California Farms

What California Farms does

California Farms operates the California Agricultural Tourism Directory (CalAgTour.org), a statewide web-based discovery platform that lists farms, ranches, wineries, and agritourism operations across nine California regions: North Coast, North Mountains, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Foothills, South Coast, Central Coast, and Eastern Desert and Mountains. Listings are organized into categories including Accommodations (farm stays, B&Bs, glamping), Direct Agricultural Sales (produce, wines, cheeses, oils), Educational Experiences (tours, school programs, workshops), Entertainment (festivals, U-pick operations, corn mazes), and Outdoor Recreation (horseback riding, hiking, fishing). The directory is operated by the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) through its Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), with a small team including a Statewide Agritourism Coordinator and an Editor. There is no e-commerce transaction layer; the directory functions purely as an informational discovery and referral tool, with farmers self-serving their own listings through an "Add or Edit Your Farm" portal.

The business model is a public-service freemium model: listings are free to farmers, and consumer access is free to the public. The platform is funded through the University of California system rather than market revenue, with no disclosed subscription, advertising, listing fees, or transaction-based monetization. Distribution is anchored by partnerships with Visit California and Experience California Agriculture, which embed the directory into California's broader tourism promotion channels. Marketing is conducted primarily through the agritourism blog (covering regulation workshops and farmer-to-farmer volunteer assignments), social sharing across Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Tumblr, and the California Open Farm Passport — a structured program inviting visitors to discover multiple farms through scheduled events. The entity is owned and controlled by the Regents of the University of California, with no venture capital, private equity, or external commercial ownership. Customer segments are horizontal: California farmers and ranchers (suppliers of listings) and California residents and tourists (consumers of the directory), with no enterprise accounts or revenue concentration.

Name

California Farms

Legal name

Regents of the University of California

Website

https://calagtour.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

California Farms operates CalAgTour.org, a free, statewide web directory run by UC ANR that lists hundreds of California farms, ranches, and agritourism sites across nine regions, serving farmers seeking visitor visibility and consumers seeking farm experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agritourism Directory

NAICS

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting (11), Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Farm Stays & Agritourism Lodges (THAMADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Agritourism Eco-Lodges & Farm Nature Stays (THAAAHAL), Farmers’ Markets & Farm Stands (Fresh Food) (CRAHAHAE), Farmstay B&Bs & Agritourism Inns (THAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Agritourism directory
• Farm listings
• Agritourism platform
• Farm visits California
• Agricultural tourism

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Farmer Directory Listing Service: The directory allows farmers and ranchers to add or update their listings, likely free at point of use, with the goal of driving agricultural tourism across California. The platform is operated by UC ANR as a public service resource.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

California Farms (California Agricultural Tourism Directory) is a statewide web directory operated by UC ANR that connects visitors with California farms, ranches, wineries, and agritourism operations across nine regions. The platform offers searchable listings organized by region, county, and activity type, supplemented by the California Open Farm Passport program that promotes farm visits through structured events and locations. Farmers and ranchers submit their own listings free of charge through a self-service portal.

Product overview

California Farms, operated by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), is a directory platform offering a searchable database of agricultural tourism operations across nine California regions. The core offering is the California Agricultural Tourism Directory, supplemented by the California Open Farm Passport program. Listings are organized into categories including Accommodations (farm stays, B&Bs), Direct Agricultural Sales, Educational Experience, Entertainment, and Outdoor Recreation, enabling visitors to find and plan visits to farms, ranches, wineries, and agritourism destinations throughout the state.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• California Agricultural Tourism Directory

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Visit CaliforniacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVisit California is listed as a partner on the California Agricultural Tourism Directory website. Visit California promotes the directory and its listed agritourism offerings as part of its broader California tourism promotion mission.
• Experience California AgriculturecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerExperience California Agriculture is a platform spotlighting the state's diverse and dynamic agritourism offerings, linked from the directory. It serves as a curated entry point for agricultural tourism experiences in California.
• University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR)coreOthersUC ANR operates the directory through its Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) and the statewide agritourism coordinator position. The institution provides the infrastructure, staffing, and credibility behind the directory.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb: Airbnb is a broad incumbent travel marketplace that increasingly features farm stays, vineyard experiences, and agritourism workshops. It competes for the same end consumer and absorbs farm-stay supply that might otherwise list on the directory, but operates at vastly larger scope.

Direct peers

• Glamping Hub: Glamping Hub is a marketplace for upscale outdoor stays including glamping sites, yurts, cabins, and farm-based unique lodging. Directly comparable on the Accommodations category of the directory, though transactional where CalAgTour is informational.
• Tentrr: Tentrr operates a curated network of private-land campsites, including farms and ranches, with a self-service host onboarding flow similar to the directory's farmer portal. Comparable on product category (private-land outdoor stays) and supply-side model.
• Local Harvest: Local Harvest is a nationwide directory of farmers' markets, farm stands, CSA programs, and u-pick operations. Comparable on the Direct Agricultural Sales and farm-discovery categories of the CalAgTour directory, though operating at national rather than state scope.
• Hipcamp: Hipcamp is the leading private-land camping and outdoor stays marketplace in the U.S., including farms, ranches, vineyards, and other agritourism-relevant properties. It competes directly with the CalAgTour directory for both host supply (farmers) and consumer demand for farm-based outdoor experiences in California.
• FarmStay USA: FarmStay USA is a nationwide association and directory of working-farm accommodations. It is directly comparable in that it aggregates farm-stay listings into a single consumer-facing directory, competing for the same farm-stay booking intent (though at U.S.-wide scope rather than California-only).
• Harvest Hosts: Harvest Hosts is a membership-based directory connecting RVers with farms, wineries, breweries, and other unique hosts for overnight stays. It is a direct functional peer — a curated, host-driven agritourism/unique-stay directory serving overlapping California supply.

Regional players

• ReserveAmerica: ReserveAmerica operates outdoor recreation and campground reservations across multiple U.S. states. Comparable as an outdoor-recreation discovery and reservation layer, though primarily serving public lands and campgrounds rather than agritourism — useful as a reference point for how state-affiliated outdoor recreation platforms are structured.

Others

• Visit California: Visit California is a core GTM partner of CalAgTour and the state's official destination marketing organization. Comparable as the broader consumer-facing discovery layer for California tourism, of which agritourism is a sub-category, and a benchmark for how a public-good tourism platform drives consumer traffic.

Emerging players

• Farmers' Market Online: An online discovery resource for farmers' markets, farm stands, and direct-from-farm purchasing across the U.S. Comparable on the direct-sales and farm-discovery categories that CalAgTour supports, and representative of the broader consumer-facing farm-discovery niche.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CAagritourism
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-farms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Farms