Progress report for WPDP22-021
Project Information
The goal of this professional development program is to establish and train a cohort of leaders, the Montana Agritourism Fellows (“Fellows”), who will educate farmers, ranchers, and communities about sustainable agriculture and agritourism. Program content and experiences will emphasize sustainable agriculture operations and detail integration strategies with agritourism. Potential participants will be agricultural operators and professionals uniquely poised to educate about sustainable agritourism, including extension and tourism professionals, economic development specialists, agricultural educators, and government officials. Nominations will be solicited from the Montana Agritourism Steering Committee and follow-up letters will be sent to targeted participants. Strategies for selection of the fellows will be based on their community leadership, occupation—with preference for agriculture, tourism, and educators— dedication to sustainable agriculture, and interest in agritourism. An application process, with final review by the steering committee, will be used to select the cohort.
Using a hands-on, participatory learning approach, fellows will gain sustainable agritourism knowledge and skills transferable to Montana communities through exposure to complex industry issues and experts. The program will be offered as a two-year cycle of four seminars across the state consisting of workshops, tours, and networking of sustainable agricultural organizations and agritourism operations. A majority of program costs associated with travel and lodging will be paid with grant funding. Outcomes will include the creation of a community education digital repository, an educational outreach plan, a sustainable agritourism conference, and initial formation of a statewide agritourism association. These resources will allow fellows to effectively educate others on diversification opportunities for Montana businesses on sustainable practices and the economic, environmental, and social impacts of agritourism. The professional networks created between fellows, experts, and organizations will ensure the continuation of outcomes beyond the scope of the project and transfer of knowledge to communities that desire to advocate for sustainable agritourism.
By the end of this program, participants will:
- Increase knowledge of critical agritourism industry areas in program content by 25% as measured by W SARE outreach survey;
- Increase awareness of at least 10 integration strategies for merging sustainable agriculture practices into an agritourism enterprise as measured by post-pre-survey;
- Increase knowledge of at least 10 communication practices to better educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agritourism opportunities as measured by the post-pre survey;
- Increase their sustainable agritourism network consisting of at least 100 people as measured by a post pre survey;
- Increase outreach teaching to at least 50 agricultural professionals considering agritourism as measured by a post-pre survey;
- Increase communication skills by 25% through conference planning as measured by a post-pre survey.
- Increase leadership skills by 25% through formation of an association team as measured by a post-pre survey.
Using a hands-on, participatory learning approach, this program aims to establish and train a cohort of leaders, the Montana Agritourism Fellows, who will educate farmers, ranchers and communities about sustainable agriculture and tourism and the integration of the two. Fellows will also receive instruction and practice in a “civic rhetoric” communication model (Simmons & Grabill, 2007), which emphasizes listening to the public when creating policy and practices. This means engaging with local knowledges to make information about sustainable agritourism practices accessible, relevant, and participatory while also taking into account technological and informational literacies.
Potential participants will be agricultural professionals uniquely poised to educate about sustainable agritourism, including extension and tourism professionals, economic development specialists, agricultural educators, and government officials. Nominations will be solicited from the Montana Agritourism Steering Committee and selection will consider community engagement, leadership influence, occupation, dedication to sustainable agriculture, and interest in agritourism. An application process, with final review by the steering committee, will be used to select the fellows cohort.
The program will be offered as a two-year cycle of four seminars across the state consisting of workshops, tours, and networking of sustainable agricultural organizations and agritourism operations. Culminating experiences include the creation of a community education digital repository, an educational outreach plan, a state agritourism conference, and initial formation of a state agritourism association. Program assumptions are: (1) Participants want to become more confident in teaching others about sustainable agriculture and (2) Participants desire new resources for sustainable agritourism business development.
Principal investigators will plan program logistics and use established relationships to develop seminars. At each seminar, fellows will gather curriculum and complete a reflection journal. In between seminars, fellows will have individual assignments including networking interviews, curriculum development, case studies, and needs assessments. A final retreat will allow participants to complete the digital repository, create a local outreach plan, plan the statewide conference, and initial formation of an association.
