Rutgers NJAES to Host Agritourism Conferences Throughout NJ in January

Agritourism is sometimes defined as, “Touring agricultural areas to see farms and often to participate in farm activities.” Farmers in New Jersey are finding a demand for local tourism and a desire from the consumer to “buy local”. To assist New Jersey’s agricultural community in these endeavors, a program at Rutgers University has been developed to provide education and outreach to farmers who currently operate on-farm direct marketing businesses, like agritourism ventures, and for those who would like to develop an agritourism business.
- M. Infante-Casella

Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Cooperative Extension in cooperation with New Jersey Farm Bureau will be holding educational conferences for farmers and those interested in agricultural marketing, on the subject of Agritourism.
Conferences will be held at 3 separate locations to accommodate attendees in North, Central and Southern New Jersey. The cost of the conference is only $10 per person, will begin at 9AM and finish at 3:30PM.

All are welcome. Locations:

• The first 2012 New Jersey Agritourism Conference will take place at the Rutgers Snyder Agricultural Research and Extension Farm in Pittstown, NJ on Tuesday, January 24th. 
• The Central New Jersey location will be at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Burlington County Office in Westampton on Wednesday, January 25th. 
• A third conference will be in Southern New Jersey on Thursday, January 26th at the Gloucester County Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office in Clayton, NJ.

Rutgers Agricultural Agents and Extension Specialists will be presenting information on various aspects of agritourism. Dr. Samantha Rozier Rich, Tourism Extension Specialist with North Carolina State University will be presenting information on “Using Communication Technology to Expand Your Business”. The morning sessions will be delivered under the theme of “The Potential for Agritourism in NJ”, while the afternoon session them is titled, “The Realities of Agritourism”. Rutgers NJAES Fact sheets on various agricultural marketing subjects will be distributed with educational materials at the conference. The NJ Farm Bureau Staff has developed a new produce availability chart and a series of crop-specific price cards with nutritional information to be used for marketing local produce. These materials are similar to the “Jersey Fresh” price cards developed by the NJ Department of Agriculture. The cards will be available in print and via a computer CD for reproduction. These marketing materials and this educational program is being funded by a USDA, Specialty Crops Block Grant distributed by the NJ Department of Agriculture.

For registration materials and a copy of the program visit http://events.rutgers.edu/njaes
and choose the dates above on the electronic calendar.
For more information contact Agricultural Agent, Michelle Infante-Casella at 856-307-6450 ext. 1. Registrations are being taken through the NJ Farm Bureau Office and should be made payable to NJFB to contact that office call 609-393-7163 and ask for Nicki Goger.

Posted by,
Michelle Infante-Casella
Agricultural Agent