STRENGTHENING LOCAL FOOD SYSTEMS THROUGH CHILDREN: THE ROLE OF AGRITOURISM IN AGRICULTURAL LITERACY AND PURCHASING BEHAVIORS OF LOCAL FOODS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1012136
• Grant No.: 2017-67023-26224
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $499,536.00
• Proposal No.: 2016-10934
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2017
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2022
• Grant Year: 2017
• Program Code: [A1661]- Innovation for Rural Entrepreneurs and Communities

Recipient Organization
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
(N/A)
RALEIGH,NC 27695

Performing Department
Parks, Recreation & Tourism Mg

Non Technical Summary
This integrated (research, education, outreach) project will measure the educational and market impacts of agritourism among elementary school students under three scenarios: unstructured (family recreational visits), semi-structured (school-based farm visits), and structured (farm visits in support of agricultural curricula) conditions. Specifically, it will investigate the impact of farm visits on children's' agricultural literacy and how that knowledge is transferred to their parents as purchasing intention of local agricultural products. Identifying the most high-impact forms of agritourism in terms of educational and market value will help to forge stronger connections between citizens and their local food producers, which in turn will contribute to the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of local agricultural systems (AFRI'S overall goal) and strengthen rural communities' economies (AFRI's Priority 6). Through partnerships with agritourism farmers and elementary teachers across North Carolina this project will use experimental and quasi-experimental approaches to test changes in agricultural literacy (children) and locally-based purchasing behaviors (parents) via pre and post-tests surveys. Project results will help to: Determine which forms of agritourism are most suitable to increase agricultural literacy and stimulate the purchase of local agricultural products (Research); develop a measurement instrument for agricultural literacy (Research); train agritourism farmers so they can modify their programming offerings (e.g., tour content, farm signage) to increase agricultural literacy and locally-based purchasing behaviors (Extension); and enhance agricultural curricula content to strengthen students' connection to local agricultural systems (Education).

Animal Health Component

30%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

30%

Developmental

30%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
903	0599	3020	100%

Knowledge Area
903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery;

Subject Of Investigation
0599 - Recreational resources, general/other;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;

Keywords

agricultural literacy

agritourism

local agricultural systems

rural entrepreneurship

Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of this project is to strengthen the local agricultural system throughidentifying the most high-impact forms of agritourism in terms of educational and market value.Towards the long term, this project pursues 9 supporting objectives, which altogether correspond to the Research, Education, and Extension aspects of this integrated project.Research objectives seek to measure the extent to which agritourism increases agricultural literacy and promotes purchasing intention of local agricultural products among upper elementary students and their parents:1. Measure changes in agricultural literacy and intention to buy local agricultural products among families visiting farms for recreation (unstructured agritourism);2. Test the impacts of both stand-alone school farm visits (semi-structured agritourism) and those supported by the FLP curriculum (structured agritourism) in building agricultural literacy among children and locally-based purchasing behaviors among parents;3. Determine the relative impacts of agritourism between unstructured, semi-structured, and structured contexts across diverse demographics.Education objectives relate to teacher, student, and parent learning:4.Increase agricultural literacy among elementary school students and teachers, including those from diverse demographics;5. Improve interpretation efforts of agritourism farmers to foster visitors' intention to purchase local agricultural products;6. Enhance field trip offerings and the curricula content of FLP towards strengthening students' connection to local agricultural systems.Extension objectives seek to increase the capacity of teachers and agritourism farmers to integrate agricultural literacy principles in their classrooms and on their farms, respectively, thereby enhancing their effectiveness in reaching students and visitors, and indirectly stimulating local agricultural products purchase:7. Train agritourism farmers to nurture visitors' connection with local agricultural systems; 8. Train 60 upper elementary school teachers in FLP to increase self-efficacy in teaching about agricultural systems;9. Expose 1,500 elementary school students over two years to FLP curriculum, indirectly encouraging locally-based purchasing behaviors of parents through their children.

