Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33839801
06/06/02
Agricultural Tourism in Cochise County, Arizona Characteristics and Economic Impacts
List of files and visuals associated with this text.
Julie Leones
Extension Economist
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
Douglas Dunn
Director, Cochise County Extension
Marshall Worden
Assistant Director and Community Economic Specialist
Drachman Institute for Land and Regional Development
Studies
Robert E. Call
Horticulture Agent, Cochise County Extension
Arizona Cooperative Extension
College of Agriculture
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
194027
June, 1994
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
I. Introduction
II. Description of Fresh Farm Produce Outlets
III. Visitors to Fresh Farm Produce Outlets
IV. Total Expenditures by Visitors
V. Economic Impacts of Agricultural Tourism on Cochise
County
VI. Summary and Conclusions
Appendix A. Survey Methodology
Appendix B. Survey Instrument
Appendix C. Fresh Farm Produce Brochure
Appendix D. Visitor Requests
Appendix E. Ideas for Furthering the Fresh Farm Produce
Industry.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Agricultural tourism is a relatively small but locally
significant and expanding component of the economy of
Cochise County, Arizona. This report provides a detailed
assessment of the economic significance of agricultural
tourism and of direct farm marketing at 18 outlets to both
local and non-local consumers in southeastern Arizona. The
report describes the demographic characteristics, travel
behaviors and purchasing patterns of agricultural tourists
and other visitors to the fresh farm outlets. The report
also delineates a variety of methods for expanding the
economic impact of agricultural tourism both for the
individual producer and for the region as a whole.
Agricultural tourists are defined as out of-county
visitors who come to the area primarily for the purpose of
purchasing on-farm produce. Agricultural tourists
represented 79% of the estimated 81,450 non-local visitors
who came to the farm outlets during the July through
October 1993 season. Non-local visitor parties spent an
average of $58.24 during their visit to Cochise County,
with $40.33 being spent at the farm outlet. There are
significant expenditure differences between agricultural
tourists who stay overnight and those who stay in the
county for only the day, with overnight visitor parties
spending an average of approximately $130 and day trippers
spending an average of only about $54. Only 10% of the
non-local visitors stayed overnight, and only one-half of
these could be defined as agricultural tourists.
Total expenditures by all out-of-county visitors are
estimated at about $1 million, with 76% being spent at
farm outlets. This $1 million in direct agricultural
tourist expenditures resulted in about $1.9 million in
gross revenue impacts and approximately $950,000 in net
revenue or value added impacts. Direct farm marketing
supports about 41 full-time equivalent jobs at the farm
outlets and an additional 27 full-time equivalent jobs
elsewhere in the local economy.
Visitors to these direct farm marketing outlets have
incomes and education significantly higher than average,
are primarily Caucasian, and travel in relatively large
parties. About 20% of the respondents were retired, and
one-third of the parties included people over the age of
60. Forty-four percent of the parties included children.
Agricultural tourists generally visit two or three outlets
on each visit and have a high propensity for returning
year after year.
There are significant opportunities for expanding the
economic impact of agricultural tourism on individual
farms and the regional economy. Key to improving economic
performance is lengthening the stay of the visitors
through, for instance, promoting overnight and getaway
packages, developing community events and additional
agricultural festivals, and providing facilities for
visitors to cool and store produce overnight. In addition,
there are many strategies for expanding the experiential
opportunities at the individual farm outlets, including
horse riding, providing bed and breakfast, on-farm
camping, ranch tours, and steak fries.
I. INTRODUCTION
Several years ago Cooperative Extension agent Deborah
Young began working with agricultural producers who market
directly to consumers. She put together the first
"Southeastern Arizona Fresh Farm Produce" brochure in
1988. Several agricultural direct marketers credit this
brochure and subsequent coverage by "Sunset Magazine" and
Tucson and Phoenix area media for the growth of their
businesses. Not many of them considered themselves in the
business of providing a tourist attraction, but the
Willcox Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture certainly saw
this potential and has had the Fresh Farm Produce brochure
printed annually since 1990. Extension Agents' Douglas
Dunn and Robert Call have worked closely with the industry
in providing vision, horticultural education and
organizational leadership since Deborah Young's
reassignment to Yavapai County in June of 1990.
In 1993, the Cochise County Cooperative Extension office
wanted to measure how many people visit the fresh farm
produce outlets and how much money is locally spent. It
was an ideal opportunity to learn more about visitors and
why they make the trip to Cochise County. The project was
funded by Arizona Cooperative Extension. The objectives of
the survey were to document the economic contribution of
visitors coming to the area to U-pick and purchase fresh
farm products and to provide information to growers about
their customers. The results of the study are presented in
the following pages. The study helps answer the question,
"Are fresh farm produce outlets catering to 'agricultural
tourists'?" The results presented here indicate that they
clearly do.
Agricultural tourism has been referred to as "agritourism"
in New York and "agriculturally based leisure attractions"
in Hawaii. Numerous examples of businesses that are
involved in agricultural tourism exist, including dairies,
ranches, farms and processing plants that provide tours of
their operations, wineries with tours and tasting rooms,
dude ranches, pick-your-own produce farms and roadside
stands. By agricultural tourism we mean any agricultural
activity that attracts people and encourages them to spend
their leisure time and discretionary income on that
activity. In this study, agricultural tourists are defined
as "out-of-county" visitors who come to the area PRIMARILY
for the purpose of purchasing "on-farm" produce. In
addition, a large number of these visitors have indicated
that they visit to have a rural or farm experience.
Dr. James Griffith of the University of Arizona Southwest
Folklore Center has suggested that visitors to fresh farm
produce outlets in Cochise County are very similar to
religious pilgrims. However, instead of searching for a
religious experience, these pilgrims are searching for a
rural or farm experience. In fact, about 80% of the out-
of-county respondents to the survey utilized in this study
came primarily to visit fresh farm produce outlets and
nearly one-half of all survey respondents indicated that
they visited the fresh farm outlets to have a farm
experience.
Local fresh farm produce outlets and organizations
interested in promoting tourism in Cochise County will
find information in this report that will help better
attract and serve visitors. The results of this study
indicate that there are significant opportunities for
businesses in Cochise County to benefit even more from
agricultural tourism, and for revenues from agricultural
tourism to increase.
