown organizers are expecting about 150 to 200 visitors for the first annual Nevada County Farm Trail Weekend. This will definitely be an adventure. If you see Sammie on the trail, be sure to say hello and thank her for her hard work. Learn more: nevadacountygrown.org/

 

California agritourism operators report regularly that navigating the permitting and regulatory process is a major challenge for farmers trying to invite the public onto their land for festivals, tours, dinners, classes, lodging or other activities. Some help is now available, at no cost, in some places.

Five Northern California counties offer non-enforcement person-to-person consultation to farmers and ranchers exploring the regulations and permitting requirements for agritourism, food processing or other farm-related activities. If your farm or ranch is located in Marin, Sonoma, San Mateo, Yolo or Solano Counties, you can call your Agricultural Ombudsman or Farmbudsman to discuss your ideas and plans.

County Agricultural Ombudsmen help farmers and ranchers understand what rules and regulations will apply to an individual diversification idea or plan, and will help them to navigate the various permits and departmental approvals that might be required. The ombudsman will make the process approachable and accessible, and will explore options and alternatives with the person planning an expansion or a new activity on his or her farm or ranch, including giving the farmer or rancher a sense of where "red flags" might be in the process. Importantly, these services are confidential. Marin County Agricultural Ombudsman Vince Trotter explained the job this way, "We try to bring the conversation to "How can we make this work?" We don't expedite the process ourselves, but we do try to bring the rancher together with the regulator."

Examples of Agricultural Ombudsmen's help include:

• Helping a rancher understand the state registration process required for a new pond.
• Helping a poultry farmer understand the state, federal and local regulations they needed to confirm to for on-farm commercial slaughtering.
• Helping a pumpkin patch operator know when a permit is required for a farm dinner.
• Explaining the size limits for starting a small winery under an administrative permit.
• Helping a brewery and winery design their expansion to avoid buffer issues
• Researching an existing use permit to clarify that a vineyard operator with short-term lodging was allowed to hold one-day open house events without an additional health department food permit.

In addition to their consultation work with individual farmers and ranchers, most of the agricultural ombudsmen organize useful information online - guides, factsheets and links to common permit applications. See the end of this story for contact information and websites links.

Marin County was first, creating the position of Agricultural Ombudsman in 2002 to ease the regulatory barriers faced by farmers and ranchers trying to diversify to ensure longterm viability of their agricultural operations. The county funded the position through a cost-share between county general funds and the Ag Commissioner's office. The Marin County Ag Ombudsman is not a county employee, but an employee of the UC Cooperative Extension. This distinction is important as the Ombudsman is perceived as a neutral, non-enforcement person with whom farmers and ranchers can freely discuss their ideas and plans. Lisa Bush held the position for twelve years until her retirement. The current Marin County Agricultural Ombudsman is Vince Trotter, who also wears the hat of UCCE Sustainable Agriculture Coordinator.

Following Marin County's lead, Solano and Yolo Counties both included the position of an agricultural ombudsman in their General Plans adopted by Solano County in 2008 and Yolo County in 2009. After years of discussions with interested stakeholders from the agriculture communities, the Boards of Supervisors in Solano and Yolo Counties and the Solano Community College Board of Trustees adopted in January 2013 a joint operating agreement to fund and manage a Farmsbudsman program that served Solano and Yolo Counties. Michelle Stephens served as Farmbudsman for both counties for three years. In 2016, Yolo County withdrew from the joint agreement. Currently Yolo County funds their own Agricultural Ombudsman position housed within the Agricultural Commissioner's office, working closely with the County Planning Department. Solano County continues the Farmbudsman program with Humboldt State University's Nothern California Small Business Development Center (Norcal SBDC) administering the program. Currently, the Yolo County Farmbudsman is Stephanie Cormier, also Cannibus Taskforce Manager; the Solano County Farmbudsman is Sarah Hawkins, who is also a full-time farmer.

The Sonoma County Agricultural Ombudsman position grew out of a Food Forum held in 2011 to improve the regulatory process for farmers. In July 2013 Sonoma County approved the position, which is administered through the Sonoma County UC Cooperative Extension and paid with county funds. The Sonoma County Agricultural Ombudsman is Karen Giovannini, who says that the ombudsman position comprises about 20 percent of her full-time work with UC Cooperative Extension.

San Mateo County's Agricultural Ombudsman position developed from a 2012 agricultural workshop organized by a county supervisor to help agricultural producers deal with regulations. The county put out a request for proposals to local organizations to administer the position, and the San Mateo County Resource Conservation District placed the winning bid to host the ombudsman. Adria Arko started as the San Mateo County Agricultural Ombudsman in April 2015. She works out of the San Mateo County Resource Conservation Service office, where she also works as a Program Assistant.

Contact your local Agricultural Ombudsman:

Marin County:
Vince Trotter, Agricultural Ombudsman
tvtrotter@ucanr.edu
415-473-4204
http://growninmarin.org/Resources/Resources_for_Farmers/GIM_Factsheets/

Sonoma County:
Karen Giovannini, Agriculture Ombudsman
klgiov@ucanr.edu 
707.565.2328
http://ucanr.edu/sites/CESonomaAgOmbuds/

Solano County:
Sarah Hawkins, Farmbudsman
SolanoFarmbudsman@gmail.com
925-984-4548
https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/county_admin/farmbudsman.asp

Yolo County:
Stephanie Cormier, Farmbudsman
530-406-4800
Stephanie.Cormier@yolocounty.org

San Mateo County:
Adria Arko, Agricultural Ombudsman
adria@sanmateorcd.org
650-712-7765 x 105
https://agwm.smcgov.org/agricultural-ombudsman