Project Methods
We will evaluate the impacts of different types of agritourism (unstructured, semi-structured, structured) following a pre-post experimental design. Specifically, we will evaluate unstructured agritourism through pre-post farm visit on-site surveys and semi-structured and structured agritourism through a pre-post treatment-control experimental design. Survey procedures will be used to collect data, which will be analyzed using a mix of descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.Participants' RecruitmentDifferent sampling procedures will be used to select participants in this project. (1) Visiting families (unstructured agritourism), composed of at least one adult and one child at elementary grade, will be randomly intercepted during their recreational visit to selected farms. Participating farms (n = 3-5) will be selected based on the maturity of their agritourism operations and the similarity of their offerings. It is expected that at least 450 families will be surveyed. (2)Elementary school teachers/students (semi-structured and structured agritourism) will be recruited among a sample of 100 schools, randomly selected within a 30-mile driving radius of the participating agritourism farms. Among them, we will randomly select 300 teachers to invite to participate in the study. We foresee that 60 teachers will agree to participate in the study, resulting in 1,500 participating students. Assuming we reach an average of one parent per student (30% response rate) we estimate a minimum of 450 parents will participate in this study.Survey Procedures (Unstructured, Semi-structured & Structured Agritourism)Survey instruments will be designed to capture: (1) the gain of agricultural literacy resulting from agritourism (children) and (2) the changes of purchasing intentions of local foods (parents). Surveys will be developed based on validated instruments available in the literature, modified to reflect current knowledge in the field, target audiences (elementary students), and NC context (e.g., local products). Post-visit surveys will also collect data on activities in which visitors (families and students) participate as to correlate aspects of agritourism that have stronger associations with gains in agricultural literacy and/or locally-based purchasing behaviors. Both surveys will query demographic information to control for socio-economic indicators. A panel of partnering experts will review the survey instruments; a round of pre and pilot testing and preliminary analysis will then be conducted to assure the reliability and validity of the instruments.Data will be collected through surveys administered through a combination of printed and online formats. (1) Recruited families (unstructured agritourism) will be surveyed at the beginning of their farm visit (pre-visit). They will be offered a $5 gift certificate as incentive to complete the post-visit survey at the end of their farm visit. (2) Students and parents (semi-structured and structured agritourism) will be surveyed with teachers' assistance. We will ask teachers to administer pre-surveys to their students and their parents before (pre-test) and after (post-test) FLP curricular activities are imparted. Students will be assigned a non-identifying code to link their pre- and post-survey scores, and parents will be assigned similar codes that will also link their responses to those of their child.?Experimental Design (Semi-structured and Structured Agritourism)Teachers will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: Structured (FLP + farm visit), Semi-structured (Farm visit only), and Control (no treatment during evaluation phase); students will be placed according to their teachers' placement. Structured group teachers will be trained in FLP and we will facilitate farm visits to be conducted in conjunction with the delivery of FLP curriculum. We will similarly facilitate farm visits for those teachers in the semi-structured group, and the control group will receive neither treatment in the evaluation phase. Pre and post surveys will be conducted among all groups to measure the impact of the two treatments on agricultural literacy among children and purchasing behavior of local agricultural products among parents. Following the surveys, teachers from the semi-structured and control groups will be offered any benefits they did not receive during the evaluation phase.Data AnalysisWe will use a combination of statistical tests to analyze data collected; Bonferroni correction will be applied as applicable to reduce Type 1 error for multiple comparisons. Specifically, we will use: (1) paired t-tests to compare agricultural literacy and locally-based purchasing behavior pre-and-post farm visits within families (unstructured) as well as students and parents in the control and treatment groups (semi-structured, structured); (2) a series of MANOVAs to contrast agricultural literacy and locally-based purchasing behavior across groups (unstructured, semi-structured, structured, control groups); and (3) a series of multiple linear regressions to identify variables that are more conductive to agricultural literacy and purchasing behavior gains, while controlling for other variables (e.g., teacher treatment status, children's age).Evaluation SystemWe have assembled a five-member Stakeholder Advisory Group to ensure constant evaluation throughout the project development. This group will serve as a panel of experts, and will evaluate the survey instruments, design and implementation, sampling procedures (schools & farms), and data interpretation. These advisors have diverse backgrounds representing all sectors our project intersects: agricultural education, agritourism, outreach and extension, pre-service training program, elementary education (K-12).Outputs will also go through different types of evaluation processes. Oral outreach programs (e.g., workshops) will be evaluated using scale-based forms that will be administered to participants at the end of the event. Written outreach materials produced at NC State are required to be evaluated for quality and usefulness by at least three external reviewers not involved in the project. In our discipline, evaluation of academic outputs occurs through blind-reviews performed by at least two individuals with relevant background and strong expertise in the topic.

