Armed with a $200,000 grant from the Fund for Rural America, the University of California Small Farm Program will help farmers in two California counties boost their bottom line by harvesting tourist dollars along with agricultural commodities.

The two-year program, which targets Monterey and San Diego counties, is aimed at ensuring the viability of small-scale farms by taking advantage of consumers' growing interest in America's rural roots.

"Fresh produce, quaint lifestyles, a rural getaway and a connection with history are commodities that can be offered to people who live in urban settings, shop at supermarkets, long for a simpler life and have money to spend," said Desmond Jolly, director of the Small Farm Program.

The efforts are patterned after such successful agri-tourism sites as California's Apple Hill, east of Sacramento, where apple farmers supplement their income by selling fresh apple juice, homemade apple pie, the opportunity to pick apples and enjoy a farm experience. "The continued viability of the farms in the Apple Hill area now depends more on agri-tourism than on the wholesaling and processing of apples, which was their focus in the past," said Jolly, a UC Davis ag economist. The Gilroy Garlic Festival is another agri-tourism success story. It turned an otherwise ordinary condiment harvest in a rather desolate area into an affair that attracts thousands of visitors from throughout the state. "The Garlic Festival is just one of numerous events centered on a particular farm commodity. These events usually start with a few innovative people and a clever idea, then grow," Jolly said.

The Small Farm Program's pilot project will determine whether helping to organize and offering to assist innovative people will speed the development of events that reap tourism dollars.

In Monterey County, the project will focus on Hispanic small-scale strawberry growers.

"We want to see if there are ways of adding value to what they market now by diversifying their enterprises and creating new ways of marketing their produce through options like farmers' markets, farm trails, U-pick endeavors or by adding value to the product itself," Jolly said. "We're hoping to make connections with urban consumers in the Bay Area who might like to travel to these farms and interact with the farmers."

San Diego County offers many opportunities, Jolly said.

"There is a large urban community very close to the agricultural areas," he said. "They also have a large tourist trade, with people coming from all across the United States and the world. These elements offer a potentially productive exchange."

In both locales, UC advisors will work with local agencies to initiate steering committees that include farmers, rural community leaders, farm bureau officials and others. Training on direct marketing, advertising, production and producing value-added products will be offered.

"By the end of the two-year period, we'd like to see both places host a special event, such as a festival or farm tour," Jolly said. "The pilot will help us establish a formula for agri-tourism success that can be used in many other rural areas in need of an economic boost." In 2000, a statewide conference on agri-tourism or a farm conference that features agri-tourism as a major component will give program participants and scientists a forum for sharing what they've learned.

The project team includes Jolly, Small Farm Program postgraduate researcher Angela Moskow, California Latino Agricultural Association President Lourdes Gonzalez, Sunflower Strategies Principal Michael Dimock and three members of the UC Cooperative Extension staff in San Diego County, County Director Diane Wallace, Farm Advisor Ramiro Lobo and Program Representative Scott Parker. Additionally, a workgroup of faculty, specialists, UC and other professionals is being organized to facilitate research and outreach across the state.

For more information contact Desmond Jolly at (530)752-7774, dajolly@ucdavis.edu, or Susan McCue at (530)752-7849, semccue@ucdavis.edu

Jeannette Warnert
Public Information Representative
Ag and Natural Resources
UC Center
550 E. Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93710