Ongoing research

A farm stand piled high with fresh-picked peaches is a timeless picture of summer in California. Farmers have been selling their produce at roadside stands just about as long as there have been roads and customers to drive on them.

A U-Pick operation is a direct marketing channel where customers visit the farm to harvest fruits, vegetables, flowers, or trees on their own. Like any marketing channel, a U-Pick has advantages and disadvantages.

Guest Lodging on Your California Farm or Ranch, a practical guide This 19-page pdf publication, available for free download, provides advice and resources for farmers and ranchers on offering on-farm lodging.

In our highly urbanized society, people are interested in getting back to their roots and learning how their food, fiber and flowers are produced.

This page is under construction - More soon.

The Big Event: Hosting a Festival on Your California Farm, a practical guide This 19-page pdf publication, available for free download, shares experiences and advice from five organizers of California farm festivals of different styles, ages and sizes.

You've probably seen farms and organizations offering farm-to-table dinners at high ticket prices. Perhaps you've heard stories about how quickly these can sell out. Farm dinner organizers and regulators tell us it isn't as easy as it may look.

Farmers and ranchers planning agritourism operations are planning to enter the hospitality industry, an industry that is different in many ways from the business of agricultural production and sales of agricultural products.

California is preparing to get back to normal. On June 15, 2021, capacity and distancing restrictions will be lifted for most businesses and activities. Large-scale indoor events (5,000+ attendees) will have vaccination or negative test requirements for attendees through at least October 1.

Event Website Program (pdf) Biographies of Participants and Speakers (pdf) Presentations Abstracts (pdf) Sponsors: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources The Botin Foundation University of Cape Town...