Agricultural tourism (agritourism) is a commercial enterprise at a working farm or ranch conducted for the enjoyment and education of visitors, and that generates supplemental income for the owner or operator.
Agritourism takes many forms, including:
- farm stands or shops
- U-pick
- farm stays
- farm tours
- on-farm classes
- fairs and festivals
- pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and Christmas tree farms
- wine tasting and orchard dinners
- youth camps
- barn dances
- hunting or fishing and bird watching
- guest ranches,
- and more.
UC SAREP, working with county-based UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors, provides resources for agritourism operators and hosts California's statewide directory and calendar of agritourism operations.
Our Current Projects:
- Agritourism Intensive 2021 - Virtual (meeting via Zoom) agritourism planning classes for farmers and ranchers, offered for SLO County region and Mendocino County region Jan - April 2021
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Strengthening local food networks with agritourism & direct sales
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FREE webinar series: Agritourism and Direct Sales in COVID times and beyond
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Some recent projects and reports:
- Agritourism Intensive 2019 - Three-session agritourism planning classes for farmers and ranchers, offered in Santa Cruz and Calaveras Counties
- Growing California Agritourism Communities– Professional Development workshops and tools for agricultural and tourism professionals, government staff and officials and others who help farmers and ranchers develop and promote agritourism enterprises.
- Agritourism Conversations: Lunchtime webinars and online forum - A series of practical webinars and an online forum for conversation on topics of interest to the California agritourism community - In partnership with FarmsReach
- Mapping California Agritourism 2015 - maps showing California agritourism operations and on-vineyard wineries.
- Marketing Regional Farms and Wineries; A Guide for California Agricultural Marketing Groups