The report is based on interviews with fresh farm produce
outlet operators, road traffic count data, registries of
visitors, and interviews with 904 visitors to fresh farm
produce outlets. Survey interviews were conducted during
July, August, September and October 1993, asking open-
ended questions an d entering responses into laptop
computers. A more detailed description of the survey
methodology and a copy of the survey instrument are in
Appendices A and B.
In this report, information is first provided on the
existing fresh farm produce outlets, their products,
season of operation and locations. We review some of their
current advertising and marketing practices and discuss
the local employment they generate. The next section of
the report provides a detailed description of the visitors
to fresh farm produce outlets, what they are doing and
what they are looking for in the area. The next section
provides estimates of total visitors to the outlets during
the 1993 summer-fall season and their expenditures. This
section is followed by one on the economic impacts that
expenditures by these visitors had on the county. The
report concludes with suggestions on how to further expand
and promote agricultural tourism in Cochise County.
Throughout the report survey results for Cochise County
residents and out-of-county residents are reported
separately when major differences exist in their
responses. Non-local or out-of-county are used
interchangeably to refer to visitors from outside of
Cochise County.
II. DESCRIPTION OF FRESH FARM MARKET OUTLETS
The fresh farm produce outlets listed in the 1993 Fresh
Farm Produce brochure vary widely in size, and in the
products and services available. Fresh farm produce
facilities range from a table in the front yard of the
farmhouse, to permanent covered stands, to full retail
shops. About one-half of the outlets allow visitors to
pick their own produce. However, at outlets that encourage
"U-pick," some products such as sweet corn, melons and
squash are available only pre-picked. Some growers sell
items that they do not grow or make, but which are
produced in the area. Products offered range from apples
and apple bakery goods, to a variety of fresh vegetables
such as tomatoes and string beans, to pistachio nuts,
honey, fish and meat products. Appendix C (Vis. C)contains
a detailed description of what individual outlets offer.
Several outlets also have animal displays, crafts and
prepared foods for sale, or other kinds of activities for
the visitors. A few operators allow local arts and crafts
people to set up displays and make sales, with some
operators sharing in a percentage of the artisan's profits
and others allowing them to sell without fee. A couple of
outlets also sell potted plants, bedding plants and seeds
that are raised elsewhere. One operation has successfully
promoted pumpkin and watermelon "festivals" on or before
major holidays. Each outlet has or is developing its own
special products and services, thus providing variety to
area visitors.
Most operations offer drinking water and buildings or
trees that provide shade. More developed stands have
refrigerated drinking fountains, rest rooms, and snack
bars with food and cold drinks. Shaded areas with tables
and chairs provide comfortable eating and picnic areas.
The acreage on each farm devoted to fruits, vegetables and
related products in 1993 varied from barely 2 acres to 153
acres. Although exact figures are not available,
approximately 170 acres were planted to vegetable crops
and close to NO acres provided apples and other fruits for
direct marketing in 1993. While a few operations are some
distance from Willcox, two large clusters of outlets are
located near the town. One cluster of ten outlets lies
along Dragoon Road, 20 miles southwest of Willcox, and
another cluster of 14 outlets is off Fort Grant Road, 4 to
20 miles north of Willcox (Vis. 1).
At least six of the 28 outlets listed in the brochure are
open year-round (i.e., selling pistachio nuts, honey,
bakery, and meat products). Other outlets are open only
during the harvest season, but usually from sunrise to
sunset, five to seven days a week during harvest.
Vegetable outlets begin selling in early July while apple
orchards generally open in early August. Growers provide
information for the Fresh Farm Produce brochure concerning
the harvest season for a number of the most popular crops
(see Appendix C)(Vis. C). Less than one-half of the
businesses rely entirely on direct retail sales on
location for their income. Others receive only a small
percent of their total income from direct retail sales.
In post-season interviews, outlet owners expressed mixed
views on whether 1993 visitation had increased or
decreased compared to 1992. About two-thirds of the
growers felt visitation to their operations had increased
by 10 to 35%. One operator estimated that visitation
quadrupled over 1992. One-third of the operators believed
visitation had declined an estimated 10 to 30% from 1992.
Part of the reason for the decline in at least one of
these five cases was lack of product.
Outlets also varied substantially in the proportion of
out-of-county to local customers they served. At three of
the ten outlets for which registry information was
available, 60% or more of the visitors were local. At the
remaining seven outlets, local visitors represented
between 8 and 27% of all visitors who signed the registry.
Similar differences were reflected in the proportions of
local visitors interviewed at the outlets.
Eighteen outlet owners were interviewed. Their total
employment was estimated at 93 people year-round, 68
people full-time during the harvest season and 62 people
part-time during the harvest season. However, these
represent total employees, not just those involved in the
direct marketing part of their operations. As mentioned
earlier, for one-half of these operations, direct
marketing represented only 5 to 30% of their total
business. Only an estimated 41 full-time equivalent jobs
can be attributed exclusively to direct farm marketing for
these operations.
III. VISITORS TO FRESH FARM PRODUCE OUTLETS
Visitor Characteristics
Almost three-quarters of all visitors to the farm produce
outlets in Cochise County were from metropolitan Tucson or
elsewhere in Pima County, and only 17% were local visitors
from Cochise County (Vis. 2). Only 2.1% were out-of-
state visitors. Of the 83% of visitors that were from
outside of Cochise County, 77% came to Cochise County for
the primary purpose of buying fresh farm produce. Sixty-
four percent of all outlet visitors can be defined as
agricultural tourists (Vis. 3). Out-of-county visitors
traveled in groups averaging 4.22 people per party.
However, their median party size was 3 people. The average
or mean is somewhat larger than the median because of the
number of large groups, especially groups of either older
people or children, that visited the farm outlets. While
85% of the visitors were Caucasian, Hispanics represented
over 8% of all visitor parties (Vis. 4). The mean family
income was $42,300, well above the Arizona mean for 1990
of $35,400 (Vis. 5). Respondents had an average of 14.3
years of education (Vis. 6) and many were professionals or
working in management positions. Twenty percent of ALL
respondents were retired and about one-third of the
parties included people over the age of 60 (Vis. 7).
Roughly 44% of the out-of-county visitor parties, and 39%
of the locals, brought children. Children under the age of
18 represented 29% of all visitors. Unlike similar studies
in other parts of the country, women did not constitute
the overwhelming majority of visitors. Approximately 55%
of all visitors, whether from Cochise County or from
outside, were female. The difference may be because the
trip to Cochise County is viewed more as a family or group
experience rather than exclusively as a trip to secure
fresh fruits and vegetables for preserving.
