Survey shows 2.4 million agricultural tourists visited farms and ranches in 2008

By CECILIA PARSONS
Capital Press

California ranchers and farmers are finding a lucrative niche in the tourist business.

Farm income from tourist-related activity has jumped substantially since a USDA survey in 2002 when 499 California farms reported $6,587,000 in sales. Another USDA survey in 2007 showed 685 farms grossed $34,880,000 from agri-tourism.

A more recent survey by the University of California Small Farm Program found that California farmers and ranchers hosted more than 2.4 million agricultural tourists in 2008. About 22 percent of those operators grossed more than $100,000. Another 22 percent reported generating less than $10,000. Small farms, those generating less than $250,000 per year, made up more than two-thirds of agri-tourism operations. More than 85 percent of visitors were from California and about half were local residents.

Penny Leff, statewide agri-tourism coordinator for the UC program, said in a phone interview Tuesday, July 28, that about half of the income generated is from direct sales of products such as fresh fruit and vegetables. More than half are also hosting school field trips.

"The income is valuable, but most importantly they are educating the public about agriculture," Leff said.

The survey also showed that a majority of operators reported a profit and are planning to diversify or expand their tourist offerings over the next five years.

Activities offered on farms or ranches run from the traditional shopping at farm stands or allowing customers to pick their own produce to hosting full-blown events such as weddings and corporate meetings. Tours of vineyards and orchards, horseback riding on the open range and corn mazes are also popular.

There is also a wide range of visitor numbers. About half in the survey reported fewer than 500 visits per year, but 12 percent hosted more than 20,000 each. The total visits reported by the 257 survey participants added up to 2.4 million people.

Visitors are attracted to the agri-tourism operations in various ways. Some farms have signs out front and others have websites for marketing. The most effective method of promotion noted was word of mouth. The survey also found that few have comprehensive business plans.

As for challenges to hosting tourists on farms or ranches, Leff said liability insurance and county regulations posed the most problems.

"They find that when they go to the county there is no one single permit process, they have to go to several departments," Leff said. The survey showed that only 29 percent of those participating have acquired a use permit. Nearly all operators in the survey hold liability insurance and 90 percent of those are covered for $1 million or more.

Leff said the survey was conducted to get a better understanding of agri-tourism operators and their goals for their businesses.

Cecilia Parsons is a staff writer based in Ducor. E-mail: cparsons@capitalpress.com.

Link

To see the entire survey results, visit: www.sfp.ucdavis.edu/agritourism