Louisiana Agritourism: Add Beauty to Your Agritourism Landscape by Planting Crape Myrtles

Friday, June 6, 2014

Add Beauty to Your Agritourism Landscape by Planting Crape Myrtles

New varieties of crape myrtles are currently available in abundance.

Developers have introduced new varieties over the past few years with an emphasis on smaller growth habits, dark foliage colors, earlier bloom and more.

In Louisiana, crape myrtles are one of the most widely planted trees and are the main tree for flowering in landscapes from late spring until early fall.

The LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station has begun a landscape trial that includes most of the recently introduced crape myrtle varieties. These collections include the Early Bird, Razzle Dazzle, Enduring Summer, Delta, Barnyard, Magic and Ebony, also known as the Black Diamond, series in addition to several other varieties. Click here to read more..

No comments:

Post a Comment

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.