QUARTERLY UPDATE SISKI YOU
ECON OM I C
D E V E L O P M E N T
QUARTER 1
C O UN C IL
MARCH 2017
ORGANIC FARM PRODUCER CHOOSES SISKIYOU COUNTY
Belcampo Farms is a vertically integrated food company and has been in business for nearly five year years. Starting out with just one butcher shop and restaurant, Belcampo now has a total of eight retail locations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. “Each of those retail locations required us to expand our farming production, which is all done here in Siskiyou County,” said Farm Director, Rodney Dowse, “We’re raising beef cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry, all on a
pasture based, grass fed system in an organic manner.” Since the beginning, Belcampo has grown from a few hundred acres to nearly 20,000 acres of farm land. All Belcampo products are raised organically and certified organic by CCOF. Belcampo’s choice to establish farm land was due to the value of the property with the easy access to competitive markets. “Obvious advantages to locating in Siskiyou County are, over and above, easy access to
OUR STRATEGY
Intersate-5; it allows us very easy shipping lines. From a farming perspective, there’s a lot of land base that’s available which allows our business opportunity to grow and quite frankly, grow in a very affordable manner compared to other areas of California,” said Dowse. To learn more about how you can take advantage of the opportunities in Siskiyou County call the Siskiyou Economic Development Council at (530) 842-1638.
Working with our partners we have developed a three-part strategy we have developed a three part strategy to fulfill our mission to facilitate business growth, retention, and attraction, to promote community prosperity.
SISKIYOU CAPITALIZES ON INVESTMENTS IN BREWERIES, AIMS TO EXPAND GROWING SECTOR Siskiyou County is home to a number of breweries that have been providing a much desired service to the Siskiyou consumer marketplace such as the Etna Brewery & Taphouse and the Dunsmuir Brewery (pictured right). Current growth trends of local breweries are positively impacting multiple economic development sectors. Benefits of breweries are myriad including tax benefits, community development, supply chain growth to name a few. In terms of tax benefits, for example, breweries have the potential to provide more benefits to municipalities than other similarly sized manufacturers. Overall, breweries have an extremely low failure rate. For example, restaurants have one of the highest business failure rates yet when a restaurant is added to a brewery, the brewery failure rate increases minimally. Siskiyou Economic Development will be releasing a guide to provide an overview on the benefits that breweries bring to an area, including economic impact, jobs and tax income for the jurisdictions. We hope this report will be a resource to local jurisdictions as they pursue attraction of breweries. Including necessary information such as land, utilities, workforce, and how the city ought to be prepared before approaching a brewery. The guide lays out best practices to attracting a brewery. If you would like a copy of the Brewery Guide, please contact Sean Smith, Program Manager, at sean@siskiyoucounty. org.  
*Graph created by DSG Advisors, Source is U.S. Brewers Association and presented by IEDC
SISKIYOU EDC AND PARTNERS ADDRESS WORKFORCE CHALLENGES WITH BUSINESS LEADERS In recent months, the Siskiyou Economic Development Council, along with partner organizations, have convened a series of meetings with local businesses and community leaders from across the County to discuss workforce challenges. Businesses reported difficulty attracting qualified employees and have concerns over economic models which predict that Siskiyou County is slated to lose 2,000 working-age people by 2020, essentially doubling the current loss to 18 percent of the working age population having left Siskiyou County (see chart below), according to a report released by NorTech. Recent local and regional survey data identify one of the major challenges in the labor market as inadequate experience/qualifications. To elevate this poignant issue, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors recently adopted a resolution stating workforce
as one of the most important community priorities in our region. However, with Siskiyou’s improving economy and high demand for labor, we see an opportunity to leverage resources to improve job
readiness planning and several organizations in Siskiyou County have been discussing ways to tackle these challenges. To learn more about how you can be involved contact Logan Smith at logan@siskiyoucounty. org.
SISKIYOU COUNTY
TOURISM
SISKIYOU TOURISM IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT LAUNCHES WEBSITE, MARKETING PLAN The Siskiyou Tourism Improvement District (TID) has been making marked progress to promoting Siskiyou as a tourist destination. In April, the website was launched and a second phase of this website and a marketing plan will be rolled out in the coming months. Check out the new website: www.discoversiskiyou.com The investment in tourism
improvement districts has been largely positive and pays big dividends as an economic development strategy. ”The return on investment for hotel in terms of room revenue can range from a 4:1 to 20:1 return on investment,” according to Melanee Cottrill of Civitas Advisors. “The return on investment for hotels (in room revenue) ranges from 4:1 all the way to 20:1. A
study by San Francisco State University found that every dollar spent by a TID returns $70 to the California economy, in the form of $8.9 billion in direct new tourism spending, $2.8 billion in personal income for workers, $689 million in new tax revenue, and 81,500 new jobs.” We are excited to hear from Augustine as they share their proposed marketing plan for the upcoming year. We hope you will join us! A copy of the agenda is provided here: http://www. siskiyoutid.com/agendasminutes About the Siskiyou TID: The Siskiyou Tourism Improvement District (TID) is run by a 7-member management committee comprised of assessment-paying business owners and managers that represent a variety of locations in Siskiyou County. Meetings are open to the public and are held monthly at convenient locations along the I-5 corridor. For more information, visit www.siskiyoutid.com!
EVERY DOLLAR spent by a TID returns $70 to $ the California economy, in the form of 8.9B in direct new $ tourism spending, 2.8B in personal income for workers, $ 689M in new tax revenue, and 81,500 new jobs,”
1512 S. Oregon Street Yreka, CA 96097
Phone 530.842.1638 www.siskiyoucounty.org
Stay in touch with us!