Agritourism: Community & Economic Impacts
Agricultural Economics & Community Development
Kenzie Johnston
Extension Educator, ANR/CD
Delaware
Abstract
Agritourism farms are growing in number across the United States (Noyes, 2015), accounting for nearly $1 billion in sales according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
To better understand this industry in Ohio, a statewide industry survey was created and then sent out for agritourism farm owners and operators to complete in Summer 2021. This presentation represents findings of an initial effort to better understand industry issues, allowing Extension to focus on potential programmatic opportunities.
As a result of the pandemic, operations adapted in 2020 included the use of online ticketing, reducing the number of events and visitor capacity, and increasing attention to health and sanitation. Interestingly, gross revenue exceeded previous levels in 2020 for most operations, and direct sales were the leading sales category of the five categories surveyed. As far as jobs, full-time year-round employment was reported as minimal. Most operations reported 10 or fewer seasonal employees. Concerning ways in which Extension could best support the agritourism industry, assistance with marketing via social media and websites was identified most frequently. Assistance via strategic planning and using trend research to inform decision-making was also noted by many.
This presentation will dive deeper into survey development, economic impact, and next steps for the researchers to help the agritourism industry across the state of Ohio.
Authors: Eric Barrett, Kenzie Johnston, Rob Leeds
-
Eric Barrett Extension Educator, ANR, Ohio State University, Ohio, 44406
-
Kenzie Johnston Extension Educator, ANR/CD, Ohio State University, Ohio, 43015
-
Rob Leeds Extension Educator, ANR, Ohio State University, Ohio, 43015