MS Agritourism Assocation Meeting

Our friends in Mississippi are hosting their annual agritourism association meeting on November 17-18, 2014 in Natchez, MS and they have invited us to come.  The agenda looks great, see below:

Monday, November 17, 2014
12:30- Registration
1:00- Pamela Bartholemew: Organizing a Media Day for your Agritourism Enterprise
2:45- Break
3:00- Kathy Wise: Coming back to the farm
4:00- MAA Meeting
6:00- Welcome to Natchez Meet and Greet at the Natchez Welcome Center

Tuesday, November 18, 2014
8:00- Jan Miller: Retail and Merchandising Crash Course
9:00- Pamela Bartholemew: Hosting a Farm to table dinner as a Profit making & Showcase event
10:00- Break
10:15- Jan Holley: Hosting a wedding on the farm
11:00- Paige Hunt: Marketing and Advertising for your Farm
12:00- Close

To register complete the following: 

Name and Title: _______________________________________________________________
Organization or Farm: _________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________________
City: _________________________________________ State: __________ Zip: __________
Email: ___________________________________ Phone: _____________________________

Registration Fee $50

Make Check Payable to:
Mississippi Agritourism Association
Send Check Care of
Jo Lynn Mitchell
650 Leaf River Church Road
Collins, Mississippi 39428
Phone: (601) 606-0762
Email: jolynn.mitchell@yahoo.com

For lodging:
Accommodations Natchez Grand Hotel
Telephone: (601) 446-9994
Single $109; Double $109

Join us in Hammond for the Agritourism Workshop on October 30th

This one-day workshop will provide landowners, agritourism operators and tourism officials with information on how to start, grow and market a tourism venture on agricultural lands. Experts in the field will share their success stories. See brochure for registration information. 

Registration fees are  $20 for individual and $25 per couple day of workshop.

Registration is from 8-8:30 a.m.

Meeting site: 21549 Old Covington Hwy. Hammond, LA

Morning Agenda

Registration from 8-8:30 A.M.

Welcome

Agritourism-A Growing Industry

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Louisiana Agritourism Limited Liability Law

Becoming a Certified Agritourism Operator

Marketing Your Agritourism Business

Using Social Media To Grow Your Business

Tapping into MarketMaker

Agritourism Success Story

Afternoon Farm Tour

Mrs. Heather’s Pumpkin Patch,

31458 Hwy. 43, Albany

3:00 P.M. Wrap-up and Dismiss

Restoration Agriculture Workshop Nov. 14-16

Mark Shepard, author of Restoration Agriculture, and owner of a 106 acre perennial agriculture forest will conduct a three day class at Mahaffey Farms in Princeton. Mahaffey Farms is small family farm that uses sustainable methods to produce clean local food. The farm is located at 440 Mahaffey Road in Princeton. Call the farm at (318)-518-0558 or visit them online at www. MahaffeyFarms.com

To learn more about the workshop, log onto:  www.RestorationAgLouisiana.Eventbrite.com   

New American Farmer, Second Edition

Profiles of Agricultural Innovation: showcasing sustainable farming on over 60 farms and ranches. 

 

                                                                Download for FREE

USDA Expands Access to Credit to Help More Beginning and Family Farmers

WASHINGTON, October, 2014 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will improve farm loans by expanding eligibility and increasing lending limits to help more beginning and family farmers. As part of this effort, USDA is raising the borrowing limit for the microloan program from $35,000 to $50,000; simplify the lending processes; updating required “farming experience” to include other valuable experiences; and expanding eligible business entities to reflect changes in the way family farms are owned and operated. The changes become effective Nov. 7.  To read more click here.

Workshop in Oak Grove on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014

This one-day tri-state workshop is designed to show landowners how to earn additional income from their farm or ag land, recreational property or timberland. Experts will talk about revenue potential, conservation ecosystem enhancements, liability issues, agritourism, Farm Bill opportunities and carbon payments. See brochure for registration information or arrive at 8 a.m. and register on the spot. Click here for the complete  agenda or read below. Cost is $25 per person or $30 per couple and includes lunch, snacks and hand-out materials.

Bayou Bartholomew Outdoor Business Workshop for Landowners

Thomas Jason Lingo Community Center

10284 Hwy. 17, Oak Grove, LA

October 16, 2014

8am to 3:30 pm

 8:00 a.m.​   ​Registration and Coffee/Continental Breakfast

 8:30 a.m. ​      ​Welcome and Introductions
​​​Bruce Garner and Dora Ann Hatch - LSU AgCenter

 8:45 a.m.​​Landowner and Outfitter Testimonial
​​​Lannie Philley, Delta Land & Farm Management

 9:10 a.m.                   Recreational Enterprise Potential on your Land
Daryl Jones - NRE Program, Mississippi State University

 9:30 a.m.​​Bayou Bartholomew Alliance – Conservation Update
Dr. Curtis Merrell, Bill Layher, or Scott Donaldson

 9:45 a.m.​​Boeuf-Tensas Ecosystem Enhancement/Water Transfer Project

10:00 a.m.​      ​Landowner Liability and Legal Considerations for NRE Operations
​​​Mike Massey – Massey, Higginbotham, Vise & Phillips, P.A.

11:00 a.m.​​Break

11:10 a.m.               ​Farm Bill Update and Opportunities
​​​Tim Landreneau – Louisiana Natural Resources Conservation Service
​​​Dave Long – Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

11:50 a.m.​​Agritourism Opportunities on your Land
​​​Dora Ann Hatch – LSU AgCenter

12:15 p.m.​​Lunch

​​​
                                                                       Afternoon Topics:​

Carbon Payments for Landowners
                                      Andy Johnson - Green Trees, LLC​

Stream Conservation
Land Management and Outdoor Recreational Opportunties

 3:30 p.m.​​Wrap-up

Call Dora Ann for more details: (318) 927-9654 x 229 or e-mail her: dhatch@agcenter.lsu.edu








     

Birding--It's fun!

This week during a meeting on nature-based tourism, our group got to take a two hour guided birding trip.  The guide shown on the right pointed out the birds and we each looked through binoculars to see the field markings of the birds. Listening to their sounds was fun too.

We walked two miles and witnessed lots of nature.  She metnioned to us that there are numerous field guides that one can carry into the woods to use to identify birds and that there are now phone apps too.

Landowners with wooded areas might want to consider earning supplemental income by offering birding trips. While advanced birders might be looking for special and rare birds most of us are novices and would enjoy seeing and identifying any bird.