Agrotourism Profits Farms

Valley farms join state's booming agritourism trade

Thousands of people come to the Valley every year to tour the national parks and Yosemite -- and Dinuba farmer Mike Naylor hopes a few will stop at his place.

Naylor can't offer the majesty of ancient granite cliffs, but his setting has its own homespun charm: Visitors can stay at his 95-acre tree fruit farm.

"And they don't just stay at our farm -- they stay in our house," said Nori Naylor, Mike's wife. "It doesn't get more real than that."

The Naylors have joined a trend called agritourism. And its growing.

The federal government's 2007 Census of Agriculture found that 685 California farms were involved in some form of agritourism. Now, there are easily more than 1,000, according to University of California researchers who have created a database to track the trend.

The UC researchers also launched the first study of the trend in California. Last month, they announced the results: Nearly two-thirds of California agritourism operators planned to expand or diversify over the next five years. Now the researchers are watching for more growth.

"There is no question that there is a lot of potential for growth, and we are seeing it happen," said Shermain Hardesty, director of UC's Small Farm Program.

In agritourism, growers have found a way to tap into a broader consumer phenomenon. Increasingly, people want to know where their food comes from, and that has become obvious in their buying choices. For example, more people are buying organic products: U.S. sales of organic food and beverages grew from $1 billion in 1990 to $24.8 billion in 2009.

And, anecdotally, growers say they are seeing more people shopping at farmers markets and touring working farms.

Agritourism also has the potential to reach more local consumers. People like Fresno mom Minal Patel enjoy trudging around a field harvesting strawberries, cherries and grapes. She believes it's an important part of eating healthy.

"I also want my 3-year-old to understand where we get our fruit from and how it is grown," Patel said.

Farmers realize the potential this new consumer base represents. The UC's agritourism study showed that nearly 30% of the farmers offering agritourism events supplemented their regular farm income by $50,000 or more in 2008.

"We know from all the consumer trends that people are willing to pay for an authentic experience and for specialty foods," said Ellie Rilla, community development adviser for UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County. "And agritourism provides that.

First statewide agritourism survey: Visitors generate critical ...

"Agritourism is a vital strategy for diversifying and boosting profit for a small but significant number of California farms," wrote lead author Ellie Rilla, community development advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Marin County. The research article, and the entire April-June 2011 issue, can be viewed and downloaded at http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org . The April-June 2011 issue of California Agriculture also includes a news update on UC efforts to help develop agritourism on California farms. More than 300 people ­ including agritourism operators, farmers considering agritourism and public officials ­ attended a recent series of workshops hosted by UC Cooperative Extension in Merced, Ukiah, Rio Vista and Red Bluff. Viewing agritourism as key to economic development, several rural counties are reworking their zoning, streamlining permitting rules and assigning staff to assist farmers in establishing new tourist operations.

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