Progress 09/01/17 to 08/16/22

Outputs
Target Audience:1) Farmers offering agritourism: 6 farmers participated in the project by allowing the team to survey families on their farms. 2 farmers have contributed footage to educational videos for students. 2 farmers participated in Question & Answer sessions with students. 2)Upper elementary school teachers: 42 teachers received training in the Food, Land and People Curricula. 13 teachers gained access to virtual farm field trips for their students. 55 teachers were trained in the study protocol. 13 teachers gained access to virtual farm field trips for their students. 3) Upper elementary school students: Over 100 students attended in-person farm-field trips. 309 students attended virtual farm-field trips. 150 students received Food, Land, and People lessons in their classrooms. 4) General Public: 394 families were surveyed during their farm visits (unstructured treatment). 2 Extension Factsheets for the general public have been distributed; one related to agriculture and environmental education (in English and Spanish) and one on the effect of agritourism in stimulating the purchase of local foods. Changes/Problems:During the entire duration of the project, we encountered 2 problems (reported in the annual reports), which the team overcame. During the first year, the first master's student withdrew from the project (2018). We were able to fill that position quickly and the development of the project was not affected. COVID-19 presented a major challenge in year 3 because it interrupted data collection among students assigned to Treatments 2 and 3 as North Carolina switched to virtual instruction and in-person field trips were not possible. Although this situation created a major delay in data collection (the reason why we solicited and were granted a non-cost extension), we took the opportunity to create an additional treatment (virtual) by developing educational videos. The continuation of COVID-19 related disruption in year 4 (e.g., virtual instruction; additional burden that the pandemic posited on schoolteachers) caused some teachers to withdraw from the project. Despite these changes, additional effort placed by the project team and partners (farmers, teachers) allow the project to develop and produce several outputs and valuable impacts that will inform the future of agritourism in practice (e.g., programming) and scholarly. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?1)Upper elementary teachers: 42 were trained in the Food, Land and People curricula. Grant-seeking efforts to support field trips fostered community relationships between educators and local NC Farm Bureau offices. 2)Graduate students involved in the project (1 master's and 1 doctoral): Both successfully completed their degrees. Bothgarnered experience in developing academic and technical output (e.g., journal papers, research briefs), presenting in research settings (refereed and non-refereed international, national and local conferences) in addition to the research process (e.g., survey development, data analysis), and project management. Both weretrained in the Food, Land and People (FLP) curricula. Collaboratedwith teachers on writing small grants to support field trip costs, which gave them experience in grant writing. 3) Otherstudents involved in the project: 3 undergraduate studentsgained research exposure by participating in the project. 11 students(graduate and undergraduate) hired/volunteered for on-farm data collection gained experience in surveying. 4) Farmers involved in the project gained skills in virtual educational engagement through video creation (2 farmers) and live Question-and-Answer sessions with students (2 farmers). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Special effort has been placed to disseminate the study findings through different channels: Peer-reviewed journal articles: 6 published (Reilly et al., 2022; Brune et al., 2022, 2021, 2020a, 2020b; Barbieri et al., 2019). In addition, 3 more articles are being prepared which will be submitted in due course. Refereed Proceedings: 7 Academic Conferences: 11 international (refereed), 6 national (refereed), 9 regional, 1 guest lecture (international). Extension written materials: 1 extension factsheet (impact of agritourism on the consumption of local foods) and 1 research brief in both English and Spanish (agricultural and environmental education) have been produced and widely spread to key stakeholders and community partners through the NC Extension platform. Extension oral materials: 3 (1 forthcoming) workshops and presentations to improve the efficacy of agritourism in increasing ag literacy and the sale of local foods. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? RESEARCH: 1) We measured the changes in agricultural literacy (children) and intention to buy local agricultural products (adults) among families visiting farms for recreation (unstructured agritourism). To do so, we: Developed and tested a new agricultural literacy scale for elementary school children (Brune et al., 2020) and a second instrument for attitudes toward local foods. Surveyed 341 children and 394 parents during family farm visits. 2) We tested the impacts of both stand-alone school farm visits (semi-structured agritourism) and those supported by the FLP curriculum (structured agritourism) in building agricultural literacy among children and locally-based purchasing behaviors among parents. To do so, we: Recruited 7 teachers to engage in agritourism with their students (field trips), and to collect data before and after the agritourism experience. Partnered with 2 farmers to offer virtual agritourism experiences (an additional treatment) given that COVID-related restrictions prevented the team to continue with on-farm fieldtrips, which involved watching a pre-recorded video followed by questions and answers sessions with the farmers. Surveyed 318 children and 60 parents through teachers' involvement. 3) We have determined the relative impacts of agritourism between unstructured, semi-structured, and structured contexts (plus a virtual treatment). Results have been presented in a variety of academic outlets regarding three aspects: Adults' purchasing attitudes toward local foods (Brune et al., 2020; 2021) Pro-environmental behaviors among adults (Brune et al., 2022) Educational impacts in children: Preliminary results presented in conferences, journal manuscript in preparation. EDUCATION: 4) We have increased agricultural literacy among elementary school students and teachers by: Facilitating the training of 42 teachers in the Food, Land and People Curriculum. Imparting agricultural knowledge to elementary school students directly through agriculture-related videos (182) and indirectly through their teachers' training (1000+). 5) We have improved (on-going effort) interpretation efforts of agritourism farmers to foster visitors' intention to purchase local agricultural products by: Producing a factsheet distributed through online and printed methods to use agritourism to foster the on-farm sale of farm products (Factsheet AG-894, 2021). Delivering two outreach presentations to improve the use of agritourism as a medium to stimulate local food sales. These efforts targeting farmers, agritourism-related professionals, and extension agents at the International Workshop on Agritourism (August-September, 2022) and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Conference (October, 2022). 6) Enhancing field trip offerings and the curricula content of FLP towards strengthening students' connection to local agricultural systems is still underway. Thus far we have: Produced 1 research brief (in English & Spanish) targeting teachers to increase synergies between environmental and agricultural education. Will deliver two outreach presentations to improve the use of agritourism as a medium to increase ag education in field trips to farmers, agritourism-related professionals, and extension agents (International Workshop on Agritourism, forthcoming; North Carolina Cooperative Extension Conference, forthcoming). Developed 4 educational videos related to agricultural topics (pollination; soil and water conservation; plant life cycles; agricultural careers) which can be used to support FLP and agricultural education curricula in elementary schools. EXTENSION: 7) We are programmed to train agritourism farmers to nurture visitors' connection with local agricultural systems by delivering two outreach presentations targeting agritourism-related professionals, farmers, and extension agents at the International Workshop on Agritourism (August-September, 2022) and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Conference (October, 2022). 8)We have trained 42 upper elementary school teachers in FLP to increase self-efficacy in teaching about agricultural systems. 9) We have exposed over 1000 elementary school students over two years to FLP curriculum, indirectly encouraging locally-based purchasing behaviors of parents through their children.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2022 Citation: Barbieri, C., Brune, S., Stevenson, K., & Knollenberg, W., Reilly, C., Strnad R., & Driscoll, L. (2022, August - September). Measuring the educational and marketing value of agritourism (oral). The International Workshop on Agritourism, Burlington, VT.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brune, Sara A. (2020). Expanding the Knowledge of Agritourism Benefits: Innovative Approaches to Strengthening Local Food Systems. [Doctoral dissertation, North Carolina State University].
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Reilly, C. E. (2021). Food for Thought: Youth Agricultural Literacy for a Sustainable Future. [Masters thesis, North Carolina State University].
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Warner, Park, Knollenberg, W., Lawson, D., Brune, S., & Barbieri, C. (2022). Agricultural and Environmental Education: A call for meaningful collaboration. Environmental Education Research, 28(9), 1410-1422; DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2022.2040431
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K., & Barbieri, C. (2022). Investigating predictors of public and private sphere sustainable behaviors in the context of agritourism. Sustainability, 14(2), 663. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/su14020663
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Driscoll, L., Riedel, J., Brune, S., Stevenson, K. T., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2022, July) farm field trips to grow student interest in agriculture and local foods (oral). American Society of Horticultural Science Annual Conference. Chicago, IL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Barbieri, C., Brune, S., Stevenson, K. T., Knollenberg, W., & Reilly, C. (2022, June). Does agritourism increase childrens agricultural literacy? Preliminary insights (oral). The 52nd Annual Travel and Tourism Research Association International Conference. Victoria, BC (Canada).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Barbieri, C., & Cutts, B. (2021, October). Abundance over deficit: Promoting responsive approaches in environmental education. Research roundtable presentation at the North American Association for Environmental Education Research Symposium, virtual.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: Brune, S., Barbieri, C., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., & Reilly, C. (2022, April). Nurturing local food systems through agritourism: Educational and marketing perspectives (poster). The 32nd National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium, Annapolis, MD.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Barbieri, C., & Cutts, B. (2021, October). What we bring to the table: Influences on youth agricultural literacy in North Carolina (poster). The North American Association for Environmental Education Research Symposium, virtual.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: English, A., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K., Reilly, C., & Barbieri, C. (2021, September). Measuring the impact of virtual agritourism experience on childrens agricultural literacy: Preliminary findings (poster). The Southeast Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association Annual Conference & Tourism Research Symposium (SETTRA), Spartanburg, SC.