Fall 2022
Application and Selection Period
Spring 2023
Seminar One: Western Montana
Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture, Tourism Management, Natural Resource Utilization, and Agritourism Production Practices
Fall 2023
Seminar Two: Eastern Montana
Marketing, Communication, and Public Engagement Strategies
Spring 2024:
Seminar Three: Central Montana
Business Management, Safety and Risk Considerations, and Legal and Regulatory Issues
Fall 2024:
Seminar Four: Bozeman, Montana
Agritourism Retreat and Conference Planning
Spring 2025: Bozeman, Montana
Montana Agritourism Conference, Educational Outreach Presentations, and Association Planning
Fall 2025
Program Evaluation and Analysis
Cooperators
- (Educator)
Education
Using a hands-on, participatory learning approach, fellows will gain sustainable agritourism knowledge and skills transferable to Montana communities through exposure to complex industry issues and experts. The program will be offered as a two-year cycle of four seminars across the state consisting of workshops, tours, and networking of sustainable agricultural organizations and agritourism operations. A majority of program costs associated with travel and lodging will be paid with grant funding. Outcomes will include the creation of a community education digital repository, an educational outreach plan, a sustainable agritourism conference, and initial formation of a statewide agritourism association. These resources will allow fellows to effectively educate others on diversification opportunities for Montana businesses on sustainable practices and the economic, environmental, and social impacts of agritourism. The professional networks created between fellows, experts, and organizations will ensure the continuation of outcomes beyond the scope of the project and transfer of knowledge to communities that desire to advocate for sustainable agritourism.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
To recruit program participants that can be key leaders in advocating for agritourism.
Agritourism Fellows Program Flyer Final
Dr. Arnold promoted the program to the industry with a flyer that was distributed on various tourism, agriculture, and extension email listservs. Dr. Arnold then conducted interviews with Northern Ag Network and Montana State University who then created press releases for the program: Montana State accepting applications for program focused on agritourism and sustainable agriculture and What Does Agritourism Mean for Producers in Montana? - Northern Ag Network. Finally, Dr. Arnold and Kim Woodring presented a program overview to help recruit participants at the Montana Cut Flower Conference in October 2022.
As a result of advertisement initiatives, 28 participants applied for the program. The Montana Agritourism Steering Committee was consulted and sent a Qualtrics survey to help finalize the selected participants. They were asked to choose their top 15 selections and consider how we might create diversity in the desired qualifications: Operation/industry (farm/ranch/organization); Geographical (statewide distribution); Tourism district; Community/professional connections; Current experience (are they in agritourism or just planning stages); Other leveraged resources (such as outreach, communications, writer, photographer, etc....).
After this process, a total of 15 were selected to participate in the program. All 15 accepted their offer to participate in the program. However, one had to drop out due to family ranch issues. The final number of participants is now 14.
Finalists for Montana Agritourism Fellows Program
|
Name |
Location |
Region |
Occupation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carissa McNamara
|
Plains |
Western |
Lavender farm; Ambassador for Northwest Farmers Union |
|
Laura Garber |
Hamilton |
Western |
Diversified vegetable farm; Cultivating Connections Director |
|
Jon and Erin Turner |
Missoula |
Western |
Turner farms hosts pumpkin patches, farm tours and events, store, CSA |
|
Susan Joy |
Helena |
Central |
Department of Commerce in Office of Tourism; Program Manager for Made in Montana |
|
Andy Fjeseth |
Helena |
Central |
Department of Ag bureau chief; interested in agritourism development |
|
Tana and Tienna Canen |
Glendive |
Eastern |
Multi-generational ranch; Ranching for Profit sustainability program |
|
Tamara Robertson |
Forsyth |
Eastern |
Diversified rancher; farm tour host; sustainable management practices |
|
Liz and Toby Werk |
Hays |
Northern |
Community vitality agent; B&B, cultural agritourism |
|
Haylie Shipp |
Glasgow |
Northern |
Rancher wants to add glamping; owns local store; communications outreach; tourism advisory council |
|
Todd and Molly Barkley
|
Baker |
Eastern |
Farmer and rancher; year- round greenhouse; owners of Barkley’s Home Grown, LLC |
To introduce participants, provide an overview of program expectations, discuss upcoming seminars, and finalize details for events. This aligns with the project objective: To increase their sustainable agritourism network consisting of at least 100 people.
