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California AgTour Connections
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UC Agritourism News & Notes
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July 2015
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Thanks! You answered our question about newsletter format in the last newsletter. Most of you prefer the longer format, rather than the mobile one, so we're keeping it for now. We invite you to submit a workshop proposal for the California Small Farm Conference which will be held in March 2016 in Sacramento. We also invite you to Specialty Food business workshops in Modesto and Eureka, coming up VERY soon. Also, please send in a picture of your operation to include with your listing on www.calagtour.org. Read more news below about North Bay and San Diego agritourism, the upcoming NAFDMA Advanced Learning Retreat, and some great guidelines for safe hayrides. Have a great summer, and please stay in touch! Sincerely,
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California Small Farm Conference - Call for Workshop Proposals
CSFC will be held March 5 - 8, 2016 in Sacramento
Experienced small-scale farmers and other agricultural innovators needed!
Everyone involved in California small-scale agriculture or direct marketing is invited to submit a proposal for a workshop at the 29th California Small Farm Conference (CSFC) in Sacramento on March 5 - 8, 2016. The CSFC mission is to provide relevant educational and networking opportunities and resources to address issues facing farmers, ranchers and farmers' market managers. The conference aims to provide workshops that are relevant for both beginning and experienced farmers and farmers' market managers.
For 2016, successful workshop proposals should be concise (250 words or less in response to each question) and focused on a timely topic. Successful proposals will be of great educational value to conference attendees. Typically, the Conference attendance is comprised of small-scale farmers, ranchers, farmers' market managers, government officials, students and non-profit representatives.
If your workshop is selected for the Conference, one-day registration and one meal will be provided the day of the speaking engagement to each speaker on the panel and to the workshop coordinator (if not a speaker). There is no compensation for travel expenses incurred.
Since its inception in 1982, more than 7,500 farmers have benefited from the California Small Farm Conference. The Conference is the state's premier gathering for small-scale farmers, farmers' market managers, agriculture students and small farm industry professionals, and attracts approximately 500 attendees each year.
Thank you in advance for your contribution!
Submit your proposal online at http://www.californiafarmconference.com/call-for-proposals/ before August 14, 2015.
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Starting a SUCCESSFUL Specialty Food Business
One-day intensive workshops offered in Modesto and Eureka THIS MONTH
Are you ready to bring your food product to the market?
 In these one-day intensive workshops, you'll learn the fundamentals of the specialty food marketplace and how to start creating your own success story. You'll spend the day with specialty food business experts. Two specialty food producers will tell their stories. You will leave with a book, "Sell Your Specialty Food", a clearer understanding of the industry, and real-world answers to your questions. You'll learn: - Dynamic forces affecting demand for specialty foods
- Terminology of the specialty food business
- Roles of brokers, distributors and retailers
And you'll learn how to: - produce and market your product legally and safely
- build your brand
- get your product on the shelf
- price your product
Pre-registration and payment required - space is limited Workshop fee: $20.00 Fee includes lunch and snacks. Vegetarian/vegan options available.
Modesto Workshop If you have a specialty food product, you can bring it to the workshop for everyone to taste. Please bring the necessary serving utensils or sample cups.
For more information, contact:
Penny Leff, 530-752-7779, [email protected]This project is funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Specialty Crop Block Grant Program
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Agritourism North Bay - Taking it to the Next Level At the Statewide Agritourism Summit on April 8th in Woodland, groups began planning regional collaboration among agritourism communities in neighboring counties. The North Bay committee, initiated at the Summit, met for the first time on July 7 in Santa Rosa at the office of State Senator Mike McGuire, drawing a diverse and enthusiastic group. Members of the group, representing Sonoma, Marin and Lake Counties, decided that liability issues, permitting and regulations (including Coastal Zone prohibitions and event limits) were a good place to start working together. Senator Mike McGuire's staff will be researching the potential for introducing legislation for limiting liability for California agritourism operations, similar to legislation passed in many other states. The group agreed to share county zoning ordinances and permitting information relating to agritourism among the counties in the North Bay region, to expand the conversation to include others involved, and to put together a menu of potential activities for agritourism operators. The North Bay agritourism group plans to meet again in September or October. For more information, contact Karen Giovannini, (707) 565-2328 How are the rest of the regional collaborations going? Please share!
