Completed Project Report


Venturing Beyond the Pumpkin Patch – Expanding Diversification Options for Agritourism Operators in the Northeast

  • Award Amount: $41,170
  • Regional Center: Northeast Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2022 Standard Education Projects ($50,000 maximum)
  • Project Director: Claudia Schmidt
  • Email: czs786@psu.edu
  • Organization: The Pennsylvania State University

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Project Overview

Financial and time constraints limit small-sized agritourism operators' access to consultants and international producer organizations, which offer unique diversification options. This project aimed to address these limitations by providing training on marketing, production and legal risks associated with agritourism diversification for small farms looking to explore different agritourism activities. The project team successfully hosted five webinars, with a total attendance of 592 participants. The webinar evaluation revealed that 90% of attendees found these to be extremely and very useful and 72% of attendees planned to further investigate the introduced diversification options as an opportunity for their farm or agritourism business. By the end of the project period, these webinars had garnered an additional 469 views. The reach of our diversification webinars extended far beyond the Northeast, attracting attendees from over 40 U.S. states, as well as Canada and other countries. In-depth agritourism consultations using GIS were held with four producers. Additionally, the project produced nine educational articles, which collectively received 1,216 unique page views. In-person education sessions were also conducted, attended by 103 agricultural producers and agritourism operators. Overall, this project bridged an important gap for small agritourism operators, providing them with valuable knowledge and resources to diversify their offerings and succeed in the industry.

Number of Participants: 699

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

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EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

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REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

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DELIVERY AREA

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