January Zoom Call Agenda
- Introduction of program participants
- Overview of Western SARE and PDP grant
- Overview of the Fellows program and logistics
o Seminar 1 agenda, Setting personal goals, and Question and answer session
April Zoom Call Agenda
- Discuss the conference logistics, breakouts, schedule, and agenda
To brand the Montana Agritourism Fellows Program
A logo was created by the grant team to brand the Montana Agritourism Fellows Program materials. A journal is being made with the logo for all participants to record notes from seminars and for guests as an appreciation gift.
This logo will serve to identify materials created by the Fellows and brand the program for recognition.
To engage an undergraduate student and future producer in the communications outreach about the program through independent study credit.
The student volunteered as a communications assistant to the Montana Agritourism Fellows Program team. She assisted in creating newsletters, managing the video and audio recordings, and in conducting interviews. She worked with the team to create seminar newsletters about the program for marketing of agritourism in Montana and generating future funding for the Fellows program.
Evaluation Components:
- Attend the team Agritourism meetings once a month
- Attend the Fellows Program seminars on Feb 16-17 and May 4-5
- Assist in creation of a promo/documentary video for the program
- Assist in planning the May seminar
- Assist in conducting interviews at each seminar
- Edit the audio and video
- Upload media to the MT Agritourism website
- Create newsletters
Seminar Four NewsletterSeminar Three Newsletter Seminar Two - Email Newsletter Seminar One - Email Newsletter (1)
This connection with a future producer will help communicate about the impacts of the program and allow her to gain skills and knowledge about the program that can be transferred to her networks.
To prepare participants for upcoming seminar, provide an overview of seminar expectations, report on operation assessments, and create communications materials.
This outcome aligns with the project objective: To increase knowledge of at least 10 communication practices to better educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agritourism opportunities.
Fellows Check-ins
- Review agenda and rooming list for Seminars
- Questions on “Your Agritourism Story” fact sheet?
- Beth’s tips and advice on story writing: Send your story/fact sheet to Beth by April 21st : beth.shirley@montana.edu
- Upload stories to our Fellows Shared Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IkfLgEdo_2AHFmfYcdDY6_Aa6fH1VnXkK8BV9keRKtw/edit?usp=sharing.
- Platforms for submitting and sharing information- Kim
- Please add your social media and a short bio to the Fellows Google Drive Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bhQZlOavQcJgJ8bsNkxypQGBgbHCPvyhX3Qei07IQ_w/edit#gid=0
- Fellows Shared photo drive: https://photos.app.goo.gl/S1AMQggvMo2rtUYA8
Participants learned to create factsheets entitled, "Your Agritourism Story", to share with others in an oral, written, or digital format. They also assisted in creating social media highlight posts and taking photos for storytelling purposes.
This outcome aligns with the project objective: To increase knowledge of at least 10 communication practices to better educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agritourism opportunities.
Factsheet Instructions and Template:
We will be putting together fact sheets written by each fellow (or pair of fellows) a few times throughout our time together. This first round, please briefly either share your story of agritourism, what worked for you, what didn’t, how you built your business up, and what future plans you are developing.
If you would rather, you could also do some research and write about a topic you are passionate about or working on developing for your own business that might be helpful information for producers in Montana thinking of branching into agritourism. Topics may include liability concerns, opening your property to weddings, making the most of social media, etc.
