Isabella Frank and Carl Motsenbocker

As the buzz around local agriculture grows louder, a new wave of consumers and community members is eager to connect directly with the sources of their food. This surge in interest is driven by a desire to understand and appreciate the origins of the ingredients on their plates.

Recognizing this trend, the Louisiana Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program (SARE PDP), with the support of U.S. Department of Agriculture Southern SARE funding, planned the 2023 Acadiana Sustainable Farm Tour, an event that brought together more than 80 attendees to connect with four distinctive local producers from the Acadiana region.

Acadiana is renowned for its vibrant culture. While the region is traditionally celebrated for its robust sugarcane, crawfish and rice production, the focus of this year’s farm tour was to highlight small-to-medium-scale producers who mainly cater to the direct-to-consumer market with Louisiana-grown vegetables, flowers and animal products. The tour was held on the morning of May 24, 2023, and brought attendees to various corners of Cajun country.

The morning kicked off in Lafayette with a gathering at a hydroponic greenhouse owned by Camille Schuneman. Attendees enjoyed coffee and donuts while immersing themselves in the innovative world of hydroponic farming. Owning a small business can be overwhelming, and farming presents its own unique set of challenges, often involving long hours and significant isolation. Events like the Acadiana Sustainable Farm Tour help bridge this gap, offering farmers a chance to connect with their community, including other farmers, and combat the feelings of isolation that often accompany rural life.

Schuneman described the experience as “very motivating and reassuring.”

“Facing a crowd of 100 people, sharing what I do, and answering their questions was incredibly empowering,” she said.

A short drive north to Sunset, brought the group to a cut flower farm owned by Alisha Delahoussaye. Delahoussaye shared about her cut flower business and demonstrated farm equipment before everyone was invited to partake in a picnic-style lunch with local ingredients among the blooming flowers.

Six miles away at a pasture-raised livestock operation owned by husband-and-wife team Tim Melancon and Monica Hernandez, visitors encountered a variety of livestock, including pigs, cattle, sheep, and poultry and explored a USDA-inspected value-added kitchen.

The final leg of the farm tour brought the group to a family farm in Cankton. There, participants were able to meet Trey Johnson and tour the property, where the rows of lettuce grown in high tunnels and the market garden showcased the farm’s dedication to quality and sustainability.

“Farm tours like this are a fantastic opportunity for the public to engage with and learn about small farms in our region,” said Delahoussaye. “It’s not only educational but also empowering. I was thrilled to share my knowledge and forge connections with fellow farmers and extension professionals.”

Hernandez echoed similar sentiments.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to showcase our work and the reasons behind it,” she said. “Seeing people appreciate every aspect of our operation reinforces the value of what we do.”

Delahoussaye further emphasized the importance of such events. “Building community through in-person networking like farm tours is crucial for small businesses, especially those as fragile and often overlooked as small farms,” she said. “Experiential learning has a profound impact on our decision-making and growth.”

The importance of supporting local agriculture extends beyond mere convenience. Hernandez highlighted the economic benefits as well.

“When people buy local, their dollars stay within the community,” she said, “We use our revenue to create local jobs and purchase supplies, which supports the entire local economy.”

Beyond the economic impact, the pride and cultural significance of Acadiana was palpable among tour attendees. The region’s deeply cherished and celebrated history and traditions in agriculture and food only helped to add layers of meaning and deepen community connections to every farm and product showcased. The 2023 Acadiana Sustainable Farm Tour was a resounding success, facilitating meaningful connections between producers and consumers. However, this event only scratched the surface of Acadiana’s rich agricultural landscape. Attendees and producers alike expressed a desire for more frequent farm tours with a shared enthusiasm for further exploration and appreciation of Louisiana’s locally grown food. For information on future events, visit the Louisiana SARE Facebook page.

USDA’s Southern SARE Professional Development Program offers training, grants and resources to enhance agricultural professionals' knowledge and skills in sustainability. The program includes two main components: regional competitive grants for creating training materials and outreach projects and a network of part-time state coordinators who host workshops and field days and provide travel scholarships to share sustainable practices and research. The Acadiana Farm Tour was just one of the trainings Louisiana SARE put on in 2023.

Isabella Frank is an extension associate with the LSU AgCenter Louisiana Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Professional Development Program and Louisiana Farm to School Program. Carl Motsenbocker is a professor in the AgCenter School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences and state co-coordinator of Louisiana SARE. He is also program director of the Louisiana Farm to School Program and Grow Louisiana.

This article appears in the fall 2024 edition of Louisiana Agriculture.

Camille Schuneman, a hydroponic greenhouse owner, speaks to guests at the Acadiana Sustainable Farm Tour. Provided photo