Trip Characteristics
Out-of-county people who came primarily to visit farms
spent an average of half a day in the area. Visitors who
came to the area for reasons other than purchasing farm
produce (e.g., for general sightseeing, to visit family or
friends, or for outdoor recreation or camping), as well as
those who came primarily to visit the farm outlets
averaged 1.75 days in the area per trip. Agricultural
tourists generally visited two or three fresh farm produce
outlets during their stay. For almost one-third of the
out-of-county visitors, this was their first trip to the
farm outlets (Vis. 8). A surprisingly high 21% of local
visitors were also making their first trip to the farm
outlets. These percentages suggest a brisk growth in the
number of visitors at farm outlets. Less than 20% of
nonlocals have visited outlets six times or more versus
almost 40% of locals. Repeat visitation during the season
was common. Thirty-seven percent of out-of-county and 70%
of local respondents had visited the fresh farm outlets at
least twice during the previous season (Vis. 9). Nearly
half of the local respondents visited the outlets four
times or more.
Only 5% of the visitor parties that came mainly to visit
farms, i.e., agricultural tourists, stayed overnight,
while 31% of visitor parties coming to Cochise County for
other reasons who also visited farm outlets stayed
overnight. Almost two-thirds of all visitor parties that
stayed overnight chose to stay in Willcox.
Eighty-two percent of all out-of-county travelers visited
local farms only and did not visit any other local
attractions on that trip. The most popular other
attractions visited were the Chiricahuas and the Rex Allen
Museum, which were visited by 4% and 3% of the out of-
county visitors respectively (Vis. 10).
Sixty-three percent of the visitors who came to Cochise
County primarily to visit farms indicated that they would
likely NOT visit the area if there were no fresh farm
outlets. Of those visitors who came to Cochise County
primarily for other reasons, 40% indicated that they would
probably NOT visit the area if there were no fresh farm
outlets. Visitors are clearly attracted to the area for
more than fresh produce. However, in the absence of these
outlets, fewer visitors could be expected even from the
ranks of visitors coming for reasons other than to visit
farms.
What Visitors Want
An overwhelming 97% of all visitors interviewed planned to
return to the farm outlets. Forty-four percent of all
visitors indicated that what they liked most about
visiting the farm outlets was the experience of being on a
farm or in a rural place (Vis. 11). The next most commonly
cited reasons for liking the outlets were the freshness of
the produce (28%) and the quality of the produce (19%).
Over three-quarters of the visitors made the trip in
search of specific products (i.e., 76% of non-local and
86% of local visitors). Almost one-third of all visitors
were looking specifically for apples (37% of non-locals
but only 9% of local visitors). The other most popular
products in descending order were: sweet com, pumpkins,
tomatoes, peaches, string beans and squash (Vis. 12). A
more complete list of products that were sought is
available in Appendix table D. 1. (Vis. D1)
Although visitors appeared to greatly enjoy their current
experience, they had many suggestions for improvements.
The most common suggestions were to improve signage,
provide better rest rooms, improve the roads and do more
advertising, each of which were mentioned by 5% of all
respondents. It is important to keep in mind that
respondents were not prompted; they did not hear a list of
responses from which they could choose. If prompted, these
percentages might have been much higher. Nevertheless, 62%
had no suggestions for improvement. A list of the most
common suggestions is in Appendix table D.2.(Vis. D2)
When asked if there were other types of food products or
produce they would like to buy, the most often mentioned
products were berries, especially strawberries, peaches,
cherries, peas, lettuce, and various types of corn (sweet,
pop, white and yellow). A number of the products that
people mentioned are already available in the area.
However, they may not have been available at the
particular farm outlets that the respondent visited. This
illustrates the need for the farm outlets to promote each
other and customers to other operations that have these
products. A more complete list of products requested is in
Appendix table D.3. (Vis. D3)
Visitors indicated that they would be interested in doing
other activities while they were in the area. The most
frequently cited of these activities were riding horses,
swimming, fishing, farm tours, seeing crafts, and hiking
or camping. Suggestions for various types of fairs and
festivals also were common. A complete list of activities
is available in Appendix table D.4. (Vis. D4)
How Visitors Learned of the Farm Outlets
Most people (45%) learned about the farm outlets through
friends or family (Vis. 13), followed by newspaper
articles (15%) and signs (11%). The most visible forms of
formal advertising were roadside signage (noticed by 65%
of non-local and 85% of local visitors), newspaper
articles (50% of non-locals and 49% of locals) and
newspaper classified advertisements (45% of non-locals and
61% of locals). Over one-third of visitors had seen the
Fresh Farm Produce brochure (Vis. 14). However, the
brochure has far reaching influence because it is
typically the basis for newspaper and magazine articles
published on the fresh farm produce outlets.
IV. TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY VISITORS
Estimated Visitor Numbers
An estimated 19,032 non-local visitor parties went to one
or more of the farm outlets between mid-July and the end
of October, 1993. This represents approximately 81,450
out-of-county visitors to the farm outlets. This number of
visitors is greater than the number of tourists to either
Tombstone or Bisbee during the same months. In addition to
out-of-county visitors, an estimated 6,150 visitors came
from communities within Cochise County, but outside of
Willcox. Over 71% of all visitors stopped at the farm
outlets over the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
The number of visitors steadily increased over the season.
Approximately 11% of the visitors came during the last
two weeks of July, 25% in August, 29% in September and 35%
in October.
Several techniques were used to estimate the number of
visitors going to the farm outlets, including road traffic
counters, counts by outlet owners, and visitor
registration sheets. The most reliable was the use of road
traffic counters which were placed in the driveways of
several of the largest farm outlets. In order to eliminate
double counting, survey data were used to determine what
percentage of visitor parties at farms where road traffic
counters were installed also visited other farms. Farm
totals were reduced accordingly. The estimate does not
include visits to off-farm retail establishments selling
farm produce. This is an estimate of the number of
visitors to the area from July 15 through October 31,
1993, which would not include post-harvest visitors to the
pistachio and pecan orchards.
As a consequence of the quality of information that was
collected using road traffic counters and surveys, and
because of the number of exclusions made, these numbers
represent a conservative estimate of visitors coming
during the produce season to the farm outlets.
