Louisiana Agritourism: What is Agritourism? - Topic for 2015 Louisiana Women in Agriculture Conference

Thursday, November 12, 2015

What is Agritourism? - Topic for 2015 Louisiana Women in Agriculture Conference

Tomorrow, I have been invited to share, "What is Agritourism?" at the 2015 Louisiana Women in Agriculture Conference in Bunkie, LA. I'm looking forward to the meeting.

In Louisiana, our limited liability agritourism law defines agritourism as:
"Agritourism" means the travel or visit by the general public to, or the practice of inviting the general public to travel to or visit, a working farm, ranch, or other commercial agricultural, aquacultural, horticultural, or forestry operation for the purpose of enjoyment, education, or participation in the activities of the farm, ranch, or other agricultural, aquacultural, horticultural, or forestry operation.

"Agritourism activities" means those activities related to agritourism as defined in rules and regulations adopted by the commissioner of agriculture and forestry in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, and which the conduct of any such activity is set forth in a plan of operation approved by the director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center or his designee.

To learn more about the law click here.

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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.