Examining the Best Management Practices and Visitors in the Small Agritourism Farms
Abstract
Agritourism could be one of the important alternatives on-farm enterprises for income di-versification. Particularly, small farms find it helpful to diversify their farm through participation in agritourism activities. Tennessee is one of the states with a high scope of agritourism. However, there are very limited studies examining this aspect in Tennessee. Through a primary survey of small farms, including those participating or not participating in agritourism activities in Tennessee, this study examines the number of visitors, seasonality of operations, and the adoption of best management practices of agritourism farms. A primary sur-vey of small farmers in Tennessee was conducted, sending an electronic survey link to 1139 sampled farmers in 2020. Around 60 percent of the sampled farms were engaged in some agritourism related activities. Using the complete response from 130 farmers from east, middle, and west Tennessee, the effect of the adoption of best management practices on the number of visitors received per week on agritourism farm was examined. Considering other factors, it was found that the adoption of best management practices increases the likelihood of attracting a higher number of visitors. Additionally, the effect of other variables was presented and discussed throughout the implication of findings to the small farms, agricultural, and tourism.
Subject Area
Agriculture|Agricultural economics
Recommended Citation
Michael Crawford,
"Examining the Best Management Practices and Visitors in the Small Agritourism Farms"
(2022).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI29993892.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI29993892