Agritourism Focus Groups 2016 High Impact Activity

Agritourism Focus Groups 2016 High Impact Activity

Agriculture Awareness – Initiative 1, Priority 3

Kathryn Stofer and Joy Rumble

To re-connect consumers with those who produce their food and to ensure producers remain profitable, it is important that consumers explore, experience, and value agriculture. The number of Florida agritourism operations has nearly tripled in the last five years, and the opportunity exists to further expand agritourism in the state to reach residents and visitors alike, especially about specialty crops. Therefore, this project seeks to understand consumers’ current awareness of and preferences for agritourism, in order ultimately to help specialty crop producers to improve or develop agritourism ventures.

In 2015, team leader Rumble and collaborators secured $80,000 in funding from the USDA Florida Specialty Crop Block grant program to support agritourism efforts. The first part of this grant supported the team in conducting ten focus groups throughout the state of Florida, two in each of the five Extension districts in metropolitan areas: Pensacola, Jacksonville, Orlando, West Palm Beach, and Sarasota. A consulting firm secured a cross-section of public participants, with six to 10 participants in each two-hour focus group. In total, 76 participants shared their thoughts on agritourism in May and June 2016.

Consumers were asked about their awareness of agritourism operations in their local area and Florida, their patronage of such operations, how much they would be willing to pay and how far they would drive to attend agritourism venues, preferences for amenities at the venues, with whom they attend, motivations for attending, types of operations they attend, and how and what they would like to learn at agritourism venues. Participants were also asked about their familiarity with the term “agritourism,” suggested alternate terms, and how and where they generally find advertising on such operations both at home and while on vacation. At the end of the question and answer period, participants also completed a demographic questionnaire.

The results of the focus groups are now under analysis. The first of the quantitative results were shared as part of an Agriculture Awareness in-service training at EPAF 2016, including consumer preferences for advertising, amounts consumers are willing to pay and drive, familiarity with the term agritourism, and demographic information. Twenty-six agents attended the EPAF in-service training. The focus group qualitative responses are still undergoing analysis to further understand consumer interests in types of activities at agritourism venues, motivations for attending, social expectations and additional entertainment offered, and learning opportunities and styles.

All of the results will be shared in 2017 at two workshops for Florida agritourism operators to help increase their profitability through agritourism. Reports on the focus groups will be shared with FDACS and the Florida Agritourism Association. Recommendations for including and evaluating agriculture awareness through agritourism will be designed and disseminated as EDIS documents. Another in-service training for Extension agents specifically related to supporting specialty crop agritourism will also be developed. Evaluative data and impacts will continue to be collected throughout the entirety of this project.