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers in agritourism: 2 farmers have provided footage to develop educational videos to students. 2 farmers participated in Question-& Answer sessions with students. Upper elementary school teachers: 21 additional teachers received training in the Food, Land and People Curricula. 13 teachers gain access to virtual farm field trips for their students. Upper elementary school students: 250 students (Treatments 2 & 3) attended virtual farm-field trips. 150 received Food, Land, and People lessons in their classrooms. Changes/Problems:Restrictions related to COVID-19 (e.g., virtual instruction; cancellation of school field trips) made impossible to restart data collection associated with in-person field trips (Treatments 2 and 3). However, modifications introduced last year (e.g., use of virtual farm visits) have allowed the team to complete data collection, which will enable assessing the impact of virtual farm visits on children's agricultural literacy. Additional burden that the pandemic posited on schoolteachers caused some teachers to withdraw from the project due to several stated reasons (e.g., having too much on their plate; planning issues given the constant change of instructional formats). However, the team special effort to enhance recruitment allowed recruiting additional participants and keeping data collection running. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? 21 additional upper elementary teachers were virtually trained in the Food, Land and People curricula. Both graduate students assisting in the project (1 master's and 1 doctoral) successfully completed their degrees. 2 undergraduate students gain research exposure by participating in the project. Farmers gained skills in virtual educational engagement through video creation (2 farmers) and live Question-and-Answer sessions with students (2 farmers). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Additional findings related to the unstructured treatment (Treatment 1) were presented at academic conferences. Preliminary findings concerning Treatments 2 & 3 have been disseminated through academic conferences and scientific journals. An extension factsheet on the impact of agritourism on the consumption of local foods (from Treatment 1) was produced and widely spread to key stakeholders through the NC Extension platform. 1 research brief in both English and Spanish (from Treatments 2 and 3) related to agricultural and environmental education was produced and shared with community partners. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Wrap-up the logistics related to data collection at schools from Treatments 2 and 3 (paying teachers and farmers). Continue academic dissemination of results related to intergenerational learning. Start analysis to identify differences across Treatments. Continue developing outreach dissemination to the target audience (e.g., agritourism farmers, teachers, agricultural and environmental educators).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Recruitment of participants continued during this reporting year: 16 additional teachers for Treatments 2 (semi structured agritourism) and 3 (structured agritourism) and for the control group. 300 additional students for Treatments 2 & 3 and control group. 500 additional parents for Treatments 2 & 3 and control group. Data collection of Treatments 2 and 3 was completed (Treatment 1 was completed last year). The number of completed (usable) surveys during this reporting are: 135 additional usable children's responses (Treatment 2 = 0; Treatment 3 = 103; Control = 32). 38 additional usable parents' responses (Treatment 2 = 0; Treatment 3 = 29; Control = 9). Data analysis: Intergenerational and social influences on pre-existing youth agricultural literacy were analyzed and findings were prepared for academic and outreach dissemination. A pro-environmental behavior lens was used to analyze the influence of changes in behavioral antecedents on local foods related behaviors. The influence of agritourism experiences on willingness to advocate for local foods was analyzed as a component of family farms' resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic and prepared for academic and outreach dissemination. Outreach and Education: 21 additional teachers have received training in the Food, Land and People Curriculum training. 1 additional video on agricultural careers was developed to complement virtual fieldtrips. 4 educational videos for participating students were disseminated and used in classrooms of 23 North Carolina teachers. Videos were created by farmers (with production support from the research team) and covered topics of pollination, soil and water conservation, life cycles, and agricultural careers. 13 teachers participated in virtual farm field trips with NC farmers. 1 factsheet and 1 research brief (in English and Spanish) were produced to disseminate research results to the general public and stakeholders (mainly teachers).

