- Author: Hannah Bird
University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP), UC Cooperative Extension and the UC Hopland REC have partnered with Mendocino County Farm Bureau, Visit Mendocino County, , experienced local agritourism operators and other local partners to offer a five-session agritourism planning course for farmers and ranchers and others involved in agritourism in Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma Counties. Farmers and ranchers who are considering, starting or expanding agritourism or nature tourism enterprises on their farms or ranches are invited to register for this low-cost participatory course.
Agritourism is a commercial enterprise at a working farm or ranch conducted for the enjoyment and education of visitors, and that generates supplemental income for the owner or operator. Agritourism can include farm stands or shops, U-pick, farm stays, tours, on-farm classes, workshops, tasting rooms, fairs, festivals, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, Christmas tree farms, winery weddings, orchard dinners, youth camps, barn dances, hunting or fishing, guest ranches, and more.
“Agricultural operations in the North Coast region can offer visitors a diversity of natural beauty and unique experiences with local farmers and ranchers. It can be difficult for small-scale farmers and ranchers to make a living when dealing with production challenges, uncertainty and lack of economies of scale. Our workshops will give agricultural producers contacts and tools to understand regulatory requirements and to develop and market their agritourism enterprises, adding to their income and helping spread the risk of tough production years,” said Penny Leff, UC SAREP Agritourism Coordinator.
Participants will evaluate their own farms or ranches for agritourism potential and consider the costs and potential benefits of various activities. Each will receive the UC ANR published handbook, “Agritourism and Nature Tourism in California,” which will be used as the text for the class. Attendees will hear from experienced agritourism operators and experts in business planning, risk management, regulatory compliance and marketing. Class instructors will provide individual guidance and help participants form a supportive network as they plan their own agritourism or nature tourism businesses.
Registration is now open.
Important: The Mendocino region Agritourism Intensive class is open only to farmers, ranchers and others involved in or planning agritourism in Mendocino, Lake and Sonoma Counties.
Registration:http://ucanr.edu/agtourmendo
Format: 4 participatory 2-hour Zoom meetings, every Wednesday morning from March 3, 2021 through March 24, 2021, and one in-person field day on the site of a Mendocino County agritourism operation (location TBD) on March 31.
Workshop fee: $40 (for all class sessions, class manual mailed to each participant, lunch on March 31)
Information & scholarship options: Penny Leff, paleff@ucanr.edu, 530-902-9763 (cell)
This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2018-70027-28587.
Mendo agtourwkshop flier
The 2017 National Extension Tourism Conference will be held in Princeton, NJ, on Aug. 8-10.
Holly George, who is serving on the conference planning committee, encourages her Cooperative Extension colleagues and their clientele to attend the conference to share their success stories, programs and research with others who are interested in tourism activities.
“The NET Conference, held every other year, is a great opportunity to interact with others across the U.S.A. and Canada doing this type of work and cultivate relationships with colleagues for regional research and outreach to augment economic diversity and build vitality in our communities,” said George, UC Cooperative Extension advisor emeritus.
"This conference is an outstanding opportunity for Extension professionals and others working in the broad area of tourism and recreation – including tourism service providers and businesses – to share programs, initiatives, research and success stories, and to network with other professionals," George said.
This year's theme, “Tourism in the 21st Century: Connecting Communities, Places and People,” focuses on the important role that tourism plays in many aspects of communities, places and people.
Topical areas include:
- Nature‐based Tourism: Ecotourism, Wildlife‐watching and Adventure Tourism
- Agritourism – Local Foods, Farmers Markets, Culinary Tourism and Farm Stays
- Cultural-Heritage Tourism
- Marketing and Promotion – the Digital Revolution
- The Shared Economy
- Placemaking
- Community and Regional Planning and Development
- Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of Tourism and Recreation
- Tourism Education, Training and Certification Programs
- Tourism Research and Evaluation
Visit the Call for Proposals webpage to submit a proposal. The deadline for submissions is March 13, 2017. Presenters will be notified in April if accepted.
Specific questions or inquiries regarding proposal submissions may be addressed to Steve Burr, 2017 NET conference program chair, at steve.burr@usu.edu and (435) 797-5120.
