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While increasing agricultural literacy (AL) has been the focus of numerous educational programs, few AL scales have been developed specifically for children. AL programming struggles to rigorously evaluate their programs, particularly when little time is available for assessments in informal contexts. The lack of evaluation tools that allow to accurately measure educational impacts compromises progress on AL. In this paper, we present the development and validation of the Agricultural Literacy Instrument for Local Foods (ALI-LF) for children between the ages of 9 and 13. The instrument measures three domains of agricultural literacy (knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors). We pilot tested the instrument with children between 9 and 13 years old at a local arboretum and further validated the instrument at six agritourism farms. To analyze the data, we used principal component factor, Cronbach's alpha, and descriptive statistics. The results support a comprehensive reliable instrument validated for informal contexts, such as farms offering recreational or educational activities to visitors (i.e., agritourism). This instrument fills the existing gap of adequate tools to evaluate AL programming which can support moving forward AL advances among children.

Blending agricultural education (AE) and environmental education (EE) frameworks is a promising pathway towards the goals of boosting environmental engagement and support for local agricultural systems among broad public audiences. However, thoughtful and intentional collaboration between researchers is needed to facilitate these outcomes. We feel it is important to collapse existing disciplinary walls between AE and EE to effectively reposition both as critical public goods and address inequitable access to environmental and agricultural knowledge among the next generation. In this paper, we outline the historical context for the silos between U.S.-based AE and EE programmatic and research practice. We then present a new collaborative structure for scholars in both fields to work together to build agricultural and environmental literacy in support of environmentally sustainable, economically robust, and socially responsible agroecosystems. Ultimately, we aim to create structures for broader and more collaborative efforts through which to improve agricultural and environmental literacy for new generations of learners.

As the social fabric of US agriculture continues to change, it is important to investigate the set of challenges that minority farmers face. Given women’s increasing leadership in agriculture and their traditional involvement in rural communities, we took an othering lens to position them as the centered voice to evaluate the suite of challenges they perceive to experience as compared to their male counterparts and in relation to other minority farmers. Data collected from 180 women farmers indicated that responsibilities stemming from their family caregiving role and the current agricultural system exert more pressure on women than on men. Yet, family caregiving responsibilities represent a greater burden for women farmers than the current agricultural system, a finding that responding women perceived to be reversed for men. Despite their disadvantaged position in agriculture, participating women perceived they were in better standing than Latin, first generation, transplant, and African American farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctionality serves as an analytical framework to recognize many services that farms provide to their surrounding communities and society. This study explores an often overlooked dimension of multifunctionality by examining different recreational services provided by landowners in Missouri and analyzing the relationship between recreational multifunctionality and the practice of agroforestry. The latter provides multiple economic, environmental and beautification benefits that involve trees in the landscape. Results show that family farms provide several recreational services for their household members and others, and the existence of synergies between the recreational function of the farmland and agroforestry practices, consistent with the transition to strong multifunctionality. The recreational use of the land is positively associated to the cognitive (i.e., perceived knowledge) and affective (i.e., willingness to adopt) attitudes towards agroforestry. Results also show that the higher the perception of intrinsic (i.e., planting trees for wind protection and carbon sequestration) and economic (i.e., perceived economic benefits and flood protection) values of agroforestry, the more recreational use of the land. This study exemplifies the interactions between two little examined farmland functions providing insights for a comprehensive value assessment of family farms. Other academic and practical implications of the study are also detailed. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)