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2021 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Warner, Park, Knollenberg, W., Lawson, D., Brune, S., & Barbieri, C. (In Revision). Agricultural and Environmental Education: A call for meaningful collaboration. Environmental Education Research (reviews received June 24, 2021).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Stevenson, K. T., Lawson, D., Hartley, J., Reilly, C., & Gibson, L. (2021, June). Potentials and pitfalls of child-to-adult intergenerational learning around the environment. Invited panel presentation at Generations United Global Conference, virtual.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Reilly, C., & Barbieri, C. (2021, June). The potential for agritourism to increase food citizenship (oral). Critical Tourism Studies  North America, University du Quebec, Montreal (CA), hybrid.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Reilly, C., Barbieri, C., & Vila, O. (2021, June). Strategies for increasing resilience in tourism operations: Lessons from agritourism (oral). The 51st Annual Travel and Tourism Research Association International Conference, virtual.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2020, October). Creating a new normal: Intergenerational pathways to address environmental issues. Invited panel presentation at the North American Association for Environmental Education Research Symposium, Tucson, AZ.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Reilly, C., Barbieri, C., & Vila, O. (2021). Strategies for increasing resilience in tourism operations: Lessons from agritourism. Proceedings at Uncharted Territory: Reimagining Tourism for a New Era: 51st Annual Travel and Tourism Research Association International Conference, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2020, October). Growing together: Opportunities for collaboration between agricultural and environmental education. Research roundtable presentation at the North American Association for Environmental Education Research Symposium, Tucson, AZ.

