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California AgTour Connections
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UC ANR Agritourism News & Notes
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August 2012
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Greetings!
Thanks for opening this. We know it's hot and you're busy. We're excited to learn about so many of your summer festivals, passport weekends, tours, camps, and other events. Did you know you can list these free on the online UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Agritourism Directory, www.calagtour.org? We're working with our partners at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to soon include a link to the directory on their website, so please don't miss the chance to tell potential visitors what you're doing. We're spending a lot of time at county and district fairs this summer, learning about great projects and talking with fair leaders, farmers and agritourism operators about how they might collaborate. Please join us at a fair near you. This issue contains news from the fairs project, our upcoming "Agritourism Intensive" courses, Sonoma speed-dating, as well as some conferences, educational opportunities and funding opportunities. Please stay in touch and keep sharing your stories.
Sincerely,
Penny Leff, Agritourism Coordinator
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Small Farm Program
530-752-7779 |
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Fairground Farms and Farmyard Festivals;
Showcasing California Specialty Crops
Good talk in Shasta and Amador - Five more fair workshops coming up
 The UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Small Farm Program and our partners at the CDFA Division of Fairs and Exhibitions are in the middle of a series of workshops at county & district fairs throughout the state. These workshops, held during fair time, are for farmers, agricultural and tourism professionals and community leaders to learn about exciting innovations linking farmers with county and district fairs and to discuss ideas for collaboration with fair organizers. We hope you'll join us in this adventure. Here's some of what's happened so far: - At the Shasta District Fair, Dave Dillabo of the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fair talked about housing 400 farm workers at the fair
- Debra Lucero of Butte County Economic Development proposed an educational "Pizza Farm" and year-round use of kitchens on the fairgrounds
- Kari Dodd of the Tehama County Farm Bureau explained the "Market Place" at the Tehama County Fair, a rent-free booth selling local farm products
- At the Amador County Fair, Joanne Neft described how the Mountain Mandarin Festival at the Gold Country Fairgrounds has helped Placer County mandarin growers prosper and promote themselves
- Also at the Amador County Fair workshop, USDA Rural Development State Director Glenda Humiston organized a meeting with Calaveras County Fair directors about developing an animal harvesting facility at the fairgrounds
Check out these agendas to see what's coming up next:  We're still working out the program for the final two workshops to be held at the Santa Cruz County Fair on September 13, and at the Big Fresno Fair on October 4. Please contact us with any suggestions for these events.
Each workshop will include a four-hour meeting with brainstorming and discussion sessions, lunch, and an afternoon tour of the fair. The registration fee is $20 and pays for everything including parking & fair admission.
Please join us at the fair near you. For more about all the workshops:
Registration and information or call Penny, 530-752-7779.
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More agritourism planning classes this fall and winter
 Dates aren't yet set, but please consider attending our upcoming interactive agritourism planning classes for farmers and ranchers in Sacramento, Sonoma and San Diego Counties starting in late Fall 2012. We're looking forward to working with many of you to make the classes especially relevant for each region. These three-session "Agritoruism Intensive" courses will feature local experienced agritourism operators as advisors, and will use in-class exercises, small group discussions, networking, presentations by local experts, homework activities and a comprehensive agritourism manual. They will help you get started assessing your own farm or ranch for agritourism potential, planning or expanding your own agritourism business, updating your risk management plan and developing a marketing strategy to connect with your target customers. Here are some of the resources and presentations from the last series of classes. For more information, please contact Penny Leff, 530-752-7779, or watch for news in upcoming newsletters and on our website. This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2010-49200-06203.
 
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CalAgTour.org directory and free event listing
Soon to be a link on the CDFA website - update your listing today!
You are missing out on some free publicity if your agritourism operation and events are not listed in UC ANR's  Agritourism Directory, CalAgTour.org. If you are a working farmer or rancher operating an agritourism business or organizing agritourism events, we invite you to complete the directory application or the event listing application online so we can include your business and events in the directory. Listings and event postings are free. The site is visited by thousands of people every month.
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Sonoma County speed-dating event a success
"Telling and selling your story"
UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Sonoma County hosted their second agritourism meeting on Thursday June 14, bringing together a mixture of 75 farmers, ranchers and tourism leaders, including chambers of commerce, tourism boards and adventure companies.
Brochures and business cards, along with various items of "swag", were exchanged as the tour industry and agricultural producers navigated through the room telling their "story" and speed da  ting with each other. The event was also a chance for everyone to meet the UCCE Agricultural Ombudsman, Karen Giovannini, who is available to help farmers and ranchers through the permitting process, and the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, helping market agritourism activities to the public. "Thanks for giving us speech time to promote ourselves to all partners attending", said one participant. Read more about this event. |
Coming Up Soon...
Conferences and educational opportunities
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 North America Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) Advanced Learning Retreat at Tanners Orchard in Speer, Illinois - August 17 to 20, 2012 - Late registration may still be possible for this "behind the scenes, in depth, taking it to the next level" event. Contact Charlie Touchette, 413-244-5374 TODAY if you are interested in attending. More info and registration.
Save the dates! NAFDMA comes to the Pacific Northwest for the first time in 20 years for their 2013 Convention - February 1-6, 2013 in Portland, Oregon. The convention includes a three-day bus tour and a three-day conference and trade show. Read more
- The National Christmas Tree Association Convention & Trade Show will be in Sacramento this year - August 8-11, 2012 at the Sacramento Convention Center. Information and registration
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 UC Davis Extension Online Agritourism Development class starts September 10, 2012, taught by UC ANR Small Farm Program agritourism coordinator Penny Leff. This ten-week on-line course offers plenty of individual consultation to students as they learn to plan, establish, operate and market an agritourism operation or to help farmers and ranchers in their own communities develop and market new enterprises. Flexibility to fit your busy schedule.
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A Few Funding Opportunities 
- Western SARE Professional & Producer Competitive Grants - up to $50,000 - proposal due December 5, 2012 -read more
- Western SARE Farmer/Rancher research and education Competitive Grants - up to $25,000 - proposals due December 5, 2012 - read more
- Western SARE Professional Development Program Competitive Grants - up to $75,000 - proposal due October 31, 2012 -read more
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