State agencies have been encouraging the development of different enterprises to diversify farm incomes in an effort to retain farmers in business, attract new entrants to agriculture and promote regional development. Entrepreneurship and farming are known to be driven by a complex set of goals including those which are economic and intrinsic in nature. However, little information is available regarding the set of goals that drive agriculture entrepreneurship, preventing state agencies to adequately target potential diversifiers. This paper provides a better understanding of the range of goals, both financial and nonfinancial, that are important in farmers' decisions to diversify their operations. The generation of additional income, the continuance of farming and ranching, and the enhancement of quality of life are among the most important diversification goals in Texas. A principal component factor analysis performed on the importance ratings of diversification goals resulted in six dimensions: (F1) Reduce Uncertainty and Risk; (F2) Grow and Service Markets; (F3) Enhanced Financial Condition; (F4) Individual Aspirations and Pursuits; (F5) Revenues Enhancement; and (F6) Family Connections. The study also examined the relationship between various entrepreneur and farm characteristics and the goal pursuit dimensions. Operator's age, number of generations the farm had been in the family, household income, number of farm employees, and distance to an urbanized area influence types of goals pursued through diversification. (Contains 5 tables.)

Pressure to adopt enhanced production technologies, changing government support policies, increasing and more diverse competition, and changing markets have posed economic challenges to North American farmers over the past two decades. As a response, farmers are adjusting their production model by incorporating agricultural related enterprises. Although there is evidence that farm diversification is occurring throughout North America, there is a dearth of scientific information regarding the types of enterprises being developed and used in this context. This study aims to fill this void by exploring the extent of farm diversification by identifying and describing eight types of enterprises that farmers and ranchers are using. It was found that levels of diversification are often dependent on operating and management attributes and owner characteristics, such as the number of family members working on the farm and the number of days that the farmer's spouse works off the farm. (Contains 1 figure, 6 tables, and 5 footnotes.)

While much of modern tourism research centers on the tourist as a leisure consumer, workers are frequently overlooked. Despite a recent uptick in attention to tourism work, the primary focus remains on employee's skills and qualifications. In contrast, the key contextual factors of race, ethnicity, and gender that surround tourism work are seldom examined. This comparative study addresses the theme of traditional gender roles, particularly in patriarchal societies, and how they affect tourism work. Specifically, it investigates how the presence of tourism influences cultural norms determining appropriate jobs for men and women. Utilizing an ethnographic field research approach, data were collected from participants in two indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala, each with differing models and lengths of tourism development. Free-listing exercises were used to elicit residents' perceptions of employment as it relates to gender in their community and cultural consensus analysis was used to analyze the data. Results show that neither community shares consensus on jobs for women and only one community shares consensus on men's jobs. Results suggest that tourism disrupts cultural norms related to gender roles; yet this may not always benefit women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public's burgeoning interest in authentic place-based experiences and local foods, as well as farmers' interest in increasing their incomes continue driving the development of agritourism. Although women often initiate agritourism, scant information identifies the factors contributing to or hindering their success. Therefore, this study combines feminist and systems approaches to identify the factors affecting women achievements in their functions as farmers and entrepreneurs and in various aspects of their lives. With such an aim, 216 women farmers in North Carolina (USA) were surveyed in 2017. Descriptive and inferential statistics of data collected indicate that women felt moderately successful in their farmer and entrepreneur roles, while self-fulfillment and business continuance appeared as the most important dimensions of their success. Significant models indicate that attributes at the personal, farm household, and society levels predict women's perceived functional success and the importance of different life aspects to their success. Study results move the literature of women in agritourism beyond entrepreneurial motivations by providing a thorough understanding of how gendered nuances in agriculture affect farm women's success in a holistic manner. This study also contributes to the sustainability of the agritourism practice by identifying attributes that increases chances of success among women farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure to adopt enhanced production technologies, changing government support policies, increasing and more diverse competition, and changing markets have posed economic challenges to North American farmers over the past two decades. As a response, farmers are adjusting their production model by incorporating agricultural related enterprises. Although there is evidence that farm diversification is occurring throughout North America, there is a dearth of scientific information regarding the types of enterprises being developed and used in this context. This study aims to fill this void by exploring the extent of farm diversification by identifying and describing eight types of enterprises that farmers and ranchers are using. It was found that levels of diversification are often dependent on operating and management attributes and owner characteristics, such as the number of family members working on the farm and the number of days that the farmer's spouse works off the farm.