Louisiana Agritourism: Spring Flower Tours

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Spring Flower Tours

People love flowers and especially at spring time. This winter has been particularly difficult for us southerners, so a show of color is just what the doctor ordered.

I have been scouring the internet for garden tours and here are a few I have found that could be used as a guide to start your own garden tours.

First, lets travel to Arkansas to P. Allen Smith's daffodil tour hosted in February and March. Not only do you get to enjoy the flowers but a meal is included in the price with garden vegetables from his own gardens.

In nearby Mississippi, The Natchez Spring Pilgrimage Tours, includes gardens with flowers and a tour of antebellum homes along with wonderful stories of those who once lived in the homes. The pilgrimage runs from March 8-April 8th.

Texas has lots of garden and flower tours too highlighting wildflowers, dogwoods, azaleas and daffodils.

Visit some of these locations and take notes so you can have a flower tour next year.

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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.