Exploring the motivations and market opportunities of farming families involved in tourism microentrepreneurship
Despite increasing demand for food production, many family farms today define ‘success’ as survival. Rather than trying to maximize profits or become large corporations, farmers often strive to simply continue their lifestyle of working with their hands in nature and preserve natural working lands for future generations (Tew & Barbieri, 2012). However, this goal of survival is becoming difficult to achieve with many farmers feeling as if farming and ranching alone does not provide sufficient income. Moreover, farmers today are also struggling to get the next generation to return to the farm. Accordingly, the average age of the American farmer is increasing, which shows that less young people are entering this occupation (Mace, 2005). As a result, many families are looking for new revenue sources that allow them to sustain their farm operations and continue their way of life. Offering farm experiences is becoming an increasingly popular activity for family