Development of Extension Programming to Support the Advancement of Agritourism in the Northeast

Development of Extension Programming to Support the Advancement of Agritourism in the Northeast

Summary

This project convenes a multistate team to develop and deliver train-the-trainer educational resources to agricultural educators and service providers in order to assist Northeast farmers in (1) mitigating financial risk through accurate enterprise budgeting, (2) minimizing risk and liability associated with farm visitations, and (3) improving marketing strategies. Guided by a Project Advisory Committee and a farmer needs assessment survey, the project team will develop several educational resources including an online, interactive financial calculator; a self-assessment tool for farmers to evaluate their marketing and risk management strategies; a series of educational video segments on Avoiding On-Farm Hazards; and, fact sheets on best practices in agritourism liability management and marketing, and enterprise budgeting. A multi-tiered delivery system comprising workshops, webinars and electronic resources will be employed to maximize the extent and impact of training delivery across the project area (New Jersey, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware).

Objectives/Performance Targets

The goal of this project is to provide training and educational resources to Extension personnel and other agricultural educators in the Northeast needed to assist clientele with the development and marketing of safe, risk-managed agritourism operations. However, to evaluate the efficacy of this training, the ultimate anticipated impact on farm viability in the region needs to be benchmarked. Our performance target is: thirty (30) agricultural educators will utilize training from this project to develop and deliver outreach programs to Northeast farmers, leading 200 farmers to develop or revise marketing strategies to increase agritourism revenues or adopt new risk and liability management strategies to improve farm safety.

Accomplishments/Milestones

• 1. Needs assessment of Northeast farmers completed (summary report is under development).
  2. Compilation and review of existing Extension and other educational resources pertaining to agritourism completed.
  3. Fact sheets on agritourism marketing, hayride safety and use of social media in marketing completed.
  4. Draft enterprise budget template completed (in peer-review process).
  5. On-farm hazards video scripts and footage developed. Final video segments on (1) general farm safety (for agritourism farms) and (2) hayride safety completed. Draft video segments on (1) agritourism safety from a farmer’s perspective and (2) risk management and liability are nearing completion.
  6. Three (3) regional agritourism conferences in NJ conducted by Rutgers Cooperative Extension faculty during early 2012. Conferences provided feedback from and interaction with farmers, county and municipal officials, and agricultural leaders/support professionals on prospects for agritourism growth and development, as well as programming needs.

  Anticipated curriculum completion: early Spring 2013.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

The training curriculum has not yet been implemented. Therefore, the project evaluation plan and subsequent measurement of impacts also remains unimplemented.

Collaborators: