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3. 2024 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference

The Agritourism Business Planner

Zachary Smith and Katie Wilts Johnson

Summary

Agritourism is an expanding approach to generating additional farm income. It offers small and mid-sized operations an additional source of revenue and a means to diversify their farm enterprises, potentially reducing their financial risk. However, starting or expanding an agritourism enterprise introduces new risks for a farm business including new marketing, legal, production, and human risks.

Developing a comprehensive business plan is one method to help identify the risks faced by a business and to document means to mitigate those risks. It is also a tool that can be used to review plans with advisors and family members to get their input, along with communicating the plan to potential sources of financing.

A new, self-paced, interactive business-planning template has been developed as part of the AgPlan online software to support farmers in their agritourism planning process. The core planning committee is a 7-person team of experts from University of Vermont, University of Minnesota Center for Farm Financial Management, Clemson University, University of California, and the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA).

Presenters Zac Smith (University of Vermont), Katie Wilts Johnson (University of Minnesota CFFM), and Lisa Chase (Grant PI - University of Vermont) will detail the importance of business planning for agritourism and how to use the agritourism business planner in AgPlan. They will also share the detailed results of several months of our team’s outreach throughout the United States, including its utility for American Indian agritourism.

Details

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