Blueberry Season

We are in the middle of blueberry season for most parishes in Louisiana. You-pick-em farms tend to stay very busy during this season.  The average grower only have one acre, but that's lots of blueberries.

Whether selling on the farm or off the farm remind customers of the nutritional value of blueberries.

“Foods with a lot of color like blueberries have high levels of anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that help keep us healthy,”  says LSU AgCenter nutrition specialist Heli Roy.

Another reason blueberries are important is their ability to neutralize free radicals in the body.

“Free radicals are highly reactive compounds in our body, and we produce them all the time. When we breathe, oxygen is inhaled and carbon dioxide is exhaled,” Roy said. “During the process, free radicals are produced. They are produced excessively when you smoke or drink or by radiation like from the sun.”

That's a great selling point and one that will increase your sells.  Good luck this season!

Why Milk Should be Pasteurized

Unpasteurized, raw milk can harbor several bacteria that can cause severe illness, particularly in young children, the elderly and immune-compromised individuals, said an LSU AgCenter food safety specialist.

Consuming unpasteurized milk creates a greater likelihood of illness, said Wenqing Xu.

Unpasteurized milk has a greater chance to harbor food-borne pathogens, Xu said. These can include campylobacter, listeria, salmonella and E. coil I57:H7 – all of which can cause illness.

“Contamination of raw milk can occur from a variety of microorganisms from a variety of sources,” she said. The risk can occur at any stage of handling.

Illness from any of these pathogens takes a certain dose-response level – the amount of the pathogen required to cause symptoms, said LSU AgCenter dairy science professor Bruce Jenny.

“Unpasteurized milk has a high risk,” Xu said. “Symptoms may vary and may include diarrhea, vomiting and fever. In addition, listeria can cause miscarriage in pregnant women.”

Symptoms can range from minor to severe, depending on the individual and the level of the pathogen present, Jenny said.

Besides milk itself, products made from contaminated milk, such as cheeses and butter, are still unhealthy. “Contamination won’t disappear,” Xu said.

“Our concern is people think raw milk is better, healthier,” she said. But the data show no significant difference in health benefits.

“Unpasteurized milk is not a safe product,” Jenny said. “It has inherent hazards.”

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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.

Earth Day Celebration at Black Bayou Lake NWR in Monroe

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.

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.

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