Source: University of Maryland Eastern Shore submitted to NRP
MARYLAND AGRI-TOURISM CONFERENCE – 2023: A STEP TOWARD ESTABLISHING AN AGRI-TOURISM CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN MARYLAND
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031635
Grant No.
2024-67023-41477
Cumulative Award Amt.
$49,074.00
Proposal No.
2023-07099
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Nov 15, 2023
Project End Date
Nov 14, 2024
Grant Year
2024
Program Code
[A1661]- Innovation for Rural Entrepreneurs and Communities
Recipient Organization
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
11868 College Backborne Road
Princess Anne,MD 21853
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES), will host a Maryland Agritourism Conference in Cambridge, Maryland on December 10-12, 2023. The theme of the conference is "Growing Maryland Agritourism" The conference goal is to create an enabling environment for a meaningful engagement of stakeholders including: entrepreneurs, State and local governments, students and educators about enhancing the promotion and sustainability of Maryland Agritourism. Specific emphasis will be made to engage socially disadvantaged and underserved minority farmers including women farmers and future generation of young scholars and students. This conference will help conceptualize the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Agritourism in Maryland to be supported by UMES Extension. The conference is expected to set the stage for the development of future programs in agritourism including: the development of curricula for educational training, research, and evidence-based extension. The plenary and breakout sessions include a variety of topics of current interest which were primarily solicited from stakeholders. Broadly, the topics include but not limited to: legal aspects of agritourism; value addition and marketing; networking; educational resources for beginning and future farmers; government support and funding opportunities; building sustainable agritourism ecosystem; farm and income diversification; and challenges and lessons in agritourism business. Conference speakers will include: national agritourism experts; key constituents from counties, environmental NGOs, land conservancy and other relevant agencies; and, state and federal agencies. This conference is highly relevant to the many farms and farm families in Maryland, especially given the importance of agriculture and the nascent agritourism industry to the economy of the state. More specifically agritourism is an essential source of revenue particularly for small and medium farms and it offers visitors practical or experiential education as well as recreational opportunities. In addition, various economic, social, and cultural activities involved in agritourism offer significant opportunities to revitalize rural communities. Finally, this sector will create new opportunities to preserve farming, farmland and rural open space, create jobs, and enhance the economic viability of agriculture and rural communities.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
9036030302050%
6056299301050%
Knowledge Area
605 - Natural Resource and Environmental Economics; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
6030 - The farm as an enterprise; 6299 - Marketing, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education; 3010 - Economics;
Goals / Objectives
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Extension, willhost aMaryland Agritourism Conference in Cambridge, Maryland on December 10-12, 2023. The theme of the conference is "Growing Maryland Agritourism" The conference goal is to create an enabling environment for the engagement of the broad range of stakeholders who are active in this spaceabout enhancing the promotion and sustainability of Maryland Agritourism.Theseincludes:entrepreenurs, farmers, federal, state and local governments, students, and educators. Theevent is expected to set the stage for the development of future programs in agritourism. Thisincludes: the development of curricula for educational training (capacity building), research and innovations using the state-of-the-art approaches and evidence-based extension as the three-pronged pathways towards the establishment ofa Center of Excellence in Agritourism in Maryland.
Project Methods
The Maryland Agritourism Conference is structured as a three-day in-person meeting: Sunday - half day; Monday - full day; and Tuesday - half day. Day One is the participants' arrival day with a half-day farm tour. The farm tour begins with a visita cultural center in Cambridge to expose the Conference participants to Harriet Tubman legacy. The tour will continue to a Maryland Century Farm which functions as a production (lamb, pork, beef, and honey) and an agritourism establishment where the tour participants will sample several products. The tour will continue with a local small business that collects fresh produce from local farmers adds value to the produces and sales to the consumers. In the evening, participants gather to a welcome reception organized by the host institution to allow acquaintance and networking opportunities among the participants. Day Two has several plenary and breakout sessions, including workshops to allow meaningful interactions, knowledge and skill sharing, networking, and expanding partnerships among stakeholders. Day Three is a half-day session with several morning breakout sessions. Exhibits are the critical components from Day One to Day Three. The Exhibitors will showcase their services and products (primarily value-added), sell to the participants, and share their information among the participants.

Progress 11/15/23 to 11/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers and ranchers, Government, Nonprofit organizations, Businesses, Tourism professionals, Educators, Researchers, Extension professionals, Service providers and Students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Although the primary goal of this conference was not to provide training opportunities for the participants, the participants who attended the agritourism farm tour learned about the management and operation of an agritourism operation directly from the operators at the operation. In addition, knowledge and experiences shared in various panel sessions were instrumental in gaining and updating participants' knowledge about multiple aspects of agritourism such as legal issues, liability, marketing, funding, and resources in agritourism. Students and young professionals - the future generation of scholars - gained much knowledge about agritourism operations. The participants also learned about possible funding opportunities and other support for agritourism for their growth and development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? The purpose of this conference was to exchange ideas and knowledge and not directly to disseminate any research results. However, the results from UMES Extension's Agritourism Baseline Study and from the Operator's survey carried out by the UMES Extension in 2022 were disseminated to the participants. The conference's outcomes were disseminated through several mass media outlets including: Local Television Station: Maryland Agritourism Conference highlights economic impact, industry growth: https://www.wmdt.com/2023/12/maryland-agritourism-conference-highlights-economic-impact-industry-growth/ Local Television Station: University of Maryland Eastern Shore Hosts Inaugural Agritourism Conference to Address Challenges Faced by Small Farms: https://www.wboc.com/news/university-of-maryland-eastern-shore-hosts-inaugural- agritourism-conference-to-address-challenges-faced-by-small/article_9fba84e8-9882-11ee-96a9-4b7be2e0a35c.html Article in the January 2024 Edition of the Official Newsletter of the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences The Inaugural Maryland Agritourism Conference was highlighted in different publications including the Official Newsletter of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (nercrd.psu.edu). University of Maryland Eastern Shore Extension - Agritourism:https://wwwcp.umes.edu/extension/community/agritourism-conference What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The conference attracted 163 participants including 53 farmers/ranchers, 57 public, non-profit, business or tourism operators, 33 research and extension service providers, 17 students and 3 other participants. The conference successfully created a platform for various agritourism stakeholders from across Maryland and outside. These stakeholders included government, nonprofit, business, tourism professionals, farmers and ranchers, educators, researchers, extension professionals, and the next generation of young scholars and students. Stakeholders shared their knowledge, experiences, and views on agritourism. More importantly, the agritourism practitioners and operator farmers shared various problems and challenges facing agritourism operators in Maryland. The environment for collaboration among stakeholders inside and outside of Maryland has already started. This conference has also encouraged the discourse on the necessity of an Association of Agritourism Stakeholders in Maryland. Overall, this conference has set the stage for the development of future programs in agritourism, including the development of curricula for educational training, research, and evidence-based extension to enhance the promotion and sustainability of Agritourism in Maryland.

Publications

  • Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Bhandari, P.B., K. Ejiogu, L. B. Karki, E. N. Escobar, N. N. Arbab, and M. T. Kairo. 2024. Factors Associated with the Profitability of Agritourism Operations in Maryland, USA. Sustainability, 16, 1025.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Ejiogu, K.U., E.N. Escobar, M. Kairo. 2023. Maryland Agritourism: A Baseline Profile. UMES Extension, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD 21853. www.umes.edu/extension