Forest Lands Offer Great Opportunities for Scavenger Hunts

Forest lands are a perfect place to host a scavenger hunt. Include this as part of the agritourism experience at your farm. To begin:
-Create a list of items participants can scavenge for.
-Group participants in groups and assign an adult to each group.
-Give each participant a copy of the list.
-Suggestions for list: feathers, leaves of various colors, seeds or cones, flowers. If children have access to a camera include animal burrows or dens, live animals spotted, birds, animal scat (poop).
-Give a time limit for the hunt. (15-30 minutes)
-Have everyone meet back at a pre-determined site.
-Give every participant an opportunity to share what they found.
-Allow participants to tell their stories about how they retreived or found items.

This is a great way to get children involved in nature and seeing the wonderful resources that are part of agricultural lands.

Auburn University Creates a Nature Park

Auburn University wants to help children get back to nature. No more visible slides or money bars, they are hidden in nature. They are disguised as an eagle's nest, tree house, beaver lodge, mole tunnel, sandpit, teepee, boulders, and logs.

Jennifer Lolley, administrator of the Forest Ecology Preserve where the playground is located, says, "She hopes that it will become a 'conduit' for families to explore the great outdoors. The playground represents an effort to combat "Nature Deficit Disorder" in an era where children ages 8 to 12 spend nearly 7.5 hours per day in front of a screen."

This is a great idea for our agritourism operations on our farms. Click here to learn more.

Need Help with Managing Plant Disease, Weeds and Pests?

The LSU AgCenter is offering three updated guides online or printed about managing pests, plant diseases and weeds.

The guides – the 2012 Louisiana Insect Pest Management Guide, 2012 Louisiana Plant Disease Management Guide and 2012 Louisiana Suggested Weed Management Guide – can be purchased for $12 per printed copy or downloaded free of charge.

The guides provide the latest information on pesticides, herbicides and other products available to help in controlling issues in areas ranging from home lawns to farm fields and forests. Each guide provides general instructions about uses of the products, the current product labels, application rates and use restrictions.

Each printed copy of a guide is $12 plus 9 percent tax and shipping charges. The guides can be ordered from the online store on LSU AgCenter website at www.lsuagcenter.com/onlinestore. Phone orders also can be called to 225-578-2263.

The guides also may be downloaded at no cost from the LSU AgCenter website by visiting www.lsuagcenter.com/managementguides.

The recommendations presented in the guides are based on research conducted by LSU AgCenter personnel in its Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station and Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Flowers and Agritourism

People love flowers! Springtime flowers are especially appealing after the winter months. Planting a mass of flowers at your agritourism venture will bring people to your venture. For summer, consider flowers to offer in a u-pickem operation. Also consider having photographers use your property for a fee.

Valentine's Day Gifts from the Farm

We are just one day away from Valentine’s Day and for last minute shoppers here are a few tips. Give your loved one a gift from the farm. Below are some suggestions:

• Gift card to a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm
• Coupon for a live Christmas tree
• Cheese or milk from a local dairy
• Gift card to a local agritourism operation
• Coupon for their favorite fruit from their favorite orchard
• A plant for spring planting
• A bottle of wine

Places to purchase the above ideas can be found on MarketMaker.

Expanding Your Markets! Going Online

Don't miss this webinar, "Expanding Your Markets! Going Online." It's scheduled for February 9, 2012, 2 p.m. (Eastern), 1 p.m. (Central), 12 noon (Mountain) and 11 a.m. (Pacific)

To connect go to:
https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/etc-cop


Small business owners especially agritourism operators frequently ask, "Do I need a website?" The answer is YES! This webinar will discuss the why and the how of building an online presence.

This webinar will focus on the “Direct Marketing of Specialty Food Products Online” curriculum - http://go.unl.edu/directmarketingfood. The curriculum contains video clips from business owners tell their story of going online. This online curriculum is available for business owners as well as for use by educators as part of educational programs. The basic questions that must be asked will be presented along with resources to help answer the questions. 



It's FREE.

Forestry Lands Offer Tourism Opportunities

Our vast forestry lands in the state of Louisiana offer an opportunity for diversified incomes. A landowner can plant trees, harvest and lease for hunting purposes. These are great traditional uses for the land, but today our forests offer another opportunity: agritourism. In this article we will explore how you can make money while your trees grow.

Tourists seeking agricultural venues are increasing in the United States. People are seeking these opportunities because they “want a respite from life,” “want to get back in touch with nature,” and want to show their children and grandchildren the beauty of the earth.”

Travelers enjoy staying in remote locations, so a cabin in the woods with access to a fishing pond would be perfect. Add some horses for riding trail adventures and it’s a perfect get-away. For those who want to stay longer than a weekend, scout out areas on your property where visitors can view wildlife and birds. Some of your guests may want to camp in the woods and have a fire for cooking, while others may be happier with a nice cabin. Be prepared to accommodate everyone’s wish list for a perfect time in the woods.

Hiking on agricultural lands, especially in a wooded area could also be a real treat for the person whose daily life is surrounded by a concrete jungle. Riding all-terrain vehicles may be another addition welcomed by the traveler who is not comfortable on horseback.

For the adventurer, try geocaching. Hide caches (container with something in it) throughout your forested area and provide global positioning system (GPS) coordinates for their location. The game is to see who can arrive at the location and find the cache.