Summit seeks to strengthen agritourism 

The University of California will hold its agritourism summit Sept. 23-25 at The Ava Hotel Paso Robles, 944 Pine St., Paso Robles. 

The event brings together leaders, experts and practitioners to connect, learn and engage. Through keynote speakers, panel discussions, breakout sessions and farm tours, participants can gain practical tools and inspiration to strengthen agritourism in California.

Topics include: working with influencers to increase your income for real; agritourism and the growing experiential tourism landscape; investing in agritourism strategic planning and land conservation with Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation program funding; keeping visitors safe and protecting your business; getting seen by consumers and artificial intelligence; develop on-farm educational offerings with the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Farm-to-School Incubator Grant Program; leveraging Terra Madre Americas to draw visitors to your region’s farms; Assembly Bill 518 creates opportunities for camping-based agritourism—what the bill says and how counties can opt in; farm to policy—supporting agritourism that works for farmers; and the future of agritourism in California—perspectives from state agency leadership.

Registration closes Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. To register, visit https://na.eventscloud.com/website/83086/.

In this edition…

• Regenerative label payoff remains murky
• Paintballs among new tools allowed for hazing wolves
• Influence starts with engaged Farm Bureau members
• USDA seeks to ease organic certification process, costs
• From the Fields: Chris Jergenson, Merced and Stanislaus counties organic farmer
• From the Fields: Ben Lyons, Solano County farmer
• From the Fields: Domenic Carinalli, Sonoma County organic dairy farmer and conventional winegrape grower
• From the Fields: Katie Herzog, Monterey County agave grower
• New 'smart' farm tech targets vegetable production
• Growth in organic milk presents market challenges
• Advocacy in Action: Packaging requirements, labor, beef cattle, trade, compost, Roadless Rule and disaster relief
• How you can make the switch to regenerative farming
• Summit seeks to strengthen agritourism
• Leopold award finalists for 2026 selected