Average Expenditures by Visitors
Out-of-county visitors spent an average of $58.24 dollars
per party. While the largest share of agricultural
tourists' expenditures were made on farms, they also spent
significant amounts of money in restaurants, hotels and
gasoline stations. Table I(Vis. T1) shows the average
expenditures by several different types of visitors
including a) all out-of-county visitors to the farms who
indicated that they came to the area primarily to visit
farms, b) out-of-county visitors who came primarily for
other reasons, and c) local visitors. On average, non-
local visitors spent between $35 and $42 per party per
trip at the farm outlets. Local visitors spent an average
of $24 per visitor party per trip at the farms. While
purchases at restaurants and accommodations were the next
largest expenditure for out-of-county visitors, only a
small percentage actually stayed overnight in commercial
accommodations. Not all visitors made purchases in all
categories, however; over one-half of the visitors (53%)
spent money in restaurants and 23% spent money for
gasoline (Vis. 15). Visitors were interviewed at different
times during the day and not necessarily at the end of the
day after all purchases had been made. Statistical tests
indicate there is no significant difference between the
total expenditure estimates of visitors interviewed in the
early part of the day versus later in the day. The
expenditure estimates do not show any systematic biases.
In table 2,(Vis. T2) the average expenditures by
agricultural tourists (out-of-county visitors) who stayed
overnight in commercial lodging are compared to visitors
who did not stay overnight. Not only are the total
expenditures by visitor parties staying overnight more
than twice those not staying overnight but spending in all
of the categories is also higher. A notable exception is
that overnight visitors spent less for farm produce, by
about $7.50, than did visitors who stayed only for the
day.
Total Expenditures
The total expenditures by all out-of-county visitors are
estimated at $1,016,426, of which almost $768,000, or 76%
was spent at farm outlets (Vis. 16). Another 14% was spent
in restaurants and grocery stores, 5% was spent on lodging
and 4% was spent on gasoline. Visitors from within the
county spent an estimated $96,780 at the fresh farm
outlets, resulting in total visitor expenditures exceeding
$1.1 million. Although this total is not a huge amount in
relation to either crop receipts in Cochise County for
1992 ($37 million) or estimated visitor expenditures for
the entire county in 1990 ($180 million), it is still a
significant level of expenditures given the small number
of outlets. These revenues and associated jobs are quite
localized, and their significance at the specific
community level, (i.e., in Willcox), is greatly
heightened. This is exciting for two reasons, first, the
number of visitors are believed to be increasing
significantly every year. Second, opportunities exist for
adding value to current visitor's trips by, for instance,
encouraging overnight stays in the area.
Total expenditures attributed to agricultural tourism were
estimated as follows. For the 79% of out-of-county visitor
parties that came primarily to visit farms, all
expenditures were included. For other out-of-county
visitor parties, only expenditures at the farm outlets
were included.
V. ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURAL TOURISM IN COCHISE
COUNTY
To understand the implications of agricultural tourism for
the Willcox area and Cochise County as a whole it is
necessary to relate visitor expenditures back to the
economy of the region. While the economy of Cochise County
as a whole is dominated by the presence of the Fort
Huachuca military base, Willcox and other nearby
communities depend primarily on agriculture, tourism,
highway services and retirement-related activities. Cattle
have long been an important agricultural product in the
Willcox area along with cotton, feed grains, chile and
alfalfa production. More recent agricultural developments
have included the orchards and vegetable production.
Visitor expenditures are sales by local businesses of a
combination of locally and non-locally produced goods and
services. In the case of agricultural tourism, a large
share of these sales are of local output and reflect the
direct effect of agricultural tourism on the local
economy. To produce this output, local businesses
purchased goods and services as inputs. Some of those
inputs were purchased locally, i.e., seed, agricultural
chemicals, fuel, water pumps and other farm equipment, and
labor. Most of these items, besides labor, are sold
locally but produced somewhere else, so the money spent on
these inputs soon leaves the local economy. However, the
purchase of farm inputs from local input suppliers and any
further local purchases by input suppliers represent
indirect effects of agricultural tourism in the local
economy.
People employed by farm outlets and owners all live
locally and tend to purchase many goods and services
locally. Their expenditures stimulate other businesses in
the community such as grocery and general merchandise
stores, utility companies, and banks. This is referred to
as the induced or consumption effect of agricultural
tourism in the local economy. Together, the indirect and
the induced or consumption effects represent the
multiplier effect of direct fresh farm produce sales on
the local economy.
In this study, an IMPLAN input-output model of Cochise
County was used to estimate the multiplier effects of
agricultural tourism on the county. This model was
developed by Federal government agencies and cooperating
universities to provide a consistent set of county, state
and regional input-output models for the United States.
The results from this model indicate that the
approximately $1.1 million in direct agricultural tourist
expenditures resulted in about $1.9 million in gross
revenue impacts and approximately $950,000 in net revenue
or value added impacts. Gross revenue impacts represent
the effect on total industry output, but can include some
double counting. For example, farm inputs such as
fertilizer end up being counted at the fresh farm outlets
and also at the farm supply distributor. Net revenue or
value added impacts sum up only the value that has been
added by each business by subtracting out all purchased
inputs except labor.
A second method for assessing the economic significance of
direct farm marketing is to consider employment. The 18
fresh farm outlets described in Section II of this report
have a total of 41.12 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees
that are exclusively involved in direct farm marketing.
Actually, a larger number of people are employed but many
of their jobs are either part-time or full-time on a
seasonal basis. These 18 outlets also have a significantly
larger number of employees, but it is only those jobs
attributable to direct farm marketing that are considered
here. In addition to the jobs created directly at the farm
outlets, jobs are created elsewhere in Cochise County
through the multiple effects described in the previous
paragraphs. An additional 26.73 FTE jobs are estimated to
have been created through the multiplier effect. In other
words, direct farm marketing is responsible for creating a
total of 67.85 FTE jobs in Cochise County during 1993.
VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary
Fresh farm outlets attracted more than 81,400 non-local
visitors (19,000 non-local visitor parties) to the Willcox
area during the mid-July through October season in 1993.
In addition, 11,200 visitors from Cochise County Visited
farm outlets. Out-of-county visitors spent over one
million dollars in the county resulting in economic
impacts of $1.9 million in gross revenue and $950,000 in
net revenue. Agricultural tourism supported 67.89 FTE jobs
directly and through the multiplier effect.
