Louisiana Agritourism: Agritourism and Ecotourism

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Agritourism and Ecotourism

After seven months of planning, co-worker Twyla Herrington and myself just completed our first "Coastal Ecotourism Workshop." It was a huge success with 44 persons in attendance. Our host, Stella Plantation Director Chalyn Perez, allowed us to use the plantation to show the many possibilities for ecotourism and agritourism.

The one-day workshop provided current and prospective businesses with information on supplemental income opportunities from natural resource tourism. Targeted participants included coastal landowners, farmers, charter and guide fishermen, marina owners and swamp tour operators.

With more and more people headed outdoors for enjoyment, Louisiana has an opportunity to grow ecotourism and agritourism. For a report of the workshop, click here. At this link is also an interview with Chalyn Perez.

Shown above is Daryl Jones, Director of Mississippi State Natural Resource Enterprise Program.

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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.