Yellow Rails and Rice Festival 2011 in Jennings

The festival begins on Thursday, October 27 and concludes on Saturday, October 29. Click here for details. Learn about rice, birding and nature. By clicking on the link you can see the latest details to plan your trip. Registration is also available online.

MarketMaker Success Story Front Page News

The September edition of “Friends of MarketMaker e-News,” a newsletter published by the Food MarketMaker organization based in Illinois, showcased Louisiana's efforts to raise awareness of MarketMaker.

To read how Marguerite Constantine of WesMar Farms is using MarketMaker, click here for the newsletter.

Farms As Host Sites for Events

Agritourism is all about re-imagining the family farm. We traditionally use farms to tell participants about the farm's history and talk about animals and horticulture.

Why not use farmland to host an event. Recently, I saw a photo of a bride with a big red barn in the backdrop. Photographers look for backgrounds and farms have a lot to offer. A photographer could host a workshop on your farm with plenty of outdoor landscapes.

Why not have a barn wedding and a reception to follow. Or host a birthday party or family reunion.

Consider your farmland as an open canvas and explore the many possibilities.

Crop Hunger Walk in Shreveport, Nov. 6

Get out your athletic shoes and join organizers for the Crop Hunger Walk in Shreveport on Nov. 6th; registration is at 2:30 p.m. with the walk beginning at 3 p.m. The route begins at Noel Methodist Church, 520 Herndon. This is a 5K run or one-mile walk. Proceeds benefit the Northwest Louisiana Food Bank. For more information, click here.

Pumpkins--How Much Can I Charge?

Curry Farm's owners Sandy and Bentley Curry sell pumpkins and Christmas trees. Each individual agritourism operation that sells pumpkins does it differently. I want to share with you some pricing tips.

-Greg Clement, the agritourism coach, suggests that a farmer sell his pumpkins in one of three ways: by weight, size or armful.

-Some pumpkin growers set up road-side stands on their farms and advertise their location and hours. If the farmer is not on-site when shoppers come, the customer can make a selection from pumpkins lined up according to size and cost and place the appropriate fee in an honesty box nearby.