Given the growth that the outlets have experienced in
recent years, it is very likely that the number of
visitors will continue to increase as will the revenue and
employment generated by agricultural tourism. Over 97%
of all visitors planned to return to the outlets in 1994
and almost one-third of those interviewed were visiting
the outlets for the first time.
In general, visitors tend to have slightly above average
incomes and education. A large majority come from the
Tucson metropolitan area. Almost 79% came to the area
primarily to visit the farms. Very few of the visitors are
spending the night in the area or visiting other
attractions. However, this does not mean they would not do
so if additional tourist opportunities were available. The
respondents suggested other types of activities they were
interested in, and these activities might lead visitors to
extend their stays. One-fifth of all respondents indicated
that they were retired. Retirees in particular may be a
good group to target for extended stays. In addition,
since a significant number of visitor groups include
children, special marketing to those groups may extend
the length of their stays.
Even without an overnight stay, out-of-county visitors
spend around $58 per party per trip in the county or
approximately $14 per person. These are relatively high
expenditures for day trip visitors. Expenditures, for
instance, by day trip nature-based visitors to the San
Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Cochise
County were under $7 per person. Average total
expenditures of non-local visitors who came specifically
to visit farms and stayed overnight were about $130 per
party per trip versus only $54 per party per trip for
those not spending a night.
Forty-four percent of the visitors indicated that what
they liked best about the area was the opportunity to have
a rural farm experience. There were numerous requests for
farm tours, festivals and other farm related experiences.
Recommendations
The results of this survey lead to several suggestions.
Keep in mind that the visitors interviewed for this study
came to the area primarily for a rural or farm experience
and secondarily to purchase farm products. Fresh farm
produce operators must continually focus on how they can
expand and maintain the quality of that experience. A
number of suggestions were identified through the survey.
These are summarized in Appendix E, Ideas for Furthering
the Local Fresh Farm Produce Industry. Operators might
consider giving tours, either on a regular basis or during
selected weekends. Alternatively, they might consider
setting up a self-guided walking tour of the PUBLIC
portion of their operations. Visitors also indicated
interest in more festival type events such as the pumpkin
festival during the season.
A second implication of this desire by visitors to have a
rural farm experience is that complementary activities
that are already available in the community might be
promoted to these visitors. Possibilities include the
livestock auction, trail rides, calf roping, the Cochise
County Fair, and Western wear shopping. Other activities
that already exist or could be developed that visitors
expressed interest in doing include horse riding,
swimming, fishing, picnicking, birding, and visiting a
petting farm or the ostrich farms. Since the Rex Allen
Museum is one of the other attractions that appealed to
visitors, it might be marketed more effectively to
visitors to the farms. Related activities such as Rex
Allen Days, a Rex Allen or western movie festival,
Saturday night western dances and historical tour's or
festivals also might be developed and promoted to
agricultural tourists. Local restaurants might emphasize
the use of locally raised produce in their menu.
Visitor interest in a rural experience also indicates that
local entrepreneurs might prosper by developing other
related enterprises such as a bed and breakfast, on-farm
camping, horse rides or trail rides, vacations on working
ranches or farms, outdoor BBQ's or steak fries, ranch
tours, storytelling, and rodeos. Visitors should be
provided a weekend calendar of events and encouraged to
stay overnight.
One way for other businesses in the community to benefit
more from agricultural tourists is to encourage the
visitors to stay longer in the area. One step towards
doing this is to develop and promote an overnight or
getaway package. This would necessitate planning
additional events in the community, particularly in the
evening. It would require cooperation from business people
to stay open for at least part of the weekend. It also may
require that lodging facilities provide some means for
visitors to cool and store produce overnight. Willcox
might market itself as a peaceful, quiet place where
visitors can enjoy the early morning on the farm by
staying overnight. Interested businesses might work
together to develop a targeted brochure and other
marketing strategies to promote the concept of a rural
farm getaway weekend. Further ideas are listed in Appendix
table D.2. (Vis. D2)
Farm outlets could benefit from community assistance in
improving existing county roads in their areas, which was
one of the most common suggestions by visitors. The
outlets also could benefit from the placement of better
signage to attract and direct visitors to the farms.
Likewise, if non-farm businesses hope to attract these
visitors to their operations, better signage is needed to
direct visitors back into town from the farm outlets.
The farm outlets themselves have a host of opportunities
for expanding and improving their businesses. Some of the
specific enterprise opportunities are listed in Appendix
C.(Vis. C)
(Vis. C2)
(Vis. C3)
One of the main concerns of visitors was acquiring
accurate information about how to get to the farms and
what would be there once they arrived. These concerns can
be addressed through improvements in the Fresh Farm
Produce brochure, in improved signage, particularly off of
Interstate 10, and by providing a central telephone number
that visitors can call to get current information about
produce availability. In addition, by having promotional
materials for other farm outlets, restaurants, hotels,
attractions and events in the area on the premises, farm
outlets can help visitors locate other products and
services. Word of mouth is the most effective way of
promoting farm produce outlets. As long as visitors are as
satisfied with their experience as those interviewed
during the 1993 season, the word is likely to continue to
spread. Fresh farm produce outlets should consider
providing their customers with "point of purchase"
marketing materials such as a business card or brochure,
the Fresh Farm Produce brochure, and brochures on other
attractions in the area that customers can share with
their neighbors, family and friends when they return home.
Free publicity that newspapers in the state have given the
farm outlets through articles on the area is a valuable
way of getting of their stay in the area. Customer service
is information to potential visitors. The Willcox Chamber
of Commerce and Agriculture has been instrumental in
providing information to the press and will hopefully
continue to play this role. They have also played a key
role in the printing and distribution of the Fresh Farm
Produce brochure and in making the brochure readily
available at the Chamber Visitor Center. The community
must continually seek out opportunities to get free
publicity on the attractions and activities being offered.
Fresh farm produce operators can benefit from more joint
advertising with emphasis on informing the public of the
breadth of activities and produce available. The objective
of such advertising would be to increase the number of
visitors and the length another important aspect of
marketing. Various suggestions for improving customer
service are contained in Appendix D.(Vis. D)
(Vis. D2)
(Vis. D3)
(Vis. D4)
For non-farm businesses interested in catering to
visitors, the agricultural tourists represent a
tremendous, relatively untapped market. Other businesses
that are not located near the farm outlets need to devise
strategies for luring visitors back into their part of
town. They also must consider staying open days and hours
that they may currently be closed, especially during the
weekends. This is particularly critical since an estimated
71% of all agricultural tourists visit on weekends.
