Agritourism Connections

San Bernardino grower Jessica Handy recently launched Sandalwood Farm and Sanctuary to be a source of food sovereignty, healing and radical joy. UC experts support communal, mission-driving urban farms like Handy's to ensure smaller-scale and urban farms aren't left out of the agritourism boom.

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted local markets in 2020, many small urban farms were left without buyers or a clear path forward. Through programs led by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), urban agritourism is emerging as one strategy to help these farms diversify…

Agritourism plays in important role in diversifying income and developing new markets for products. Statewide agritourism coordinator, Rachael Callahan, weighs in on the potential for agritourism to serve as a safety net, supporting the resiliency of California agriculture after disaster.

Image: California Department of Fish & Wildlife, CC BY 2.0.

This June, I had the opportunity to participate in a two-week USAID (United States Agency for International Development) Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer assignment in the Philippines. The program is a way for U.S.