Louisiana Agritourism: September 2010

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Natural Resource/Agritourism Agenda

8:00 am to 8:45 am Registration

8:45 am to 9:00 am Opening Remarks
Daryl Jones, MS State
Dora Ann Hatch, LSU AgCenter
State Representative John F. “Andy” Anders, District 21
Sponsored 2008 Agritourism Limited Liability Legislation

9:00 am to 10:00 am Presentation: Discovering Your Agritourism Potential
Michael Mays, Lazy Acres Plantation, Chunky, MS

10:00 am to 10:30 am Break sponsored by Richland Farm Bureau

10:30 am to 11:30 pm Panel Discussion: Getting Your Business Started and Lessons Learned
Jo Lynn Mitchell, Mitchell Farms, MS
Bentley Curry, Curry Farms, Inc., Rayville, LA
Jerry Simpson, PaPa Simpson’s Farm, LLC, Arcadia, LA

11:30 am to 12:00 pm Presentation: Agritourism Liability—Attorney Mike Massey

12:00 pm to 12:15 pm Agritourism Limited Liability Legislation-Dr. Carrie Castille, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry

12:15 pm to 1:15 pm Lunch sponsored by the LSU AgCenter

1:15 pm to 3:00 pm Tour of Curry Farms, Inc. – Bentley and Sandy Curry, owners

3:00 pm to 3:15 pm Break

3:15 pm to 3:30 pm Value Added Producer Grant, Judy Meche, USDA

3:30 pm to 3:45 pm MarketMaker
Dora Ann Hatch, LSU AgCenter, agritourism coordinator

3:45 pm to 4:00 pm Wrap Up/ Evaluations

Click here to register

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Landry Vineyards, LLC in West Monroe

Landry Vineyards was established in 1999 by Jeff, Libby and their four sons; Ethan, Kohen, Noah and Micah along with the loving labor of family and friends. The first grape vines planted were two acres of a white European American hybrid grape, Blanc Du Bois, with plans for 2003 expansion including a red grape, Cynthia/Norton. Landry Vineyards was licensed as a Louisiana Native Winery in 2003. The first vineyards were established in Folsom, La. where the winery was also located.

Soon after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Landry’s used the storm opportunity to relocate to higher ground. They now reside in the beautiful hill country of West Monroe, La on a 20-acre site including a new winery, vineyards and beautiful tasting room.

Landry Vineyards is a great place to visit and share time with friends. Their tasting room looks out over a country hillside planted with grape vines. The vistas from the front deck are beautiful and the Landry's are great hosts. They offer concerts too; the next one is October 9th.

For more information on the vineyards got to MarketMaker.

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.