News Release Distributed 05/25/10
BOSSIER CITY, La. – A virtual Louisiana farm tour for families looking for summer activities was featured at a Lunch and Ag Discovery session held May 25 at the LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station here.
Agritourism is a business venture on a working farm, ranch or agricultural enterprise that offers educational and fun experiences for visitors while generating supplemental income for the owner, said Dora Ann Hatch, LSU AgCenter community rural development agent.
Hatch said two popular Louisiana sites are Frogmore Plantation and Gin in Frogmore and Papa Simpson’s Farm in Arcadia.
Frogmore is a working cotton plantation where visitors can walk through authentically furnished slave quarters and other plantation buildings and tour a rare steam gin.
Papa Simpson’s specializes in educational and fun-filled field trips for schools, churches, nursing homes and other organizations. Hatch helped Simpson diversify his working dairy farm and add value to his business.
“He looks his part,” she said. “He milks the cows and shows the animals.”
Guests use their five senses on the farm. They ride a sheltered trailer full of hay bales to see the animals, pet and bottle-feed an assortment of baby animals, milk a cow and plant a crop.
“Children have seen this in books,” Hatch said. “It is a lot different to actually touch” the animals.
Crystal Rice Heritage Farm in Crowley allows visitors to see crawfish and rice harvested on a rotating schedule depending on the crop season.
“Also, a chef will get in the kitchen with you or by himself to explain Cajun flair,” Hatch said. “They certainly have the music and theatrical works.”
The farm includes a formal dining room where guests can eat before going to a nearby restored opera house, she said.
Bird watchers can attend the Yellow Rails and Rice Festival in Jennings along with farmers markets in Shreveport, Ruston and New Orleans and farm stands and u-pick farms, she said.
“We celebrate food in Louisiana,” Hatch said, naming festivals promoting mayhaws, peaches and watermelon.
Mary Ann Van Osdell