Please use this template to provide the content:
Cover image [high-resolution, banner size]:
Brief title:
Byline [author’s name/s]:
Main body [600-800 words]:
Quick facts [150ish word summary, main takeaways, 4-7 bullet points]:
Additional resources or links to more info about you, your web site, social media, etc. [a few bullet points]:
Your Agritourism Story Barkleys_ed Haylie_ed Laura_ed Susan_ed Tamara_ed Tana_ed Tienna_ed Turners_ed
Through participation in the seminars, participants will achieve the following project objectives:
Increase knowledge of critical agritourism industry areas in program content by 25% as measured by W SARE outreach
survey;
Increase awareness of at least 10 integration strategies for merging sustainable agriculture practices into an
agritourism enterprise as measured by post-pre-survey;
Agritourism Fellows Program Evaluation Final 1.31.25Tables Seminar Three Participants Post-then-Pre KnowledgeTables Seminar Four Participants Post-then-Pre KnowledgeSeminar One Evaluation Copy of SARE Seminar Two Evaluation
Post-pre surveys were given to participants at the end of each seminar to assess knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations in sustainable agritourism practices as a result of participation in the seminar. Survey results are attached.
These evaluations align with all the project objectives to measure changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, and aspirations of the Fellows as a result of participation in each seminar.
These seminars align with ALL project objectives to effectively educate the Fellows on diversification opportunities for Montana businesses on sustainable practices and the economic, environmental, and social impacts of agritourism.
See seminar schedules for details.
Agritourism Fellows Meeting Agenda Seminar One Feb. 2023Agritourism Fellows Meeting Agenda Seminar Two in May 2023 FINALAgritourism Fellows Meeting Agenda Seminar Three in MissoulaAgritourism Fellows Meeting Agenda Seminar Four in Billings
Each seminar aimed to focus on building knowledge and skills in sustainable agritourism practices and connecting with experts.
Conferences and workshops align with the project objective to increase outreach teaching to at least 50 agricultural professionals considering agritourism as measured by a post-pre survey.
The conferences and workshops that were conducted as a result of this project outcomes.
- Association of Agricultural Education
- Governor's Conference on Tourism
- Western SARE CAPS conference
- MSU Extension Conference
- Bozeman Chamber of Commerce Workshop
- National Extension Tourism Conference
- Montana Agritourism Conference
- Montana Farmers Union Lunch & Learn Podcast
CAPS Arnold Presentation Final
Governor's Conference Agritourism Presentation Results
Agritourism Collaborative Discussion Handouts
Bozeman Chamber of Commerce Presentation 2024
These presentations align with the following project objectives:
• Increase their sustainable agritourism network consisting of at least 100 people
• Increase outreach teaching to at least 50 agricultural professionals considering agritourism
To create a community digital education repository of agritourism resources for the Fellows to use for educational purposes.
Create a repository of resources that can be used in conference planning for the Montana Agritourism Conference and future events. Google Drive of factsheets was created to allow Fellows to share information about agritourism based on their research.
Educational Fact Sheets Barkleys_ed Carissa_ed Haylie_ed Is Sustainable Agritourism for you Laura_ed Susan_ed Tamara_ed Tana_ed Tienna_ed Turners_ed
These resources will provide materials for fellows to educate themselves on event planning and association development to build leadership skills. The following resources are included in this folder: planning committee structure, sponsors and funding partners, donations, schedules, speakers, entertainment, farm to table dinners, field tours, promotion and advertising, tradeshows, posters, staff obligations.
This aligns with the project objectives:
- Increase communication skills by 25% through conference planning
- Increase leadership skills by 25% through formation of an association team
To build leadership skills by setting personal and professional goals
Fellows were asked to create goals for the program using the following prompts.
Read the following prompt, think about it for a minute, and write your response. You are welcome to share your response here or keep it to yourself, but either way, bring your response to the prompt to the Seminar.
Let’s all set some goals. What is at least one goal you have with this Fellows program for:
Yourself? What do you personally aim to get out of this program?
Your community? What do you want to take back to your community?
