Louisiana Agritourism: Test Your Soil

Monday, April 11, 2016

Test Your Soil

The LSU AgCenter Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Lab can test soils, as well as plants and water, to help home gardeners and agriculture industry professionals alike achieve better results.

Who should test soil? Soil testing can be helpful to homeowners who are sodding lawns or adding new trees, flowers, shrubs and other plants. Landscapers, farmers, agriculture consultants and scientific researchers can also take advantage of the lab’s services.

Soil testing kits are available at any LSU AgCenter parish extension office and numerous nurseries and hardware stores around Louisiana. People should send samples of soils that haven’t been amended with fertilizers or lime.

Testing fees will be assessed and vary depending on which tests are requested.

More information about the lab, including directions for collecting samples, is available on the AgCenter’s website by searching for “Soil Testing and Plant Analysis Lab” or by calling 225-578-1219.

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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.