Louisiana Agritourism: April 2015

Monday, April 27, 2015

Learn to Bird with an App

Roselie Overby, above, shared with participants at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge during Earth Day how to bird using apps to identify bird songs.

What a great idea, for agritourism operators to take advantage of birding.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Earth Day Celebration at Black Bayou Lake NWR in Monroe

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) Farm Service Agency today announced that nearly 2,700 applicants will begin receiving disaster assistance through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) for losses experienced from Oct. 1, 2013, through Sept. 30, 2014.

The program, re-authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, provides disaster relief to livestock, honeybee, and farm-raised fish producers not covered by other agricultural disaster assistance programs. Eligible losses may include excessive heat or winds, flooding, blizzards, hail, wildfires, lightning strikes, volcanic eruptions and diseases, or in the case of honeybees, losses due to colony collapse disorder. Beekeepers, most of whom suffered honeybee colony losses, represent more than half of ELAP recipients. To read more, click here.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

The Louisiana Agritourism Connection, April 2015 Edition Available Online

Visit our website and read the April edition of the "The Louisiana Agritourism Connection," a

quarterly e-newsletter providing information on how to start, grow or sustain your agritourism venture.

Topics covered in this newsletter include WesMar Farms inclusion in National Geogrpahic’s Gulf Coast map guide, information on home food sales, beekeeper’s inclusion in the Agritourism Limited Liability Law, workshop dates for Annie’s Project, American with Disabilities Act compliance, home gardening tips from LSU AgCenter, horticultural tips from LSU AgCenter and links to marketing sites. Click here to read the entire newsletter.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Links to Online Vegetable, Pest, Chemical, Ants and Citrus Guides from the LSU AgCenter

Check out the online guides below by clicking here on the LSU AgCenter’s home gardening page. Publications may also we ordered. The list of publications include:

Louisiana Home Vegetable Gardening

Louisiana Insect Pest Management Guide

Louisiana Suggested Chemical Weed Management Guide

The Pest Ants of Louisiana: A Guide to Their Identification, Biology, and Control

Louisiana Home Citrus Production

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.