Agritourism in Massachusetts: Its Role as an Economic Development Strategy

On September 4, 2008 , Glenn Garber, UMASS Extension Land Use Educator & LARP Adjunct Faculty, co-presented the results of the summer-long Agritourism as Economic Development Strategy research project at the tri-state Southern New England annual two-day conference of the American Planning Association, held this year in Providence . His partner in the project was Ms. Chris Kluchman, a planning consultant from Lexington and APA board member with a strong interest in agritourism at both the local and international levels. Second year UMASS graduate planning student Shemariah Blum-Evitts was the principal field researcher and also participated in the panel.

The project was focused on 15 case studies representing a full array of agritourism operations around the state. It attempted to provide insight into such research questions as the following:

What is the spectrum of "ag-tivity" that has emerged in the state, and over what period of time? What products and value-added products do they sell? How much of their revenue is from direct sales and how much is from wholesale, and what is the proportional mix of revenue? How did the present operators come to be engaged in this business? What are the characteristics of the operators and their farm operations? What business decisions have been made to change the business and why? What market areas do they draw from and how do they promote to them? What have been the chief constraints to their growth, and what regulatory barriers have they encountered? And most fundamentally, what can local officials, board members and volunteers, as well as state officials, do to promote agritourism as an economic development strategy?

The presentation was well-received and represents the first phase of potential future research phases that delve into greater breadth and detail.

View Agritourism Presentation Here