Georgia Agritourism Set to Rebound and Tractor-Combine Sales Surge
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**A national survey from last year measured Americans’ attitudes about travel during the pandemic, and Georgia tourism took a big hit.
Still, UGA’s Hospitality and Food Industry Program coordinator, Dr. John Salazar thinks better days are coming, telling www.grb.org there’s significant opportunity on the horizon for rural tourism, much of it agritourism.
Two key stats from the survey: First, 62% of respondents seek rural or small towns when selecting destinations.
Second, 48% said farmers’ markets or agritourism opportunities were important to them.
www.gfb.org/media-and-
publications/news.cms/2021/978/georgia-agritourism-poised-for-a-rebound
**Farm income and land values surged in the closing months of 2020, lifted by higher commodity prices and large federal payments.
Federal Reserve regional banks in Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis tell www.agriculture.com, with the commodity rally expected to persist, the farm economy was in its best shape in years.
Agriculture is forecast to benefit from an economy-wide recovery from the pandemic this year.
www.agriculture.com/news/business/strongest-farm-outlook-in-years-say-ag-bankers
**Farm tractor and self-propelled combine unit sales start the year continuing growth in both the U.S. and Canada according to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers.
U.S. total farm tractor sales rose 24.7% in January compared to 2020 while U.S. self-propelled combine sales grew a significant 76.8%.
U.S. unit sales grew across all segments, with the biggest gains continuing in the small sub-40hp segment, gaining 32.9%. 100+hp continued to grow, up 1.2%.
www.agwired.com