The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

The population of Florida gets further from the primary producers and an understanding of their connection to the land with rampant urbanization. The extension service must reach out to these atypical clientele to provide services and to ensure they realize the proximity of agriculture to their communities and the importance of agriculture to their well being. Farm tours have been used by many county extension offices to showcase local agricultural industries to politicians and curious citizens to encourage support and understanding for agriculture. At the same time the agricultural tours can be a useful tool to promote and market extension programs and their importance in education of agricultural producers, urban residents and elected officials making budget decisions affecting operations of the extension service. The experiences of three county extension directors, from a rural, a semi-rural, and a metropolitan county, in promoting agriculture through the use of farm tours indicate similar objectives and impacts. A variety of implementations have been tested, from self-guided tours to tightly scheduled bus tours. Sponsorship is often required to provide busses and lunches for a cost to participants that will entice them. Extension agents and farm owners provide on-site learning with participants, teaching about their operation, explaining production, marketing, business and other aspects of a successful agricultural enterprise. A variety of evaluation techniques were used from oral questions with raised hands to on-line post tour surveys. A majority of participants in the smaller counties are repeat attendees, retired and curious about what local farms are doing. A smaller segment of participants aspire to a farming lifestyle and come to learn about opportunities. In the large metropolitan county, extension also deals frequently with international visitors including government employees, university faculty and students, business people and farmers from all over the world who want to meet farmers, learn about Florida’s agriculture and uniqueness of the U.S. Cooperative Extension and  its direct connection with the land-grant university system. The participants of the farm tours come away with a better understanding of agriculture and increased support for the mission of the extension service.