Appendix table D.2 (Vis. D2) contains various suggestions
for local business people on how they might expand sales
to these visitors.
APPENDIX A
Survey Methodology
In designing this study, two important unknowns were an
estimate of the total number of visitors to the fresh farm
produce outlets and the amount of variation in the
expenditures of these visitors while in the area. As a
result, one of the most important tasks of the study was
to determine the total number of visitors to the fresh
farm produce outlets. Several methods were chosen
including using road traffic counters in the driveways of
several larger fresh farm produce outlets, having visitor
registries at all farm outlets, and asking smaller outlets
to keep counts based on number of sales. Visitor party
size was estimated primarily from survey results but was
compared to registry figures.
To get the most accurate results on expenditures possible,
the researchers focused on trying to do as many interviews
as possible. Toward the end of the study, this meant that
most of the interviewing was done on the busy weekend days
and at the largest outlets since they had the largest
number of visitors. Interviews were conducted on 40 days
starting July 15, 1993 and ending October 24, 1993.
Thirty-three of these days fell on the weekend (Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday).
The survey instrument was designed with open-ended
questions throughout in order not to bias responses by
providing prompts. The exception was that visitors were
provided a list of all fresh farm outlets in the area when
asked about outlets they had visited or planned to visit.
We also provided lettered income categories that visitors
could choose from instead of asking them for their exact
income. This technique has resulted in higher response
rates in previous studies.
The survey was designed to be administered with a laptop
computer using the QPL interviewing software. This reduced
the time and cost involved in data input as it was
conducted at the time of the interview. It also helped
highlight the use of laptop computers for interviewing.
We considered providing a postcard to visitors so that
they could send their estimate of what they spent on this
trip once it was over. However, the disadvantage of this
approach was that response rates would have been lower. It
would also have required collecting names and addresses of
interviewees and possibly doing follow-up mailings.
Instead, visitors were asked to estimate their
expenditures at the time they were interviewed. This meant
that visitors interviewed near the end of the day were
likely to give more informed estimates of their total
expenditures than those interviewed early in the day.
However, statistical tests comparing the expenditures
estimated by visitors interviewed at the beginning of the
day versus those at the end of the day indicate that there
are no significant differences in the size of expenditures
between the two groups.
Interviewers were instructed to interview the first person
leaving the cash register at the farm outlet once they had
set up the computer. After each interview, they were
instructed to check over the interview to make sure they
had not made mistakes in entering the responses. They then
asked the next person they saw leaving the cash register
if they were willing to participate. Most people were
willing to respond. The effective response rate, or the
percentage of people who chose to be interviewed, was 79%
in this study. This is a reasonable response rate for
surveys administered through personal interviews.
Given the final sample size of 904 respondents, the
response rate and the methodology used to estimate total
numbers of visitors, the expenditure estimates are within
plus or minus 10% of actual expenditures. Confidence
intervals for other questions asked are somewhat smaller,
meaning that the responses are believed to be closer to
the results that would be expected had a census of
visitors been conducted.
APPENDIX B
Agricultural Tourism Survey
Hi, my name is . I am conducting a survey for the
University of Arizona Cooperative Extension to learn more
about visitors to fresh farm produce outlets in this area.
It will help the fresh farm produce businesses better meet
your needs. It will take about five to ten minutes to
complete. Could I have a few minutes of your time?
Survey Number
Date
Time
1. What is your home zip code?
2. Do you live in Cochise County?
yes (if in Cochise County go to question 9)
no
3. How much time do you plan to spend in this area on this
trip? hours (go to question 6) days
4. Have you or do you plan to stay in this area overnight?
no, zero nights (if 0 go to question 6 )
- yes, How many nights? - nights
5. In what communities did you or do you plan to stay
overnight in this area?
Willcox
Sierra Vista/ Huachuca City
Bisbee
Tombstone
Douglas
Benson
Dragoon
Other, please specify:
6. What is the main purpose of this trip to this area?
(Check one only)
To buy fresh farm produce
To visit historical sites or museums (Tombstone, Bisbee,
etc)
Outdoor recreation (Chiricahuas, Cochise Stronghold, Mt.
Graham, Aravaipa)
To see the Bonita tomato greenhouse
To do some general site seeing (for the ride, to get out
of the city)
To visit friends and family
Business or work related
Other, please specify:
7. If there was no fresh farm produce for sale in the
area, would you visit this area anyway?
no yes not sure
8. In addition to the farm produce outlets, what other
area attractions have you or do you plan to visit during
this trip?
Willcox Chamber of Commerce/ Museum of the Southwest
Rex Allen Museum
Cochise Stronghold
Chiricahuas
Aravaipa Canyon
Mt. Graham
Fort Bowie
Ghost towns (Dos Cabezas, Pearce, etc.)
Amerind Foundation
Sunsites
Golf course
St. David
Tombstone
Bisbee
Ft. Huachuca/Sierra Vista
Other, please specify:
9. On this trip, approximately how many fresh farm produce
outlets have you or do you plan to visit?
10. On this trip, which of the following fresh farm
product outlets have you or do you definitely plan to
visit (present a list of the names of related operations)
Apple Annie's
AZCO Orchard
Briggs-Dieter
Briggs Orchard
Circle I Farms
Cook Shack Pistachios
Country Treasures
God's Little Acres Fish Farm
Hatch-Nolan Orchard
Hunsdon Farms U-Pick/We-Pick Produce
Jernigan Farm Produce and Orchards
Legg Orchard
Stout's Cider Mill
Willcox Meat Packing
Beck's Retail Store & Sulphur Springs Meat Packers
Corron's Small Organic Farm
Estancia Orchard
J & B Orchard
Kennedy U-Pick Orchard
Long's Orchard
Mitchell Orchard
Ratzlaff Veggies
Sehe-Ya Natural Pistachios
Triple A Ranch Processing
At Last A Place Farm
Beatty's Miller Canyon Apiary and Orchard
Sweeney's Onion Patch
White Feather Stock Farm
Zamp Country Nursery
Other, please list:
11. Including yourself, how many people are in the group
that you are traveling with? _
12. How many people in your party are female?
13. How many people in your party are 17 years of age or
younger?
14. How many people in your party are 60 years of age or
older?
15. In the next few questions I will be asking you to
estimate the expenditures your party (the number of people
you just indicated as being with you on this trip) have
made or plan to make in this area.
