The University of California Small Farm Program, UC Cooperative Extension and collaborating partners will host a Statewide Agritourism Summit for everyone involved in California agritourism on Wednesday April 8, 2015 at the Heidrick Agricultural History Center in Woodland.
“The public is excited about California agritourism. Many California agricultural producers host great opportunities for enjoyment and education for the public and are ready for visitors, but challenges persist in most regions,” said Holly George, leader of the UC Nature and Agricultural Tourism Workgroup and UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Plumas/Sierra Counties. “Groups working on agritourism are thriving in some locales and struggling in other areas. We hope this one-day Agritourism Summit will encourage and strengthen regional and cross-regional working relationships among agritourism operators, organizers, regulators, educators and general tourism promoters throughout California,” said George, one of the Summit organizers.
People who should attend include: Agritourism operators and associations, agritourism regulators, agricultural associations and educators, tourism, marketing and economic development professionals, county and state staff and elected officials, and anyone else involved in California agritourism.
This will be a participatory all-day session (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) with lunch provided. Participants are invited to bring marketing and organizational information to display and share. The goals of the summit are to:
- Build awareness and understanding of successful local and regional networks that benefit agricultural producers and communities, and connect agritourism operators, the larger tourism community and county staff and officials
- Promote sharing of successful agritourism activities and marketing efforts
- Encourage and assist agritourism producers to collaborate with others in their region
- Expand the reach of regional efforts to market agritourism to the public statewide
- Generate a voice for agritourism at a legislative level
- Initiate plans for a statewide framework for agritourism communication and collaboration
This project is funded in part by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Specialty Crop Block Grant program. Additional sponsors are Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE) for California, Sierra Nevada Conservancy, and California Rangeland Conservation Coalition.
Funding is available through these generous sponsors to assist with travel costs for a limited number of agricultural producers and agricultural educators who could not otherwise attend the Summit. For information about travel assistance, please contact Penny Leff, paleff@ucdavis.edu, 530-752-7779
Agenda and additional information
Registration fee: $20.00 pre-registration (until April 3, 2015) or $30.00 at the door.