Assessing potential

Agritourism is not the best strategy for every farm or ranch. Farmers and ranchers considering agritourism need to think about their goals and how agritourism activities might help them achieve these goals. They need to assess their own and their community's resources, review legal, human, financial and neighbor-related limitations, and evaluate the potential of various possible activities.

• Fact Sheet: Getting Started in Agritourism 
• Presentation from UC SAREP: Evaluating your Resources
• Worksheet: Evaluating Your Resources worksheet
• Presentation: AgriCULTURE and Nature Tourism; What Options Do I Have?, Holly George, UC Cooperative Extension Plumus/Sierra Counties

The potential for an individual farm or ranch to successfully establish an agritourism business may be influenced by regional factors - accessibility, infrastructure, hospitality amenities, community support and collaboration opportunities.

• Assessing the Agritourism Potential of your Region includes Plumas Co. workshop participants' group responses
• Assessing the Agritourism and Farm-Based Education Potential of your Region and your Farm Property, from West Virginia Agritourism Initiative

Other resources:

• Assessing Your Farm for Agritourism - Agritourism Best Practices, one of many guides from the University of Vermont Extension Agritourism Collaborative
• Evaluating the Financial Potential of an Entertainment Farming/Farm Tourism Business from the University of Georgia
• Getting Started with Agritourism, the "Weekend in the Country" model by Robyn Smith, Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council