PR - EDUCATIONAL FARM TOUR INCREASES CONSUMER CONFIDENCE IN MODERN FOOD PRODUCTION

Abstract:
In 2015, an educational farm tour was held in Ohio, USA with 3,009 participants to promote consumer confidence in modern food production. Exit surveys (n=578) indicated that first-time visitors’ (60% of those surveyed) level of trust in modern food production had a mean of 3.68 before and 4.44 after the tour with an increase of .76 (5-point scale; 1 = very low, 5 = very high). Transparency on the farm was a key factor in their increased trust. This study encourages agricultural communities that well planned educational farm tours can have meaningful impact on consumer confidence in modern food production.
Keywords: educational farm tour, local foods, consumer confidence in agriculture, modern food production, transparency in food production