The Entomology Society of America recently recognized a handful of scientists, educators and students who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to entomology.
Among those was Dr. Blake Wilson of the Louisiana State University AgCenter, who received received the ECP Extension Award. It is given to a student transition or early professional who excels in entomological Extension.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter has received a federal grant for a series of webinars, workshops and farm tours to train new farmers, particularly in the areas of finance and marketing, to help make them more risk-resilient.
The Southern Extension Risk Management Education grant was from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The amount was not reported.
Read MoreResearchers with the LSU AgCenter School of Renewable Natural Resources have found using drones equipped with thermal cameras is more effective and efficient in detecting duck broods than the traditional method of using ground surveys when observing nesting areas.
Brood surveys are used to estimate the productivity of ducks. However, ground surveys may underestimate productivity because ducks tend to seek shelter within the vegetation and are unobservable, according to Kevin Ringelman, a waterfowl ecologist in the school.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will be hosting a Grassfed Beef Production and Marketing Workshop November 16th from 9 AM to 4 PM at the Mega Shelter-Evacuation Center on Highway 71 in Alexandria.
Read MoreThe attached August 2021 Crop Market Update for Corn, Soybeans, Rice, and Cotton contains a discussion on the latest supply and demand dynamics. In the August WASDE report, there were several points of interest to the corn market, as traders anticipated two important supply-side variables: U.S. corn (and soybean) yields forecasts and the size of Brazil’s corn crop. The demand-side variables of interest include: U.S. corn export estimates, Brazil shortages in their corn supply, China’s corn import forecast, and renewable biofuel demand.
Read MoreSugarcane is a tall perennial grass of tropical origin that is cultivated for its ability to store sucrose in its stalks. Attempts to grow sugarcane in Louisiana began in the early 1700s. In the 1750s, the French Jesuits were among the first to successfully grow and harvest several crops of sugarcane at their New Orleans plantation. However, it was not until 1795 when Étienne de Boré, aided by experienced “sugar makers” from Haiti, successfully granulated about 100,000 pounds of sugar that Louisiana farmers recognized sugarcane as a potential cash crop.
Read MoreAs part of a $3.2 million grant project, LSU AgCenter researcher Zongliang “Carl” Jiang is studying the molecular mechanisms that regulate placenta development — and what role they play in early pregnancy loss — in both large animals and humans.
Read MoreLouisiana Crops Newsletter, August 2021
Read MoreThe orange, moist-fleshed sweet potato varieties developed at the LSU AgCenter have become the standard American perception of a sweet potato. Early on it was realized that mutations could occur in orange-fleshed sweet potatoes that resulted in roots that were off-type and light yellow in color. In the late 1940s, LSU pioneered the production of foundation sweet potato seed (storage roots) by developing a method to minimize such mutations.
Read MoreIn a sugarcane field just outside of Cheneyville in Rapides Parish, Stacia Davis Conger and Justin Dufour are drilling, assembling and placing moisture sensors in the ground under stifling conditions.
Conger, AgCenter irrigation specialist, and Dufour, area ag agent for Avoyelles, Rapides and Grant parishes, have started a project looking at irrigation efficiency of sugarcane, a crop grown in areas that typically receive plenty of rainfall. While 70% of Louisiana’s corn crop is irrigated, less than 5% of the state’s 500,000 acres of sugarcane are.
Read MoreNestled in the rich agricultural landscape of northeast Louisiana’s Delta region, Tensas Parish residents ironically find themselves in a food desert where 37% of the adult population is obese.
Thanks to a collaborative effort between Tensas Academy and the LSU AgCenter, new school nutrition guidelines and a focus on healthy eating will hopefully impact not only student meals and curriculum, but also community health outcomes related to nutrition.
Read MoreAttendees of the LSU AgCenter’s recent Agronomic Crops School got in the field with scientists for some hands-on lessons in pest control, crop management practices, new technologies and more.
The event, held Aug. 5 at the AgCenter Dean Lee Research and Extension Center near Alexandria, built on the concept of a traditional field day where experts provide updates on their projects and current issues in the industry. Instead of staying seated on the hay bale-lined trailers that carried them through the station’s fields, participants were encouraged to step down and take a look at the research and demonstration plots for themselves.
Read MoreBill Richardson, the veteran dean of the LSU College of Agriculture, is leaving his post, LSU's president said Thursday.
The change marks the second shakeup in LSU's leadership since President Wlliam F. Tate IV took the job last month.
Executive Vice President and Provost Stacia Haynie was removed from her job a few days after Tate assumed office and returned to teaching in the College of Humanities & Social Services.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter has been awarded $24,178 to fund the Extension COVID Immunization Training and Education (EXCITE) program from May 1, 2021, to April 30, 2022.
The program will target medically underserved minority populations in Caddo Parish. Abigail McAlister, AgCenter agent and Northwest Region family and consumer science coordinator, will serve as principal investigator for the grant.
“Our goal is to reach these communities through faith-based organizations, specific ZIP codes and in partnership with other organizations,” McAlister said.
Sharing the grant responsibilities with McAlister are Caddo Parish nutrition agents Grace Peterson and Elizabeth Martin.
Read MoreThe story of the past two years in Louisiana sugarcane production has been a tale of two very different seasons for farmers.
After tallying a bumper harvest from late September through mid-January, many producers may have expected something similar for 2021, but Mother Nature has dampened the outlook for the current growing season.
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