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An agritourism operation in the Apple Hill region of El Dorado County.

First survey of California agritourism operators

The pressures of urbanization and shrinking profits have led California farmers to seek alternative approaches. Agritourism can provide growers with access to new customers as well as bolster income. More than 2.4 million visitors experienced agritourism at California farms and ranches in 2008. They stayed at guest ranches in the foothills, picked peaches in the Sacramento Valley, played in corn mazes up and down the state, shopped at onfarm stands, held weddings in fields and vineyards, and participated in myriad other agriculture-related tourism activities. In the next issue of California Agriculture journal, UC researchers present results of the first statewide economic survey of agritourism operators, to better understand the goals, needs and economic outlook for the state's agritourism community.

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