This group? What should the group be focused on for each other?
Finally, what do you need to do for each of these goals to achieve them? What can you bring to the table, and what can you do to ensure others are able to bring their best to the table, as well?
Ripple Effect Mapping Program Evaluation
The Ripple Effects Mapping was conducted at the end of the four seminars regarding what the fellows learned as a result of the participation in the program. This was conducted by MSU Extension who created a mapping evaluation of responses and themes.
This topic aligns with the project objective to increase knowledge of at least 10 communication practices to better educate farmers and ranchers about sustainable agritourism opportunities.
Interviews were conducted with the Fellows as a formative assessment of the program and to learn about the use of civic rhetoric for agritourism.
Attached is the summary of the takeaways from the interviews.
The first two sections are most important in terms of thinking about what else this group needs and then what they’d like to see at the conference, and the final is some impressions and thoughts.
Fellows also discussed instruction and practice in a “civic rhetoric” communication model useful when listening to the public when creating policy and practices. This assists in engaging with local knowledges to make information about sustainable agritourism practices accessible, relevant, and participatory while also taking into account technological and informational literacies.
This provided a formative assessment of the Fellows program to identify future needs and guide the remainder of the program.
Summary takeaways from Montana Agritourism Summer 2023 Interviews
Fellows have been working to promote the upcoming agritourism conference and association development. Dr. Arnold has been creating the conference materials and advertising.
Fellows worked to create the conference structure, identify speakers, solicit sponsors, and chose a topic to teach about for the conference: MT Agritourism Conference Breakout Sessions - Google Sheets
A conference website (Agritourism Conference — Montana Agritourism), registration process, advertisement, and sponsorship materials have been created. Registration will open in mid- February for the conference. Sponsor Letter for Montana Agritourism Conference 2024 Sponsorship Opportunities for Montana Agritourism Conference
This aligns with the project objectives to:
• Increase communication skills by 25% through conference planning
• Increase leadership skills by 25% through formation of an association team
This aligns with the following project objectives:
Increase their sustainable agritourism network consisting of at least 100 people
Increase outreach teaching to at least 50 agricultural professionals considering agritourism
Increase communication skills by 25% through conference planning
Increase leadership skills by 25% through formation of an association team
The conference featured educational sessions, networking opportunities, promotional booths, and keynote speakers on the importance of agritourism in Montana. Fellows taught one session during the conference based on their program and professional experiences. Discussions were held regarding the initial formation of the association and potential board members.
The Fellows and I connected with organizational donors to assist in supporting and funding the conference.
This aligns with project objectives:
Increase their sustainable agritourism network consisting of at least 100 people
Increase outreach teaching to at least 50 agricultural professionals considering agritourism
Increase communication skills by 25% through conference planning
Over 100 people attended the conference with a mix of tourism, agricultural producers, service providers, and educators. A total of $5500 was raised in sponsorships from agricultural and tourism donors that provided financial support and resources to help cover the costs of organizing the conference, including speaker fees, food, venue, and reduced registration prices. Sponsors had a promotional booth and dedicated time during the conference to present their information. For conference attendees, sponsors provided networking opportunities and access to service providers.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
As a result of this project, new collaborations have been made with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, producers and agricultural service providers, tourism professionals, chambers of commerce, Food and Agriculture Development Centers, and various farms and ranches.
New initiatives and programs that have been created as a result of this program are as follows. These were presented by Fellows, myself, or by Co-PIs during the project period.
- International Agritourism Workshop- Dr. Arnold served as a panel discussant on "Montana's Agritourism Industry: Current and Future"
- National Extension Tourism Conference- Dr. Arnold presented a poster, "An Overview of the Montana Agritourism Fellows Program: Developing Leaders to Advance Sustainable Agritourism
- 2023 Governor’s Conference on Tourism- Dr. Arnold moderated the panel discussion entitled, "Agritourism Initiatives in Montana" that included two Fellows on the panel
- One Fellow produced her own "Farming Entrepreneurship Podcast"
- One Fellow hosted the Governor’s at her farm on his statewide county tour. Here is the press release: Governor Gianforte Promotes New and Expanding Businesses on 56 County Tour (mt.gov).