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San Diego Agriculture Promotion Program moves forward
 The San Diego County Planning & Development Department has completed a preliminary draft ordinance that is aimed at reducing the permitting burden for microbreweries, farm stays, farm stands, agricultural packing and processing, on-site food preparation and other agritourism activities. Download the preliminary draft ordinance and summary of the proposed changes. These and other documents are available here on the county website, although this link may change soon. This is the beginning of a long process of environmental and public review before the proposed ordinances are finalized and approved by the Board of Supervisors. The planning department is expecting to bring final ordinances to the county Board of Supervisors for final approval in early 2017. For more information, and to be added to the "stakeholders list" to be notified of public hearings and draft documents, please contact Land Use/Environmental Planner Heather Steven Lingelser at [email protected] or 858-495-5802 (Some other recent county ordinances relating to agritourism can be found here on the Small Farm Program website. We know changes are in process in many other counties, and we'd love to hear about them. Please send updates to your County Plans, zoning ordinances, and other documents related to the planning and regulatory process, and we would be happy to post them on this site for others' reference.)
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Do it now: add a picture to your listing on www.CalAgTour.org
If you are already listed on the UC Agritourism Directory site, click here, enter your business name, scroll down to the bottom of the form, and upload your picture file to be placed at the top of your page in the directory.
 Thousands of people searched the UC Agritourism Directory & calendar last month for California farms and ranches to visit. Visits to the site are increasing; we're seeing an average of about 20 percent more visitors each week than last year.
Check out our link and the expanding agritourism promotion on the Visit California website! If you are a working California farmer or rancher operating an agritourism business or organizing agritourism events, we invite you to complete the directory application or the event listing form online to be included in the directory. It's all free.
Please check your listing and update it as needed. Send us your event news. (add [email protected] to your email marketing list or use the event listing form.)
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NAFDMA Advanced Learning Retreat August 8 - 11, 2015
Hosted by Alstede Farms, Chester, New Jersey
 The North American Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) is a membership based trade association dedicated to providing peer-to-peer learning opportunities, connections and resources, for farmers who are passionate about the business of agritourism and farm direct marketing. The annual Advanced Learning Retreat is a four-day behind-the-scenes learning opportunity.
Learn more about the NAFDMA Advanced Learning Retreat, coming up very soon.
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Essentials of Hayride Safety
You have probably heard about some recent tragic hayride accidents.
Here is a useful article about hayride safety, written by Randy White of White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, published in the Summer 2015 issue of the North America Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) magazine, "Farmer Inspired" |
| | Hayride fire extinguisher - Riverdance Farm |
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| | Hayride, Riverdance Farm, Livingston |
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Some useful resources...
- Farm Based Education Network
A free member network established to strengthen and support the work of educators, farmers and community leaders providing access and experiences of all kinds on productive working farms - Integrating Safety into Agritourism
This website contains a variety of walkthroughs, based on the type of  operation, to help owners identify health and safety hazards and provides resources that can be used to help fix these hazards. It's a great tool that can be used to help keep children safe when they visit farms and ranches. - North America Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) - a membership based trade association dedicated to providing endless peer-to-peer learning opportunities, connections and resources, for farmers who are passionate about the business of agritourism and farm direct marketing.
- UC Small Farm Program Agritourism - research reports, factsheets, handouts and presentations from workshops, articles and current projects
- World Wide Workers on Organic Farms (WWOOF US) - linking visitors with organic farmers for educational exchange
- Farm Stay U.S. - A website operated by the U.S. Farm Stay Association (and Scottie Jones of Leaping Lamb Farm in Alsea, Oregon), for promoting farm and ranch stays in the United States. The site includes resource sections for farm stay operators and for farm stay visitors.
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Thanks for reading to the bottom of the page. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think may find it useful (Use the "forward this email" link just below),or share using the links at the top.
Penny Leff
UC ANR Small Farm Program
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