For the third year in a row, members of the Louisiana 4-H Shooting Sports Team are reigning national champions after defeating competitors from across the United States.
The team has placed first in five out of the past six national competitions, including 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2024 with a second-place finish in 2022 and the 2020 event being canceled due to COVID restrictions.
Read MoreSixteen Baton Rouge-area students and educators recently completed the second annual Camp CRISP, a two-week experiential learning program hosted by the LSU AgCenter as part of the Climate Resilient Innovations for Sustainable Production of Rice (CRISP Rice) grant.
Read MoreThe USDA recently released its annual Acreage Report which provides markets with a more accurate idea of spring planting progress and what potential supply implications may be in store for the 2025 crop year. On the demand side, USDA also released its Quarterly Grain Stocks report which shows usage rates between March 1, 2025 and June 1, 2025. These changes in supply levels will impact 2024/25 ending stocks and 2025/256 beginning stock levels which will subsequently be reflected in the July report.
Read MoreLike many other agricultural sectors, there has been consolidation in United States (US) farm-level sugar production. Sugar is a unique commodity because about 56% of the domestic production of sugar originates from sugarbeets and 44% originates from sugarcane.
The US domestic production of sugar has increased from 8.02 million short tons raw value (STRV) in 1997 to 9.31 million STRV in 2024, an increase of 16%.
Read MoreFor the past seven years, the LSU AgCenter has been sponsoring Seeds to Success: The Louisiana Farm to School Program, which works directly with teachers and educates them on how to grow a garden at school. The program, open to teachers of all grades and ages, prepares them to integrate their gardens into their lesson plans.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter will hold a watermelon field day on Wednesday, July 2, at the Sugar Research Station, 5755 LSU Ag Road in St. Gabriel.
AgCenter agriculture and natural resources, 4-H and nutrition and community health agents will be present at booths with garden, cooking and activity demonstrations. They will be available to answer any questions you may have about growing and preparing the delicious summertime treat.
Read MoreFor the third consecutive year, the Louisiana State University (LSU) Les Voyageurs club earned the top prize in the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s 2024 College Aggies Online (CAO) scholarship program. During the nine-week program, club members host 10 College Aggies events to inform students and community members about agriculture.
Read MoreAs rice harvesting in south Louisiana gears up for mid-July, experts are weighing in on the outlook for Acadiana farmers. Despite challenges like excessive rain and political influences, there is optimism in the air.
Peter Bachmann from the USA Rice Federation believes Louisiana's rice industry remains healthy. Ronnie Levy, a Louisiana rice specialist with the LSU AgCenter, echoed this sentiment, stating, "The rice crop looks good."
Read MoreLouisiana's rice crop is progressing well despite some early weather challenges. This update was shared at the 116th Annual Rice Field Day held at LSU's Rice Research Station in Crowley on Tuesday, June 24.
During the event, rice growers received insights from LSU AgCenter experts on improving rice production, including pest management strategies. The AgCenter reported that more than 461,000 acres of rice are cultivated in the state.
Read MoreWith harvest season rapidly approaching, rice farmers took a break from their own fields and converged on those at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station June 24 to hear from experts about the latest industry trends and to get updates on research aimed at helping them grow a better crop.
Although farmers are facing depressed commodity prices and are keeping their fingers crossed that recent rains won’t dampen their upcoming harvests, there was still plenty of good news to go around at the field day, which has been held annually at the station near Crowley for 116 years.
Read MorePollination is the transfer of pollen from one plant to another, often by insects, helping plants to flower and reproduce. Pollen is also a protein-rich food source for many insects, aiding in their development and growth. As pollinators land on a plant to feed, they accumulate pollen, especially on the hairs on the thorax and abdomen, the head and face, the legs (including pollen baskets in bees), and the underside of their body, which transfers to other plants when they land on them. This cycle of pollination is essential for much of the world’s food crop production.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter hosted its annual Rice Field Day this week at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station offering farmers and students an inside look at the latest innovations in rice breeding, disease management, and production techniques. Among the highlights was the unveiling of Venus, a new medium-grain variety set for commercial release next year.
Read MoreWhile it wasn’t called 4-H University until recently, the event just completed its 111th rendition on the LSU main campus. This year’s theme was “Leading the New Frontier.” And for some, being in Baton Rouge and staying on the campus for a week was exactly that — a new frontier.
More than 1,500 students, volunteers and 4-H agents participated in this year's event, which took place June 17 to 19.
Read MoreSeveral Southern apple varieties have origins in Louisiana. Apples such as Bossier Greening, Felt’s Strawberry, Louisiana, McMullen, Pride of the South, Terral and Woodland are all extinct, according to C. Lee Calhoun in his magnificent book, “Old Southern Apples.” If even one stands a chance of being rediscovered, it is the McMullen apple. It left a blazed trail for us to follow.
Read MoreLSU announced the members of its presidential search committee who’ll oversee the process for selecting a new university president after former President William Tate IV left for the same job at Rutgers in May.
The committee is made up of 19 members, many of them business leaders from around the state.
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