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PREPARING AGRITOURISM ENTREPRENEURS FOR POTENTIAL EMERGENCIES

Extension Education

Eric Barrett
Associate Professor
Ohio State University Extension
Canfield

Abstract

Agritourism enterprises are quite diverse, from basic pick your own farms to amusement park like operations. Each agritourism enterprise represents unique opportunities and risks for entrepreneurs who decide to adopt agritourism as part of their farming operation. Most of these operations do not have written emergency plans, further increasing risk within the farm business. Emergency preparedness is defined as “activities, tasks, programs, and systems developed and implemented prior to an emergency that are used to support the prevention of, mitigation of, response to, and recovery from emergencies.” Emergency preparedness goes beyond basic risk management to help ensure the safety of people and assets, which in turn helps protect the business investment itself. With this in mind, a team of educators obtained grant funding to develop curriculum, including a bulletin, to assist agritourism operations with plan development. The team interviewed farmers and other professionals across the country to develop a comprehensive curriculum. The resources developed by the team are being used by agritourism operators to prevent, respond to, recover from and learn from emergencies. The plan outline involves identifying and communicating with local emergency management assistance providers, as well as educating employees. Instructions include details on how to create a local support team of law enforcement, fire protection and other local agencies to develop a personalized plan for each farm. As awareness of the project expands, requests for the bulletin have increased. As distribution ramps up in 2014, formal evaluations of the impacts of usage will be completed.

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Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC

This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.

A poster file has not been provided

Authors: R.P. Leeds, E.E. Barrett, S.D. Jepsen
  1. Leeds, R. Extension Educator, AgNR, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION, Ohio, 43015
  2. Barrett, E. Assistant Professor, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION, Ohio, 44406
  3. Jepsen, S. Associate Professor, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION, Ohio, 43210