Louisiana Agritourism: November 2016

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Attorney will Speak at Upcoming Workshops on Liability Issues

Attorney Rusty Rumley with the National Agricultural Law Center will be the featured speaker at two upcoming workshops on agritourism. Call today to reserve your spot; see details below:

November 8, 2016

9:00 a.m – 3:00 p.m.

LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station

1373 Caffey Road, Rayne, Louisiana

November 10, 2016

9:00 a.m – 3:00 p.m.

LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station

262 Research Station Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana

Plan to arrive about 8:45 a.m. local time. Presentations will begin at 9:15 a.m. and end by 3:00 p.m. Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

REGISTRATION

Registration is required. Pre-registration ends November 3, 2016 and is needed for meal accommodations. The registration fee is $15 per person. When you register, please indicate the workshop you are interested in and make checks payable to “LSU AgCenter” with your name, address, email address, and phone number to Dr. Maria Bampasidou, LSU Campus, 234 Martin Woodin Hall, Baton Rouge, La. 70803.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Dora Ann Hatch

318-927-9654 x229

dhatch@agcenter.lsu.edu

Dr. Maria Bampasidou

225-578-2367

mbampasidou@agcenter.lsu.edu

An agenda, general information on agritourism,

and associated material are available at

www.lsuagcenter.com/agritourism

Agritourism Law Limits Liability

In 2008, the Louisiana Legislature expanded the limitation of liability found in La R.S. 9:2795 et seq to include certain agritourism activities. The legislation authored by Representative Andy Anders and Senators Francis Thompson and Mike Walsworth provides that the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Foresty (LDAF) will develop a set of rules and regulations and that the LSU AgCenter will define a “plan of operation” for an agritourism venture and review those plans.

More about this law can be found on the LSU AgCenter Web site: www.lsuagcenter.com/agritourism

2012 Agriculture Census Shows Increase in Farming

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2014 –There are now 3.2 million farmers operating 2.1 million farms on 914.5 million acres of farmland across the United States, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Once every five years, farmers, ranchers and growers have the unique opportunity to let the world know how U.S. agriculture is changing, what is staying the same, what’s working and what we can do differently,” said Dr. Cynthia Clark, the retiring head of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, which administered the survey.

Eighty-seven percent of all U.S. farms are operated by families or individuals.
Principal operators were on average 58.3 years old and were predominantly male; second operators were slightly younger and most likely to be female; and third operators were younger still.
In Louisiana agritourism grew from 170 farms in 2007 to 361 farms in 2012.
In Louisiana onfarm agritourism sales jumped from $2,486 to $8,996 in 2012.
In Louisiana the definition of agritourism is broader than the definition in the census; meaning that numbers are greater.