University of Minnesota is Assisting Agritourism

Agritourism is a realm that I’ve talked quite a bit about in the past, but not as much over the past year. Still, it remains quite an option to draw new visitors to both nearby farms and your community. The University of Minnesota knows this as well and has created pages on its website dedicated to promoting the development of agritourism in the Gopher State.

Full of Information

The University of Minnesota’s webpage on agritourism is chock-full of useful information for those who are pondering starting their own agritourism business. On top of general guidance, it has links to fact sheets with some interesting statistics. Did you know that as of the 2017 Agricultural Census, 3,862 Farms in the state were offering Direct Sales or Agritourism?

• 3,389 Farms with only Direct Sales
• 329 Farms with only Agritourism
• 144 Farms with both Direct Sales and Agritourism

That same year, it was concluded that nearly 18 percent of those farms made more than $50,000 in direct sales or agritourism.

The website also provides agritourism planning sources. A set of useful links and information to help plan for and promote agritourism. This includes additional information on business planning, licensing and regulatory aspects, health and safety requirements, and marketing.

A Focus on Wineries

One area of focus for the University appears to be wineries. A sub-page under their agritourism site concentrates on marketing for wineries. With the recent growth of wineries in the Midwest, the University of Minnesota seems keen on ensuring that the wineries in the state are seen, helping to ensure their growth as the market expands.

In addition to some basic information, the page provides contact information for Explore Minnesota regional offices that have staff who can help market wineries in each region.

More on Agritourism is Available at Your Fingertips

The focus on agritourism by the University of Minnesota isn’t something that’s just happening in Minnesota. Universities in other states have provided resources or contacts to find more information about agritourism. For instance, Iowa State University offers Agritourism Entrepreneurship Business Education Tours. You just need to search for the same resources through the universities in your state.

For additional reading, here are a few of my past posts on Agritourism

• What is Agritourism
• Agritourism – Additional References
• RAGBRAI ’22: Agritourism Shines on Day One
• Exploring the Agritourism Knowledgebase

You can also still get a copy of the “Zoning for Agritourism” handout when you sign up for the Rural Resurrection newsletter.