 Farmer Johnson, click pic to enlarge the fall colors Mother Nature was in resplendent autumnal form today at the venerable Johnson's Corner Farm in BurlCo, South Jersey. It was an ideal backdrop for celebrating the growing roll of agriculture (in this case agri-tourism) in our state's economy. Thanks to a just-released report from Rutgers University the economic impact is now easy to quantify. Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus came down to Johnson's Farm to announce the good news and the numbers are impressive: agritourism puts over $57m into the state's coffers annually. And that number is growing. First, a baseline definition of agritourism is, according the Rutgers study, "the business of establishing farms as travel destinations for educational and recreational purposes." And I know what you're thinking, $57.5 million bucks is a lot of hayrides. But it's a lot more than that. There's the ol' pick your own Jersey fresh (whatever), U-cut Christmas tree, bird watching, fishing, B-n-B's, petting zoos, wineries, tours, et al. Oh and how could I forget the ubiquitous corn maze?
And there's more good news, according to NJ Secretary of State Nina Wells who cited another interesting nugget from the Rutgers report. For every agritourism dollar spent, an additional $0.58 is generated in the community surrounding the farm. Think businesses like restaurants, craft stores, etc. It's adds up. Another $33m worth. As noted by the report's primary author Brian Schilling the calculus is pretty simple: Good cliamte+good soil+dense population = agri-tourism boom. It's already happening which is pretty cool when you think about it. Note to readers: last week on Blue Jersey BlogTalk Radio i lamented that Jerseyfresh peaches are no longer in season. I was wrong about that. You still have a few weeks to get your peach on.
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