The first thing I want to know is how much your party has
spent or plans to spend
a. at this outlet:
b. at other outlets:
Cochise County residents answer only these first two
questions
How much has your party spent or does your party plan to
spend on:
c. gas:
d. groceries:
e. restaurant food:
f. lodging:
g. other purchases:
h. What types of other purchases did you make?
entrance fees, licenses, donations
books
apparel
crafts
art- paintings, sculptures, etc.
toiletries
16. Did you come to the fresh farm produce outlets to
purchase specific products?
no, whatever is available
yes, what products did you come to purchase? (check all
that apply)
_ apples
_ apple cider
_ apple pies
_ bakery products
_ black eyed peas
_ chilies
_ corn (sweet corn)
_ cucumbers
_ honey
_ meat
_ melons
_ okra
_ peaches
_ pecans
_ pistachios
_ pumpkins
_ squash
_ string beans
_ tomatoes
other, please list:
17. For how many years, including this year, have you
visited farm produce outlets in this area? one, this is
the first time (skip to question 19)
number of years
18. How many separate trips during 1992 did you make to
this area for farm produce?
_ trips
19. Do you plan to return to this area to buy farm produce
next year?
no. If no, why do you not plan to return to this area?
It is too far to come
I am moving to a different area
Not satisfied with the quality of produce available
Not satisfied with the service
Limited selection
Run out of the produce I want to buy
Prices are too high
It is too crowded, I had to wait in line
It is too hot
Picking is too hard
Inadequate public facilities- rest rooms, places to sit,
etc.
Other
yes. If yes, what do you like about the fresh farm produce
outlets?
I like the service- people are friendly & helpful
I like the quality of the produce
I like to freshness of the produce
I like the variety of the produce
The prices are very reasonable
I like the drive out here
I like to come for a farm or rural experience
I come out to visit friends and family anyway
I come out here for work related activities
I come here to buy apple products
I come to buy specialty vegetable products
I come to buy a specific type of product
I like the recipes and information sheets provided
I like the animal displays
I like the craft displays
Other
20. The owners would like to have your suggestions as to
what they or the community can do to better serve your
needs. What suggestions do you have for improving this
outlet?
Provide:
picnic tables and chairs
drinking fountain or water cooler
rest rooms
place to wash produce
barbecue grill
cool shaded area to rest
ice for sale
soft drinks or snacks for sale
more parking space
instructions on how to pick and prepare produce
recipes
better road signage
better map or instructions on how to get here
grow a larger variety of crops
stay open Saturday afternoon and Sunday
stay open for longer hours during the day
improve the customer service
lower prices of produce
improve the road
other, please specify:
21. How did you learn about this fresh farm produce
outlet?
through friends or family
through roadside signs
through a newspaper article
through the Fresh Farm Produce brochure
through classified newspaper ads
received a call or a postcard
referred by another producer or business
I don't remember or am not sure
other, please specify:
22. Have you seen the following advertisements for produce
operations here? Fresh Farm Produce brochure classified
newspaper ads newspaper feature articles road signs radio
announcements television coverage
23. What are your occupations? (open ended, code later)
24. (Provide Income Chart) Of the lettered income
categories on this chart, can you tell me which letter
best describes your family's before tax income?
a. less than $15,000
b. 15,001-30,000
C. 30,001-40,000
d. 40,001-60,000
e. 60,001-80,000
f. 80,001-100,000
g. over 100,000
h. no response
The next three questions require the response of only one
individual, if interviewing a group:
25. What is the highest grade in school or degree that you
have completed?
26. Would you describe yourself as White, Black, Native
American, Asian or Pacific Islander or Hispanic?
White
Black
Native American
Asian or Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Other
27. In what country were you born?
U.S.
Mexico
Canada
Korea
Japan
Philippines
Vietnam
India
China
U.K.
France
Italy
Germany
Poland
Other, please specify:
28. Are there any other products you would like to see
offered for sale?
no yes, please describe:
29. Are there other things that you would like to do
during this trip that you can not currently do?
no yes, please describe:
Number of respondents
Sex(es) of respondents M F Both
Thank you very much for participating in this survey.
(Offer a Fresh Farm Produce brochure to person if they
want one).
APPENDIX C - Fresh Farm Produce Brochure (Vis. C)
Southeastern Arizona Producers 1993 (Vis. C2)
Harvest Calendar (Vis. C3)
APPENDIX D - Table D.1 Specific Produce Visitors Came to
Buy (Vis. D)
Table D.2 Most Common Suggestions for
Improving Farm Outlets (Vis. D2)
Table D.3 Products That Visitors Wanted to
Buy But Were Not Available (Vis. D3)
Table D.4 Other Services and Activities
Visitors Wanted (Vis. D4)
APPENDIX E
Ideas for the Local U-Pick/Fresh Farm Produce Industry
and Other Local Businesses
Enhance and promote the farm/rural experience.
a. Fresh farm produce operators need to continually focus
on the fact that visitors are coming for an EXPERIENCE as
well as fresh produce. Operators future success will
depend on how well they are able to provide both. Various
ideas for expanding "the experience" are identified in the
survey results.
b. Is there an opportunity to promote other (already
existing) complementary activities as part of the
farm/rural experience?
Examples might include:
Rex Allen Museum
Saturday night western dance
swimming/city park/ramada
vintage movies
livestock auction
History Fest/historic pageant
horse riding
historic walking tour/depot
calf roping
buy cowboy/farmer duds
Amerind Museum
Cochise Lake/birding
Cochise Stronghold picnic
Farm trail self-guided tours
Cochise County Fair
storyteller
historic sites, i.e., Faraway Ranch
Ostrich weekend
food festivals
cook-offs or bake-offs
C. Is there an opportunity for a local entrepreneur to
develop other moneymaking activities? Examples might
include:
outdoor BBQ/steak fry/chuckwagon
horse/hay rides
bed and breakfast
on-farm camping
rent-a-tree
rodeo
petting farm
farm/ranch guided tour
"your farm" T-shirts
vacation on a working farm
country festivals
2. Develop and promote an overnight/get-away package.
Get visitors to stay longer. The economic impact of the U-
Pick visitor has been significant, but not as great as it
could be.
a. The average overnight visitor party will spend an
additional $75 in the community.
b. There are more than six hours of activities available.
