Conferences
Expanding WV Agritourism Development through Holistic Risk-Management Programming
Doolarie Singh-Knights, Lisa Jones, Brandy Brabham, and Emily Morrow
Summary
Agritourism in the United States is gaining traction as a sustainable model for enhancing farm viability and sustainability as consumer demand for farm-to-table connections grow and traditional production economics push producers to explore farm-diversification. West Virginia (WV) is uniquely positioned to capitalize on agritourism opportunities, leading the nation in family-farm ownership (97.6%) and a traditional tourism industry rooted in agrarian heritage and nature-based recreation. The USDA NASS Census reports that WV has the highest growth in number of agritourism operations from 2017 to 2022 (38%). Yet, overall revenue from agritourism in WV is significantly lower than other states (ranked 46th) and shows declining trends from 2017-2022.
This session highlights our 2024-2025 NERME-funded project efforts to support WV’s bourgeoning agritourism sector while addressing profitability concerns. We will discuss programmatic “keys to success” to help agritourism operators and service providers/educators alike, develop the holistic business skills-set necessary to support “visitor-ready” and financially viable agritourism operations, and navigate ever-changing consumer demand, local and federal regulations, and economic landscapes in agriculture and agritourism.
Attendees will learn how we pivoted to prioritize and address stakeholder needs, moving from a limited focus on education, partnerships, and networking, to an expanded multi-prong programming approach aimed at strengthening the “agritourism ecosystem” for long-term sustainability and financial viability of the agritourism sector. Our session addresses agritourism development through technical training, experiential learning, regional clusters, statewide agritourism promotion, and agritourism association initiatives, and will assist attendees to develop a tailored, holistic risk-management program specific to their unique stakeholders’ needs.
Details
| Conference | 2026 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference |
| Presentation Type | 30-Minute Concurrent |