Farmers use many marketing strategies to radiate their income and stay in business . New inquiry suggest that two of these strategies — agritourism and direct farm sales — complement one another when they occur within the same community . The findings could assist farmers and the local organizations that patronage them plan strategically for farm resilience and ontogenesis .
“ Agritourism and unmediated cut-rate sale are important and growing supplemental sources of revenue for farmers , allowing some to delay in business when they otherwise would not be able-bodied to , ” order Claudia Schmidt , assistant prof of marketing and local / regional solid food systems in Penn State ’s College of Agricultural Sciences , who head the research . “ Our written report found that more agritourism operations are link with more verbatim sale in the same county , and vice versa . That is , when these activities take place near one another , they are complementary , not competitive . ”
Using several data sources , including the U.S. Census of Agriculture , the researcher conducted an analysis at the U.S. county tier to determine whether these activity take away from or reinforce one another , both within county and across county lines . Specifically , they essay farm income generated from agritourism and lineal cut-rate sale , the extent to which they are correlate , and how these activity are geographically clustered . They also analyzed several other variables known to mold farm income , including farm characteristic , farm - proprietor or manipulator characteristic , the eccentric of land practice , and the socioeconomic conditions in the farm ’s home county .
Agritourism , according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture , is defined as “ agri - tourism and recreational services such as farm or wine maker tours , hay drive , hunting , sportfishing , etc . ” lineal gross sales are those made directly from farmer to consumer , for example , at a farm outdoor stage , farmers markets , “ pick - your - own ” operations , and through subscription - based arrangements . Consumer interest in both activeness has been on the rise , specially since the attack of the COVID-19 pandemic , concord to Schmidt .
The study , which was publish this week in Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , helps to qualify the types of farms that engage in these activities . For example , the research worker found hotspot — clusters of farms engaging in agritourism and direct sales within the same county and neighboring counties — in the Northeast , coastal areas in the West , and county around the Great Lakes . The analysis also show that female - operated farm are statistically more likely to engage in agritourism than in lineal cut-rate sale elbow grease .
“ The USDA Census of Agriculture is the good reservoir of information we currently have for comparisons over time . However , because agritourism is narrowly defined by the Census of Ag , it lead to underestimates and does not allow us to distinguish between the many different types of agritourism experiences offered , ” suppose Lisa Chase , the University of Vermont Extension Professor and Director of the Vermont Tourism Research Center . “ Similarly , the unmediated sales question only includes food products , exclude crops like Christmas trees and trend blossom , and it does not take into account us to differentiate between on - farm and off - farm sales . These limitations inhibit our understanding of agritourism and direct sales agreement and our power to support farmers and their communities throughout the country . ”
Source : organicalberta.org
