Final Report for EW13-005
Project Information
- Understand of economic, political, and environmental benefits of implementing food tourism enterprise
- Understand the basic economics of diversification strategies, especially food tourism markets available to producers in the Intermountain West
- Understand the components of evaluating the economic feasibility of food tourism
- Understand tourist and tourism business purchase behaviors, needs, and motivations in relation to purchasing local foods
- Create plan to introduce seminar curriculum and other SARE resources into producer programming
- Work one-on-one with producers/agritoursm operators to evaluate the economic feasibility of food tourism for their operation
- Assist producers/agritourism operators in developing a marketing plan that supports tourism promotional messages and strategies
- Assist producers/agritoursm operators in implementing food tourism strategies for their operation
- Assist producers/agritoursm operators in accessing food tourism networks and distribution channels
- Assist producers/agritoursm operators with the measurement of changes in profitability and economic sustainability of their food tourism diversification strategies
Cooperators
Education & Outreach Initiatives
Methods
Five one-day workshops designed to inform the target audience about food and tourism partnerships, regional initiatives, and best practice in uniting food production and tourism were held across the Intermountain West region. Workshops were held in Utah (2 workshops), Nevada (2 workshops) and Idaho (1 workshop). The workshops included classroom sessions, hands-on activities, and tours of food tourism businesses. A total of 97 participants attended the workshops.
The materials created for the workshops included a full-color participant workbook, PowerPoint presentations for all curriculum modules, and a set of worksheets for each module. All materials were distributed in paper form to participants and are also available online. Additional participant workbooks (500) will be distributed to the 13 members of the Western Extension Marketing Committee for distribution and use in their state.
Outreach and Publications
Curriculum
All curriculum materials are available at: http://diverseag.org/htm/farm-and-food-tourism
- Full-color participant workbook
- PowerPoint presentations for all curriculum modules
- Participant worksheets
Professional Presentations
- Curtis, K.R. and S. Slocum, “Farm and Food Tourism: Exploring Opportunities in the West.” Selected paper presented at the 2015 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 2015.
- Slocum, S. and K.R. Curtis, “Food Tourism: A Vehicle for Agricultural Diversification in the Intermountain West.” Selected paper of the 2014 National Value-Added Conference, Baltimore, MD, May 2014.
- Curtis, K.R., M. Bradshaw, and S. Slocum, “The Role of Food and Culinary Tourism Demand in the Western US.” Selected paper presented at the 2015 National Value-Added Agriculture Conference, Austin, TX, May 2015.
- Curtis, K.R., S. Slocum, and D. Deepayan, “Expanding Direct Marketing Opportunities through Farm Shops in Western Tourism Destinations.” Selected paper of the 2014 National Value-Added Conference, Baltimore, MD, May 2014
Post-workshop evaluation results
Short-Term Impacts
Detailed tables of the post-workshop retrospective evaluation results have been uploaded below. Summary results include:
- Attendees: Ag producer/food producer – 69%, Extension/Agency – 31%
- Rated workshop helpful/very helpful – 91%
- Will use workshop materials in job/operation – 87%
- Would recommend workshop to others – 99%
- The value of attending exceeded $500 – 51%
- The level of understanding/skills increased (from 25 to 75% on average)
- Mid-term actions look promising (greater than 3.4 or better out of 5)
Medium and Long-Term Impacts
Detailed tables of the one-year follow-up evaluation results have been provided below. Summary results include:
- Respondents: Ag producer/food producer – 46%, Extension/Agency – 54%
- Incorporated workshop materials in job/operation – 82%
- Would recommend workshop to others –100%
- The value of attending exceeded $500 – 50%
- Participants completed or planned to complete six activities within one year – 44-56% depending on activity
- Participant level of understanding rated from moderate to high for 13 items – 63-90% depending on item
- 12% of producer participants increased operational profits, 38% increased customer numbers, and 25% increased the number of employees
Project Outcomes
- Online needs assessment and focus groups completed Fall 2013/Spring 2014.
- Draft curriculum presented at the June 2014 workshop.
- Finalized curriculum (PowerPoints and worksheets) presented in the February 2015 workshops.
- Full-color curriculum book completed and printed December 2015, distributed to all workshop participants February 2016.
- All curriculum posted to USU website at: http://diverseag.org/htm/farm-and-food-tourism.
- Brochures and press releases were created and distributed through Extension networks and media in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho for all five workshops.
- Programming was completed in Nevada (2), Utah (2), and Idaho (1) with 97 Extension employees, producers, agriculture servicers, and tribal/agency personnel participating. Workshops were held in Las Vegas in June 2014 and Salt Lake City, Pocatello, Reno, and St. George in February, 2015. All five workshops have been completed.
- A retrospective program evaluation was designed and administered to all workshop participants at the end of the workshop.
- A one-year follow-up evaluation was designed and administered to participants via SurveyMonkey from June to December 2015.
- Principal Investigator/Project Director: Western Center for Risk Management Education Grant, 2014-2015. $32,000. Expanding Direct Marketing Opportunities in the Intermountain West through Farm Shops.
- Principal Investigator/Project Director: Utah Extension Program Grant, 2013-2014. $10,000. Expanding economic development and diversification opportunities for Utah’s farmers and ranchers through food tourism.
Potential Contributions
Participants were asked to describe changes to their job/operation and financial and social benefits resulting one year after the workshop. Responses to these questions are provided below. A. Please describe the primary factors that contributed to the achievements made by yourself or others as a result of participating in this workshop.- I gained greater understanding of the subject.
- I learned much, met interesting people from different regions of the state. I plan on staying in contact with them and hopefully learning more, expanding from their ideas also. It was a great outlet for learning from your peers who were happy to give information.
- Helped us to know a little bit more about commercial kitchen requirements.
- I learned about businesses that promote ecotourism that I was not aware of prior to the workshop.
- During the event, I learned what needed to be done, what I could expand on with any amount of land, small or large. It put me in a spectrum of where I needed to begin again with better ideas.
- We did add a part time employee to do the cooking.
- Was able to tell people about Staheli farm and encouraged them to visit.
- A greater knowledge of subject.
- This will help tremendously, whether I am selling locally or out of state. I think it will boost my dependability on the land for healthier products and educating my customers and others on my reliability.
- We provided an alternate lunch venue for locals.
- Was able to plan trips with other to visit the Staheli farm.