Virginia's family-owned farms face increasing economic pressures, and many are turning to agritourism – such as farm tours, pick-your-own fruit, and on-farm events – to maintain profitability

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University $272,953 on April 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) to conduct research on agritourism challenges and opportunities in Virginia.

The project combines operator surveys, big data analytics of mobile phone patterns, and collaborative focus groups to identify challenges facing agritourism operations, including regulatory complexity, marketing constraints, internet access limitations, labor shortages, and evolving consumer engagement. The research will analyze visitor engagement patterns across Virginia agritourism sites—including visitation frequency, duration, and seasonal variation—and develop evidence-based economic and policy strategies to support sector sustainability. Results will be disseminated through publications, presentations, and stakeholder discussions to inform operators, extension professionals, and policymakers.

The award funds work at Virginia Tech's Blacksburg, Virginia campus through March 31, 2028. AFRI funds research, education, and extension activities across six farm bill priority areas, with FY 2026 appropriations of $435 million directed across plant and animal health, food safety and nutrition, bioenergy and natural resources, agricultural systems and technology, and agriculture economics and rural communities.

While agritourism brings economic benefits, operators face challenges such as complex regulations, limited marketing resources, internet access issues, labor shortages, and changing patterns of consumer engagement. Current research on these issues is limited, leaving farmers and policymakers without up-to-date guidance on how to support the sector's growth and sustainability. Understanding and addressing these challenges is important not only for farmers' livelihoods but also for local communities, regional economies, and the broader agritourism sector.to address these issues, the project will combine surveys, big data analytics, and collaborative stakeholder research. A survey of agritourism operators will identify their key challenges and needs related to the aforementioned issues. Aggregated mobile phone data will be analyzed to understand how visitors engage with agritourism sites across virginia, including when, how often, and for how long they visit, and how these patterns vary across regions, farm types, and seasons. Finally, focus groups with agritourism operators, extension agents, and policymakers will review these results and provide input to guide practical economic and policy strategies. Through these efforts, stakeholders will gain evidence-based insights into what supports successful and sustainable agritourism operations.?the project aims to increase understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by agritourism operators, improve knowledge of visitor engagement patterns, and identify practical strategies to support the sector's economic performance and sustainability. By sharing results through publications, presentations, and stakeholder discussions, the project will help agritourism operators, extension professionals, and policymakers make more informed decisions and strengthen collaboration across regions. These efforts are expected to contribute to a more sustainable agritourism sector that benefits farmers, communities, and the state's agricultural economy.?