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California AgTour Connections
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UC Agritourism News & Notes
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December 2015
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Greetings!
Happy Solstice!
The best part of my job is getting to know communities of farmers and ranchers all over our beautiful state. This year I have been lucky to work with people from Quincy and the Sierra Valley, Shasta County and Modesto in planning our three-session Agritourism Intensive classes. There is still time to sign up for the Shasta County class, starting January 6 in Redding. See you there.
The California Small Farm Conference will be in Sacramento in March, 2016. We hope you will join us for a field course on Sunday March 6 that explores direct marketing in Sacramento and the Delta or for a short course on starting a successful specialty food business.
Have a wonderful holiday, and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
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Are you considering agritourism or nature tourism on your farm or ranch?
Would you like to build your agritourism or nature tourism business or grow partnerships with others in your region?
There's still time to sign up for the "Agritourism Intensive" class in Redding!
The three-session class starts on Wednesday January 6, 2016. Classes in Quincy and Modesto have already started, with two sessions remaining in each location.
The UC Small Farm Program and UC Cooperative Extension are working with the Shasta County Dept. of Agriculture, Redding Convention & Visitors Bureau, Growing Local Shasta, and other local partners to offer three-session hands-on, interactive agritourism planning classes for farmers and ranchers in the Shasta County region.
- Local experienced agritourism operators will share their challenges and successes and will be part of a supportive network of advisors as class participants plan and start new businesses.
- Participants will learn from experts in business planning, regulatory compliance, risk management, hospitality and cost-effective marketing, including social media.
- Individual exercises, small group activities and follow-up homework assignments will help participants assess their own farms or ranches for agritourism potential and start their own business, risk management and marketing plans.
- Each participant will receive a free copy of the extensive manual, Agritourism and Nature Tourism in California, which will be used as a text for the class.
Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity County farmers and ranchers are invited to sign up for the 3-session course; Others are also welcome.
Shasta County class registration: http://ucanr.edu/agtourshasta2015
Dates: Wednesdays, January 6, February 10 and March 16, 2016
Times: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. each session (lunch provided)
Location: The Lema Ranch, 800 Shasta View Drive, Redding, CA 96003
Cost: $50 for 3-session course ($25 for additional participants from same
family/business)
Some pics from the first class sessions in Quincy and Modesto:
 
Information about all classes:
Penny Leff, UC Small Farm Program, 530-752-7779
This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2012-49200-20030.
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California Small Farm Conference will be in Sacramento
March 5 - 8, 2016 - Registration is now open
The upcoming California Small Farm Conference (CSFC) in Sacramento, CA is scheduled for March 5 - 8, 2016. Offering field courses, educational and interactive workshops, a trade show, tasting reception and multiple networking opportunities, the CSFC is the state's premier gathering for small-scale farmers, farmers' market managers, agricultural students, educators and advocates. We hope to see you there! Early-bird registration discount ends January 22, 2016. Sacramento region food and beverage producers are invited to participate in the "Taste of Sacramento" Tasting Reception on Monday March 7 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The Tasting Reception is the pinnacle event of the California Small Farm Conference and highlights the beautiful bounty of the region. This is a valuable opportunity to show off your products, network, connect with new clients and farmers' market managers from around the state and support California's small farms. We invite you to be a part of this wonderful marketing and sales opportunity. |
Is your agritourism operation or event on www.CalAgTour.org ?
WHY NOT? IT'S ALL FREE
The UC Agritourism Directory gets 3,000 website visits a month from people searching for California farms and ranches to visit. Getting your operation listed might help them find YOU. (Don't forget to upload a picture, too.)
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. If you're already a member, please check your listing and use the update form to send us changes.
(add paleff@ucdavis.edu to your email marketing list or use the event listing form. Please let us know what you've got planned so we can help you promote yourself)
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Some funding opportunities... - The FruitGuys Community Fund's small farm grant program - The 2016 grant cycle is now open for The FruitGuys Community Fund's grant making to small farms program. The fund provides small grants to small farms and agricultural nonprofits for "sustainability projects that have large positive impacts on the environment, local food systems, and farm diversity". Preference will be given to applicants within 250 miles of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, or Phoenix. More information along with the application can be found here. The application deadline is February 15, 2016.
- Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund - The Farmer Veteran Fellowship Fund,
 created by the Farmer Veteran Coalition, provides direct assistance to veterans in their beginning years of farming or ranching. The Fund does not give money directly to the veteran, but rather to a third party vendor for any items that make a critical difference in the launch of a young farm business.
There is no guarantee of funding, but the organization works hard to find ways to help as many of those who apply as possible. The 2016 application period is open December 1st, 2015 through February 1st, 2016. All applications must be received prior to February 1st, 2016. The application is available here.
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Some useful resources...
- Marketing Regional Farms and Wineries: A Guide for California Agricultural Marketing Groups - published online in November 2015 by the UC Small Farm Program. This guide is based on interviews with and presentations by 24 leaders of farm and wine trails, agritourism associations and regional agricultural marketing groups, intended to help other similar groups.
- Farm Based Education Network
A free international 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 (and everyone) 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, Agritourism Coordinator
UC ANR Small Farm Program
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