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:3 types of audiences were reached during this reporting year. 1) Farmers in agritourism: 6 farmers participated by allowing the team to survey families on their farms (Treatment 1). 2 farmers have provided footage to develop educational videos to students. 1 farmer participated in Question-& Answer sessions with students; an additional farmer has confirmed a similar participation in the upcoming school year. 2) Upper elementary school teachers: 55 teachers have been trained in the study protocol. 21 teachers have received training in the Food, Land and People Curricula (2019). 9 teachers have registered for training in the Food, Land and People Curricula (August, 2020). 3) Upper elementary school students: 100 students (Treatments 2 & 3) attended in-person farm-field trips. 59 engaged in virtual farm field trips. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 presented a major challenge that interrupted data collection among students assigned to Treatments 2 and 3 and the control group. Due to the pandemic, North Carolina schools closed in March 2020 and switched to virtual instruction when the team was surveying children (pre-intervention -- before visiting farms). After this point, in-person field trips was not possible, and collecting post-surveys was not feasible for most teachers. Our proposal allows for 2 years for Treatment 2 and 3 data collection, so we intend to complete data collection next year. However, because of the continued uncertainty of the impacts of COVID-19 on school scheduling, we might need to request a non-cost extension to complete data collection. At the same time, the pandemic presented a unique opportunity for novel research design and data collection. Securing funds from a variety of sources, the team partnered with farmers to develop educational videos. Those videos will be used to replace physical farm visits and create if school closures remain an to develop an additional experimental treatment (virtual farm experience). Similarly, we have developed a virtual teacher training that provides teachers with guidance around delivering the Food, Land, and People curriculum virtually. These changes, combined with minor modifications in data collection protocols (e.g., online consent forms, increase emphasis on online surveys), allow the project not only to continue but to collect preliminary evidence to assess the impact of virtual farm visits on children's agricultural literacy. Finally, although we had a great last year in terms of productivity, some of our work accepted for presentation at major international (n = 3) and national (n = 2) conferences were either cancelled or postponed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Increased the number of upper elementary teachers (n = 24) trained in the Food, Land and People curricula. Project graduate students continued enhancing their skills in data collection and statistical analysis, project management, and delivery of findings among research audiences following visual and oral formats. Teachers and graduate student researchers collaborated on writing small grants to support field trip costs. Such collaboration gave graduate students experience in grant writing and fostered community relationships between educators and local NC Farm Bureau offices. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Final findings related to the unstructured treatment (Treatment 1) at academic conferences and scientific journals. Preliminary findings concerning Treatments 2 & 3 have been disseminated through academic conferences. Two educational videos on agriculture-related topics were released to participating teachers. To date, 5 teachers used these videos in their classrooms, and videos will also be integrated into virtual teacher trainings in fall 2020. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Conclude teacher training. Restart data collection at schools of Treatments 2 and 3 accordingly to schools re-opening. Utilize videos as needed for schools who cannot participate in physical field trips and to facilitate virtual instruction and trainings. Continue academic dissemination of results. Start developing outreach dissemination to the target audience (e.g., agritourism farmers).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Instrument Development: A new agricultural literacy scale for elementary school children was developed, tested, and validated. Recruitment of participants, as this reporting year: 394 families for Treatment 1 (unstructured agritourism). 55 teachers for Treatments 2 (semi structured agritourism) and 3 (structured agritourism) and the control group. 181 students for Treatments 2 & 3 and control group. 31 parents for Treatments 2 & 3 and control group. Data collection continued throughout the 3 regions of North Carolina. The number of matched (pre and post experience) completed (usable) surveys as of today: 328 usable parents' responses and 341 usable children's responses (experimental treatment 1). This treatment is completed. 167 usable children's responses (Treatment 2 = 79; Treatment 3 = 78; Control = 10). Data collection is ongoing; started in August 2019, but it was interrupted due to COVID 19 in March 2020. 31 usable parents' responses (Treatment 2 = 17; Treatment 3 = 4; Control = 10). Data collection is ongoing; started in August 2019, but it was interrupted due to COVID 19 in March 2020. Data analysis: Reliability tests for the agricultural literacy scale for children were completed. Measurement of the impact of family recreational visits (Treatment 1) on parents' consumer behavior toward local food and pro-environmental behaviors were completed. Preliminary analyses on Experimental Treatments 2 & 3 were initiated for academic dissemination. Outreach and Education: 21 teachers have received training in the Food, Land and People Curricula (2019). 9 additional teachers have registered for a virtual training in the Food, Land and People Curricula training in August 2020, and an additional virtual training planned for later in 2020. 3 educational videos for participating students have been developed related to agricultural topics (pollination; soil and water conservation; life cycles). An additional video on agricultural careers is currently under development. These videos were created to adjust to farm visit disruptions due to COVID-19. 13 teachers took their students to partake in educational farm tours either in person (n = 7), virtually (n = 5), or combined (n = 1). Two teachers facilitated direct virtual engagement between their students and local NC farmers using Google Docs and Zoom.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brune, S., Stevenson, K. T., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (Accepted). Development and validation of a children's agricultural literacy instrument for local food. Journal of Agricultural Education.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Barbieri, C., & Schroeder-Moreno, M. (Online advanced). The influence of agritourism experiences on consumer behavior towards local food. Journal of Travel Research, DOI: 10.1177/0047287520938.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., & Barbieri, C. (Online advanced). U-pick farms: Harvesting more than pumpkins? Journal of Parks and Recreation Administration, DOI: 10.18666/JPRA-2020-10038.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K., Reilly, C., & Barbieri, C. (2020). Beyond attitudes change: Agritourism as a setting to explore tourism experiences impact on intended behaviors. Proceedings of 20/20 Vision - Looking Forward, Looking Back: 51st Annual International Conference of Travel and Tourism Research Association, Victoria (CA).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., & Barbieri, C. (2019). Picking pumpkins, changing behaviors: How agritourism can influence consumer behavior towards local foods (abstract). Proceedings of Advancing Tourism Research Globally: 50th Annual International Conference of Travel and Tourism Research Association, Melbourne (AU). Available at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/ttra/2019/grad_colloquium/6/
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Barbieri, C., Stevenson, K. T., Knollenberg, W. & Brune, S. (2019). Sowing the seeds of a local foods revolution: Agritourism as an agent of change. In Caton, K., & Munar, A. (Eds.), Book of abstracts of Pride and Prejudice  Que(e)rying Tourism Hope: Critical Tourism Studies 8, Ibiza, Spain. Available at: https://www.criticaltourismstudies.info/proceedings
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2020, June). Intergenerational learning: Examining how children can help us work together towards environmental solutions. [Session cancelled]. Invited panel presentation at the International Symposium for Society and Resource Management, Cairns, Australia. (Conference cancelled, COVID-19)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Knollenberg, W., Brune, S., & Barbieri, C. (2020, April). Growing our future: Agricultural literacy among North Carolina youth and their families. Oral presentation at the 32nd National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium, Annapolis, MD. (Conference cancelled; COVID-19).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Reilly, C., & Barbieri, C. (2020, April). Growing new markets: The contribution of agritourism to local food consumption. Oral presentation at the 32nd National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium, Annapolis, MD. (Conference cancelled; COVID-19).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2020, September, forthcoming). Resetting the table: The role of family in youth agricultural literacy. The Environmental Educators of North Carolina - EENC, Hendersonville, NC (poster; virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2020, July). Bringing home more than the produce: Outcomes from farm-based learning experiences among North Carolina youth. The International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Cairns, Australia (poster; virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Reilly, C., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Warner, W., Park, T., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2020, May). Agricultural literacy: The influence of family and identity. American Association for Agricultural Education Annual Conference, Oklahoma City, OK (poster; virtual).
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Barbieri, C., Brune, S., Stevenson, K. T., & Knollenberg, W., & Reilly, C. (2019). Agritourism as a catalyst to increase knowledge and consumption of local foods: Truth or Myth? Faculty Seminar, Department of Applied Economy, Universidad de las Islas Baleares  Palma (Spain). November 8.

Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:1) Farmers in agritourism: 6 farms involved in agritourism were selected to survey familieson their farms during Fall and Spring weekends (unstructured treatment). 2) Teachers from upper elementary school have been identified to participate in the study (semi structured and structure treatments). 3) A total of 394 families have been surveyed during their farm visits (unstructured treatment). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?- Upper elementary teachers will be trained on theFood, Land and People. -The graduate student working on the team has continued increasing her skills to present inresearch settings as well as developing statistical skills to analyze the data. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?- The team members have been actively disseminating preliminary findings of unstructured treatment at academic outlets. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?- Conclude teachers training - Start data collection at schools (semi - structured and structured treatments). - Continue disseminating results as suitable.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Data collection of the first experimental treatment (unstructured family visits to farms) was completed. A total of 394 parents and 341 children were surveyed during October 2018 (u-pick pumpkin) and May 2019 (u-pick strawberries) seasons. Data collection spanned the East (parents= 157; children = 116), Piedmont (parents= 136; children = 135),, and West (parents= 101; children = 90)regions of North Carolina. 2) Teachers are lined up to start their training of the Food, Land and People curricula. 3) Survey instruments and protocols are ready and IRB approved to start data collection for the semi-structured and structured treatments.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Barbieri, C., Stevenson, K., Knollenberg, W., & Brune, S. (2019, June, forthcoming). Sowing the seeds of a local foods revolution: Agritourism as an agent of change. Oral presentation at the Critical Tourism Studies 8, Ibiza, Spain.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K., & Barbieri, C. (2019, June, forthcoming). Picking pumpkins, changing behaviors: How agritourism can influence consumer behavior towards local foods. Oral presentation at the Graduate Student Symposium of the 50th Annual International Conference of Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA), Melbourne (AU).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, & Barbieri, C. (2019, April). U-pick Farms: Harvesting more than Pumpkins? Oral presentation at the 31st National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium, Annapolis, MD.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Stevenson, K. T., Grether, E. K., Knollenberg, W. G., Brune, S., Barbieri, C. (2018, October). Adapting an Environmental Literacy Framework to Measure Agricultural Literacy. Visual presentation at North American Association for Environmental Education, Spokane, WA.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Brune, S., Stevenson, K. T., Knollenberg, W. G., Grether, E. K., & Barbieri, C. (2018, September). Approaching common ground: Measuring agricultural literacy using an environmental literacy model. Visual presentation at Environmental Educators of North Carolina (EENC), Atlantic Beach, NC; September 27-29.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Barbieri, C., & Schroeder-Moreno, M. (2019, March). Agritourism as a strategy to influence consumer behavior towards local foods. Poster presentation at the NC State Graduate Student Research Symposium, NC State; Raleigh, NC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., & Barbieri, C. (2019, January). Strengthening local food systems through children: Preliminary findings. Education Committee, NC Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts 75th Annual Meeting, Durham, NC.

Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers in agritourism: A few farms involved in agritourism havebeen contacted to evaluate their suitability to host on-site data collection for families (unstructured treatment). Changes/Problems:One master student withdrew from the project in July 2018. We do not foresee an impact in the project outcomes and development. We are currently seeking to fill the position. There will be a drop in expenditures until the position is filled. We hope to fill the position as soon as possible. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?- Both graduate students working on the project were trained in the Food, Land and People (FLP) curricula. - They both garnered experience in presenting in research settings (refereed and non-refereed international, national and local conferences). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?- Start data collection of the unstructured agritourism treatment (years 2 & 3). - Identify farmers and teachers partnering in the project for semi-structured and structured agritourism.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) The first year was dedicated to develop the survey instruments for children (educational assessment) and their parents (consumer intention assessment). Both instruments were completed on time. 2) IRB aproval has already been approved so we are moving on schedule to start data collection of the unstructured agritourism treatment (family farm visits) in year 2. 3) Potential partnering farms have been identified as to follow to project criteria: a) diversity of agricultural and recreational diversity, b) geographic dispersion across NC, and 3) strategic location (less than 30 minutes aways) from schools representing different economic strata.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2018 Citation: Barbieri, C., Stevenson, K. T., & Knollenberg, W. (In Press). Broadening the utilitarian epistemology of agritourism research through children and families. Current Issues in Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2018.1497011 (online first).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Grether, E., & Barbieri, C. (2018). Introducing a framework to assess agritourisms impact on agricultural literacy and consumer behavior towards local foods. Proceedings of Encouraging Innovation in the Universe of Tourism Research: 49th Annual International Conference of Travel and Tourism Research Association, Miami/Coral Gables, FL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Grether, E., & Barbieri, C. (2018). Proposing an instrument to measure the influence of agritourism on consumer behavior toward local food. Proceedings of the Southeast Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association conference, Myrtle Beach, SC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K. T., Grether, E., & Barbieri, C. (2018, April). The Alphabet Theorys suitability for examining consumer behavior in the context of agritourism: A proposal. Visual presentation at the National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium, Annapolis, MD.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Grether, E., Stevenson, K. T., Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., & Barbieri, C. (2018, April). Developing an instrument to measure how agritourism may build agricultural literacy. Visual presentation at the National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium, Annapolis, MD.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Brune, S., Knollenberg, W., Stevenson, K.T., Grether, E. K., & Barbieri, C. (2018, February). Cultivating local food consumers: A framework to study agritourisms impact on agricultural literacy & consumer behavior. Visual presentation at the Latin American Research Symposium, Raleigh, NC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Grether, E., Stevenson, K.T., Knollenberg, W., Brune, S., & Barbieri, C. (2018, February). Developing an instrument to measure how agritourism may build agricultural literacy. Visual presentation at the College of Natural Resources Graduate Symposium, Raleigh, NC.