Qualitative assessment of agritourism safety guidelines: a demonstration project

In 2007, the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) published Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children to provide helpful recommendations for protecting the health and safety of children visiting agritourism farms. Supplement A: Policies and Procedures Guide and Supplement B: Worksite Guide were subsequently published in 2009 and provided agritourism farms with checklists to use in reviewing, planning, and implementing their own health and safety practices. In order to better understand what would be required of a farm wishing to implement the guidelines using Supplements A and B, the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute conducted a single-family farm demonstration project with support from the NCCRAHS. The aims of the project were to (1) determine child health and safety risks associated with an existing agritourism farm; (2) determine the cost of making improvements necessary to reduce risks; and (3) use project findings to motivate other agritourism farms, Cooperative Extension agents, and agritourism insurers to adopt or recommend Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children for their own farms or farms with which they work. At the conclusion of the study, the target farm was in compliance with an average of 86.9% of items in Supplements A and B. Furthermore, 89% of individuals self-identifying as farmers or farm workers and 100% of Cooperative Extension agents and agritourism insurers attending an end-of-project workshop indicated their intent to adopt or recommend Agritourism Health and Safety Guidelines for Children for their own farms or farms with which they work.