A national survey of agritourism operators conducted by the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety guided major updates to "Integrating Safety into Agritourism" (www.safeagritourism.com), and provided new information on activities offered and safety resources desired.

National Children's Center Project Manager for Agritourism Marsha Salzwedel announced the website's upgrades at the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) Convention, held Feb. 1-6 in Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn.

"As agritourism continues to grow in popularity, implementing safety strategies to help maximize fun and minimize liability is increasingly important," Salzwedel said.

The survey's 230 respondents revealed that:

• The most common agritourism activities are farm markets, tours/educational activities, hay/sleigh rides, pumpkin patches, pick your own produce, and play areas. More than 60 percent of farms reported these activities.
  
• Seventy-five percent of operators wanted resources to help them better communicate with guests. Other topics of interest were insurance, emergency planning, employee training and supervision of visitors.
  
• Ready-to-print signage (directional, hand-washing, do not enter, etc.) was the type of resource most desired by operators.
  
• Eighty-eight percent of operators listed the Internet as their preferred method of accessing information, followed by conferences/meetings (62 percent), print (52 percent) and mobile apps (15 percent).

The survey was conducted in the spring of 2014. An advisory team of farmers, agritourism association professionals, computer programmers and safety professionals used results of the survey to develop new content and redesign the homepage into walkthroughs, checklists and resources. Complete results of the survey are embargoed pending publication in a research journal.

Virtual walkthroughs now cover 15 key areas of agritourism including new walkthroughs on farmers' markets, inflatables and large animal safety.

Information about insurance has been added at the request of operators, along with new, print-ready resources such as signs, policies, logs and information handouts – all available at no cost. Major enhancements were made to existing resources covering safe play areas, petting zoos, child supervision, emergency planning and more.Return to Industry Buzz.

2.10.2015