Louisiana Agritourism: November 2011

Monday, November 28, 2011

Caroling Hay Ride

This is the perfect time of year to bring people to the farm to enjoy the Christmas season. Why not get the hay out of the barn arrange it on your trailer and hitch up to the tractor and take people caroling through our farm. Day or night caroling can be fun.

Serve cocoa, cookies or fire up the camp fire and serve roasted hot dogs and smores. Keep the menu simple and let everyone join in the fun by preparing their own meal.

Monday, November 7, 2011

LSU dairy field day shows milk from cow to cone

At a recent LSU AgCenter Dairy Field Day, participants learned how milk becomes icecream and cheese. This is a concept that can be taught in your agritourism venture. Milk the cow, show the milk and then with students participating show how to make icecream.

Teachnet.com has a quick and easy recipe that could easily be used with students. Click here for instructions.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers/Agritourism/Blueberry Associations Conference and Tradeshow

Mark those calendars! The Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers/Agritourism/Blueberry Associations Conference and Tradeshow is slated for Nov. 14-16 at the Vicksburg Convention Center in Vicksburg, MS. The entire day of Nov. 16 is filled with opportunities to learn about agritourism. Click here for a complete agenda.

Registration and hotel information can be found on their website by clicking here.

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.