Bringing visitors onto the farm can be a great way to educate others about farm life, and it?s a critical part of the agritourism and agritainment industries.
However, there are important risk management considerations for those involved with on-farm visitors. In order to help educate farmers about the risks and how to prepare, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is offering a free, online training that covers the types of concerns these farmers might face.
The ?Farmers with On-Site Visitors Course? takes six hours to complete and includes seven modules that can be completed individually or concurrently. The training is in partnership with North Central Extension Risk Management Education.
Kendra Meyer, education extension specialist for ISU Extension and Outreach, gave a brief overview of the course.
Presenters are experts from extension and Iowa Farm Bureau Financial Services. Topics include:
- Loss Control and Identifying Hazards in Agritainment
- Beyond the Fine Print: Considering Legal Risks for Specialty Producers
- Farm Emergency Preparedness Training
- Protecting Animals and Humans from Biosecurity Risks
- Food Safety Best Practices: Food, Farm and Consumer
- Food Licensing for Value Added Products
- Pesticide Safety
Meyer said that farmers should take this course because risk management is an underrated part of agritourism.
The course provides landowners with a checklist of risk management considerations and discusses tools for lessening legal exposure. Participants are encouraged to seek legal counsel as they implement their strategies.
Meyer added that there are lots of educational opportunities with agritourism and agritainment. Risk management is necessary to ensure that these opportunities don’t go to waste.
For more information, Kendra Meyer can be reached at 515-294-9483 or ksmeyer@iastate.edu.