Tourist demographics indicate that people today are taking
shorter, more frequent vacations, i.e., the extended
weekend. Thirty percent of today's travelers are
categorized as "knowledge seekers," who want to learn on a
vacation by trying new things and learning about others.
C. Experience the peaceful solitude of early morning (or
early evening) on a farm. Pick in the cool of the morning.
Hear the rooster crow and other early morning sounds of
the farm. Breathe fresh air at its finest. Have a country
breakfast.
d. Provide for overnight cooling and storage of produce.
e. Provide visitors with a weekend calendar of events.
Plan evening activities. Plan for the special interests
and needs of (1) families with children, (2) retirees, (3)
group tours.
f. Serve dishes made from local farm fresh produce in
restaurants, e.g., sweet corn, okra, black-eyed peas,
pies, local beef products, apple desserts.
g. Host bus tours for garden clubs, retirement
communities, church groups, etc.
h. Additional festivals, e.g., watermelon seed spitting
contest, scarecrow contest, ostrich festival.
i. Develop a targeted, very focused brochure, with a clear
sequence of activities. People can have trouble getting
around unless you make it easy for them.
j. Develop the reputation as a tourist-friendly community.
k. Find out who your visitors are; work at getting them
back. Develop the reputation as a tourist-friendly
community.
l. Be willing also to promote the rest of Cochise County.
Identify and develop other marketing opportunities.
a. Name (contract with) a publicist to develop media
opportunities and systematically generate positive, free
publicity for the U-Pick/fresh farm produce industry.
Broaden your publicity coverage to include other media and
geographic areas. Invite media, TV, radio, newspapers and
magazines to events.
b. Build repeat customers. Send post card or flier to past
customers indicating when certain types of produce will be
available. 97.5% of visitors in 1993 said they plan to
return.
c. Help your customers spread the word, e.g., distribute
business cards, brochures or souvenirs.
d. Improve signage and directions.
* Signage at Exits 340, 3 18, etc. could increase the
number of I- 10 travelers going to the fresh farm produce
outlets.
* Signage on Ft. Grant Road to direct U-Pick visitors back
into town.
* Develop display at Chamber Visitor Center; distribute
"Fresh Farm Produce" brochure and maps.
* Provide better directional signage; keep signs in good
repair; use 7" to 12" letters and a good contrast of
colors; space signs to ease turnoff.
e. Initiate a telephone service of what is available this
week and where; e.g., a central number with a pre-recorded
message.
f. Refine and promote your market niche, e.g., grow
special varieties for different ethnic groups.
g. Develop and distribute "point of purchase" marketing
materials, i.e., what else is available. Many visitors
were not aware that certain products were available at
other businesses.
* "Fresh Farm Produce" brochure.
* Better map.
* Community brochure and map to restaurants, museums,
swimming pool, etc.
* Give referrals (exchange customers; give "Willcox
dollars").
* Make sure others in the community are aware of your
business, and that you are aware of theirs.
* The goal of cooperative promotion is to exchange
travelers.
* This survey indicates that U-Pick visitors are visiting
other sites and attractions in very small numbers.
h. Expand distribution of the "Fresh Farm Produce"
brochure.
i. Continue to expand your advertising; seek feedback from
your customers, particularly your new customers, as to
where they heard about you to determine which advertising
media is most effective. Other research on direct farm
marketing indicates that advertising, with emphasis on
product freshness and quality, is more likely to move
produce than price cutting.
j. Develop and promote a unified image. Pool some of your
advertising dollars to create greater public awareness of
the industry as a whole and of the Willcox area through
better signage and advertising. Emphasize the variety of
outlets, produce and experience available. There is no
indication that the Cochise County fresh farm produce
industry is approaching market saturation.
k. Encourage school children and other field trips in
order to foster later visits by the family.
l. Other marketing opportunities might include:
rent-a-tree
gift certificates
gift baskets/packages
mail order
"your farm" T-shirts
produce/U-Pick membership
4. Customer service
a. Build repeat customers through customer satisfaction.
b. Good sales people spend at least 80% of their time
listening and less than 20% of their time telling.
Customers will tell you what their needs are if we will
just ask questions and listen.
C. Provide information to your customers on:
how to reduce spoilage
picking instructions
how to can, freeze, and process the produce they purchase
recipes and cooking ideas
provide demonstrations and educational exhibits
d. Customer amenities:
Sufficient and clean toilets. Control odors, e.g.,
sphagnum peat moss.
cool water or drinking fountain
shaded rest areas
garbage cans
soda pop or fruit juices
e. On-farm signage and instruction
*prices clearly posted
*list of produce now available (at your entrance)
*more directional signage and markers in the field
*clear pathways
*visitors are not familiar with your farm; they need very
explicit instructions as to what they are to do
f. Check-out
Position scale so that customer can see for themselves the
weight of the produce.
Clarify whether pre-picked or u-pick, when there is a
difference in price.
Provide a receipt with your farms' name on it.
g. Friendly, helpful employees.
Give customers individual attention.
Model desired behavior.
"Catch your people doing things right, and tell them about
it in no uncertain terms."
Make it easy for employees to make change; provide
calculator, cash register.
5. Community Infrastructure
a. Road improvements to better handle traffic.
b. Wider turnoffs to the fresh farm produce outlet.
6. Provide training opportunities for fresh farm produce
operators and local merchants.
a. Developing a business plan.
b. Marketing; effective advertising; directional signage;
weekend packages; brochure development.
c. Display, merchandising, storage, pricing and packaging
of produce.
d. Demographic trends which will impact the tourism market
in the coming decade.
e. Dealing with the public; how to hold your cool (when
the porta-potty is plugged up).
f. Stress management
g. Liability and insurance
h. Direct farm marketing; agricultural tourism
Christenson, Director, Cooperative Extension, College of
Agriculture, The University of Arizona.
The University of Arizona College of Agriculture is an
equal opportunity employer authorized to provide research,
educational information and other services only to
individuals and institutions that function without regard
to sex, race, religion, color, national origin, age,
Vietnam Era Veteran's status, or disability.
This information is for educational purposes only. References
to commercial products or trade names does not imply
endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not
mentioned. This information becomes public property upon
publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU
Extension. Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise
a commercial product or company.
This file was generated from data base TD on 09/30/03.
Data base TD was last revised on 06/06/02.
For more information about this data base or its contents please contact
alexande@msue.msu.edu . Please read our
disclaimer for important
information about using our site.