- The Governor also visited with the business of one of our guest speakers at seminar two to learn about her agricultural business: Governor Gianforte Promotes New and Expanding Businesses on 56 County Tour (mt.gov)
- Dr. Arnold was invited as the guest speaker for the Agritourism episode on "Montana Ag Live" on PBS- "Agritourism- It's a Thing!"- Montana Ag Live | 5909: Agri-Tourism- It's a Thing | Season 5900 | Episode 9 | PBS
- A Fellow presented about agritourism at the Western Montana Sheep and Goat Workshop
- Three fellows presented at the Montana Grazing Conference on agritourism and their operations
- The Department of Commerce and Agriculture are creating new grant opportunities that include agritourism activities
- Fellows have joined the "Global Agritourism Network" to discuss agritourism activities around the world
- One of the Fellows agritourism activities was featured in a "Wall Street Journal" article: Montana Ranchers’ New Side Hustle: Giving Tourists the ‘Yellowstone’ Experience - WSJ
- One Fellow and Dr. Arnold presented at "Montana’s Next Generation Conference" on agritourism and their operation
- Dr. Arnold and Kim Woodring presented at the MSU Extension Annual Conference on the Fellows program and agritourism
- One Fellow and Dr. Arnold presented at the Sanders County Extension workshop on Agritourism
- Fellows and PIs are planning the "Montana Agritourism Conference" scheduled for May 3, 2024 at MSU - Bozeman
- Fellows created and updated marketing materials for their operations included videos, updated logos, website updates, a podcast, and new promotional materials. Video Example:
- 2024 Governor's Conference proposal accepted on agritourism and different operations around the state
- Montana Farmer's Union featured article on Agritourism: Montana Farmers Union Magazine Winter by Montana Farmers Union - Issuu
- 2025 Governor’s Conference on Tourism- Dr. Arnold will moderate the panel discussion entitled, "Cultivating Rural Experiences: Unlocking the Synergy Between Tourism and Agritourism"
- A course proposal has been submitted to MSU to develop " An Introduction to Agritourism" undergraduate course
As a result of connections made during this program, here are some unanticipated outcomes from the project:
- One of our fellows, Turner Farms, has integrated Made in Montana products into their farm store as a result of project collaborations.
- One of our Fellows, Wandering Acres, is expanding the agritourism activities on the farm and exploring future business opportunities.
- During the project period so far, all of our Fellows have been invited to speak at conferences and workshops to educate the public about agritourism and the Fellows program.
- New bills were introduced during the Montana Legislative Session focused on agritourism. While they did not pass, this is an initial step to building support for agritourism: LAWS Detailed Bill Information Page (mt.gov)
- New national legislation initiatives have started to support agritourism : The proposed Agritourism ACT would create an office of Agritourism in USDA: PLP GE Montana (youtube.com)
- SB540 was passed during the 2023 Montana Legislative Session for the Dept of Commerce to fund Agritourism grants: Bill Text: MT SB540 | 2023 | Regular Session | Enrolled | LegiScan
- Dept of Commerce awarded $350,000 in Agritourism grants for the first time as a result of SB540: Commerce’s Agritourism Grant Program Allocates Funds to Promote Agricultural Tourism Across Montana | Montana Department of Commerce. Two Fellows received grants.
- SB540 was passed during the 2023 Montana Legislative Session for the Dept of Commerce to fund Agritourism grants: Bill Text: MT SB540 | 2023 | Regular Session | Enrolled | LegiScan
- Dept of Commerce awarded $350,000 in Agritourism grants for the first time as a result of SB540: Commerce’s Agritourism Grant Program Allocates Funds to Promote Agricultural Tourism Across Montana | Montana Department of Commerce. Two Fellows received grants.