Where is Fun on the Farm Found? How Structural Factors Effect Agritourism Location in Michigan

• In Event: 095 - Section on Community and Urban Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 07. Consumption and the City

Abstract

With growing emphasis on diversifying the agricultural sector, there is increasing interest in developing agritourism especially for small and mid-sized producers. This paper contributes to the literature in this subfield of scholarship by moving beyond the motivations of producers and consumers to consider what structural factors of place might explain the presence of agritourism operations. Using data on agritourism enterprises obtained from the Michigan Agri-Tourism Association, I test two competing hypotheses. The first, derived from the literature on agritourism, argues that urban-ness is the sole structural factor determining the location of agritourism businesses. In particular, using Bernardo, Valentin, & Leatherman’s (2004) distinction between ‘natural amenity’ and ‘day-trip’ agritourism, I hypothesize that greater urban-ness increases the likelihood of agritourism presence in Michigan counties. My second hypothesis, derived from Bourdieu’s cultural capital theory, predicts that spatially grouped capitals such as income and education will be the sole predictors of where agritourism businesses are located. This goes beyond pure numbers of people and instead investigates the characteristics these groups possess that may create spaces supportive of agritourism. The results show that while spatial capitals are a stronger predictor of the location of agritourism enterprises, urban-ness has a unique multiplier effect that helps counties increase their number of agritourism businesses to three or more. This helps to resolve some debate over the complex effect of urban-ness on agritourism. The implications for future research and policy are discussed.

Author

• Katherine Dentzman, Michigan State University