- Author: Penny Leff
Brooke Smith, sales manager at the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn in Chico, promises that Explore Butte County, the non-profit organization funded by the TBID, will help with things such as promoting agricultural tourism, Lake Oroville and local cities. Smith explained that Explore Butte County intends to establish a grant program that will assist local partners, including agritourism operations, in their promotions. Board members of Explore Butte County are primarily hotel and motel operators, but the board also includes Nicole Johansson, a marketing professional and organizer of the popular Sierra Oro Farm Trail.
In the TBID process, local lodging operators agree to assess themselves and ask the local government to collect the money and pass the funds onto a designated tourism promotion organization, often times the Visitors and Convention Bureau or a non-profit organization such as Explore Butte County. Many county and cities in California have established TBIDs, including Napa Valley, Sacramento County, Placer County, Monterey County, San Diego, Long Beach and Oceanside. By the end of 2014, there were 85 California TBIDs. Many of these communities, including Butte County, were assisted by Civitas, a consulting firm specializing in TBID formation.
The next step for Explore Butte County is to hire a marketing firm to work with the board on the tourism marketing strategic plan and implementation program. The marketing RFP has just been released, and proposals are due by June 30 from any interested parties. Local Butte County marketing firms are specifically invited to submit proposals. Please send any questions pertaining to the RFP via email to xplorebutte@gmail.com
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Holly George, who is serving on the conference planning committee, encourages her Cooperative Extension colleagues and their clientele to attend the conference to share their success stories, programs and research with others who are interested in tourism activities.
“After 30-plus years with Cooperative Extension, I've learned that to be an effective ‘change agent' one needs to think more broadly about and incorporate community engagement and public education into more of our programs,” said George, UCANR Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor in Plumas-Sierra counties. “While no one in California CE has tourism as part of their job description, I believe that working with an array of people associated with different aspects of tourism is an excellent venue for us to improve the public's understanding of agriculture and natural resources.”
This year's theme, “Coast to Coast, Tourism Matters” focuses on the role that tourism plays in many aspects of business, community and agricultural landowner operations.
1. Rural Tourism Development/Tourism in Resilient Communities
2. Community and Regional Planning and Development
3. Economic, Environmental, and Social Impacts of Tourism and Recreation
4. Agritourism—Local Foods, Farmers Markets, Culinary Tourism
5. Heritage and Cultural Tourism
6. Nature-based Tourism: Ecotourism, Wildlife Enterprises, Adventure Tourism, Coastal Tourism
7. Marketing and Promotion
8. Tourism Research and Evaluation
9. Tourism Education, Training and Certification Programs
“The NET Conference, held every other year, is a great opportunity to interact with others across the USA and Canada doing this type of work and cultivate relationships with colleagues for regional research and outreachto augment economic diversity and build vitality in our communities,” George said.
To submit a proposal for a presentation, poster or workshop, enter a 400-word abstract at http://extensiontourism.net/conference by May 1. Videos will be accepted until Aug. 1.
For more information, visit the 2015 National Extension Tourism Conference website at http://extensiontourism.net/conference.
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Maxwell Norton, a Merced County UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor and acting director of UCCE in Mariposa County, provided extensive information to a Merced Sun-Star reporter about efforts to encourage tourism in Merced County and educate visitors about local agricultural roots.
About a year ago, a group of agriculturists got together and starting brainstorming on ways to increase ag tourism, Norton told reporter Carol Reiter. The group formed "Country Ventures" and decided on two goals: To bring more visitor-related dollars into the county and to increase people's knowledge of agriculture.
"We decided it would be good to have an audio tour for Highway 140 from Merced to Mariposa," Norton was quoted. "The highway is so heavily used. That was the logical place to start."
The group prepared a series of recordings that visitors can listen to in their cars while driving the historic roadway that connects the valley floor to Yosemite National Park. MP3 files can be downloaded from the Country Ventures' website. In addition, the recordings are being compiled on CDs to be distributed at the California Visitor Center in Merced.
The recordings include information on:
- Points of historical interest, like the highest grave marker in California
- Types of agricultural crops being grown, including almonds, peaches, and pistachios
- History of local communities, such as Planada, which was laid out like Paris, France
- Signs of early Native American residents, like pictographs
- Wildlife and wildlife habitat, including vernal pools
- Geological features
- Gold Rush history
"Our target audience is people from other states and other countries," the article quoted Norton. "We want people to realize the San Joaquin Valley has a lot to offer in itself. It's not just a place to get through on your way to Yosemite."
Norton is one of two narrators on the audio recordings.