Archive for Capacity Building and Facilitation
Insights on Agritourism Among Maine Producers: Evidence from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey
This report presents Maine-specific findings from the 2024 National Agritourism Producer Survey, conducted in part to address the type of knowledge gaps just identified. The online survey was open from March through August 2024, and 2,139 agritourism operators across the United States responded. A total of 94 survey participants identified themselves as being in Maine by reporting the postal (ZIP) code of their farm.
Authors: Jason Entsminger (University of Maine); Claudia Schmidt (Penn State and NERCRD); Sarah Cornelisse and Jackie Schweichler (Penn State)
Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: May 2, 2025
Tags: agritourism, agritourism data brief, data brief, survey
Minority-Owned Businesses: Insights from States in the Northeastern Region
This research report was developed as part of the USDA NIFA-funded project, “Factors Affecting the Success of Female and Minority Rural Entrepreneurs and Rural Economic Vitality.” The project, led by Dr. Heather M. Stephens, West Virginia University, seeks to provide insights into female and minority entrepreneurship to help key stakeholders develop policies and programs to support their success. This report provides detailed information about minority-owned businesses in the Northeast region. By highlighting the differences in minority entrepreneurship across the region, this report can support the development of policies to promote minority business development.
Authors: Xiaoyin Li, Heather M. Stephens, and Stephan J. Goetz
Publication: NERCRD Data Brief Date Published: October 22, 2024
The Complex Picture of Caregivers’ Health and Well-Being in the Northeast Region
Caregiving can be both a source of joy and stress for caregivers due to the lived realities of care provision and financial implications. In this brief, we explore the emotional and financial well-being of caregivers and assess differences across type of caregiving provided, gender, race-ethnicity, household income level, and geographic location.
Authors: Elena Pojman, Florence Becot, and Shoshanah Inwood
Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: October 17, 2024
Tags: caregiving
What supports do caregivers in the Northeast use and what support do they still need?
Providing care to children and adults requires time and resources. This brief explores the supports that caregivers use and the supports they still need. Since the caregiving needs of children and adults vary, this analysis includes variations on supports used based on the type of care provided.
Authors: Emily Southard, Florence Becot, Shoshanah Inwood
Publication: Published by NERCRD Date Published: October 1, 2024
Land-Grant University Capacity to Support Recreation Economies in National Forest Gateway Communities
This report was developed by Doug Arbogast, Rural Tourism Specialist, West Virginia University Extension Service, with support from the Extension Foundation, Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs), and the members of the National Extension Outdoor Recreation Working Group (NEORWG). It describes findings from an assessment conducted in 2024 of the capacity of Land Grant Universities to provide both Extension and research support for the development of recreation economies, and to determine the places in each RRDC region best positioned to deploy resources for program implementation. Arbogast’s analysis also includes two map resources:
- A data dashboard showing USDA RD investments already made in counties that contain a national forest.
- A map designed to identify opportunities for USDA Partnerships (Extension, Forest Service, and Rural Development) to support the development of recreation economies in gateway communities to U.S. National Forests. This map’s layers include Land Grant institutions that responded to the recreation economy survey, USDA Rural Development locations, USDA Forest Service locations, National Forest gateway communities, and regions served by the National Extension Tourism Network and the RRDCs.
Authors: Doug Arbogast, West Virginia University
Publication: Published by Extension Foundation and NERCRD Date Published: September 20, 2024
Tags: neorwg, NET, outdoor recreation