Variety Testing: A Critical Component For Sustainable Production Systems
New row crop varieties — soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, cotton, grain sorghum, sweet potatoes and sugarcane — are released annually by private companies and university breeding programs. Each variety can vary dramatically in yield potential, agronomic traits such as maturity, and resistance to insects, diseases and environmental stress factors. It is important to note a variety with high yield potential at one location may not be competitive in another location because of a lack of adaptability to different environments, including weather patterns, soil characteristics, disease pressure and cropping systems. Furthermore, a variety achieving a high yield or quality one year may not perform as well the next year at the same location because of yearly changes in the environment, such as rainfall or disease patterns.
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LSU AgCenter Initiative Aims To Teach Children About Healthy Living, Improve Literacy
The LSU AgCenter has launched Healthy Living Literacy, a program that provides children with books and other materials that teach about health, nutrition and gardening.
The program is being offered in St. Tammany and Washington parishes through a partnership with local pediatric clinics. It serves two purposes: to encourage children and their families to read and to make healthier lifestyle choices.
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20 In Acadiana Earn Master Cattleman Distinction
The LSU AgCenter recognized 20 new graduates from the Louisiana Master Cattleman program at a ceremony Nov. 1.
The group of students who hailed from six Acadiana parishes participated in the 10-week program that included instruction in all aspects of beef production, including pasture management, animal handling, finance, marketing and Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) guidelines.
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AgCenter Economists Offer Tools For Farmers To Monitor Their Bottom Line
With agricultural input costs on a rapid rise and the volatility of current commodity markets, farmers are having to tighten their belts to stay in the black.
To navigate the complicated economic nature of operating a profitable farming operation, the LSU AgCenter Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness offers several tools designed for farmers to analyze and monitor what goes into — and out of — their farm accounts.
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Crown Rot Disease Detected In Louisiana Strawberries
Louisiana growers have not yet finished planting this year’s strawberry crop, and a disease called crown rot has already been detected in a commercial field.
This disease is caused by a soil-borne, fungal-like microorganism genus called Phytophthora. Sometimes it is called water mold.
Phytophthora is known as “the plant destroyer.”
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Louisiana Master Farmer Program Celebrating 20 Years
The Louisiana Master Farmer Program is celebrating twentieth anniversary. The program was designed to lessen the environmental footprint left by agricultural operations and to ensure that future generations have an opportunity to farm the land. LSU AgCenter reporter Craig Gautreaux has the story.
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Hurricane Ida Slammed Louisiana’s Citrus Crop, but It’s Still Possible to Find Fruit
This time of year, south Louisiana locavores usually begin shopping for local citrus to use in everything from brunch mimosas to sweet potato soufflé tucked in orange halves. But the lingering impacts of Hurricane Ida are going to make it harder to source those juicy naval oranges and grapefruits this fall, say agriculture experts.
Last month, the LSU AgCenter reported the loss of an estimated $584 million within the state’s collective agriculture industry due to Ida, a Category 4 storm that made landfall near Port Fouchon on Aug. 29. Louisiana citrus groves, some of which had already been damaged from Hurricane Zeta in 2020, saw significant damage from Ida’s continuing onslaught of wind and salt water intrusion, as well as from a thick layer of mud and sludge left after the storm.
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Acadiana Beef Cattle Producers Hear Market Updates at Field Day
Dozens of beef cattle producers gathered to hear about the latest developments in the Louisiana beef industry at the Acadiana Area Beef Cattle Field Day held Oct. 23 in St. Martinville.
Luke Laborde, interim LSU vice president for agriculture and dean of the LSU College of Agriculture, addressed the crowd, stressing the importance of the beef cattle industry for the local and state economies.
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Rebuilding Of Tornado Damaged AgCenter Facilities To Begin Soon
The process of rebuilding LSU AgCenter facilities destroyed by a tornado last year is set to begin soon.
The tornado, which struck near Alexandria in April 2020, caused extensive damage to several buildings at the AgCenter Dean Lee Research and Extension Center.
Demolition of the damaged buildings has been completed, and bids for construction work will be sought in early 2022. Rebuilding is expected to take about 14 months
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LSU AgCenter Medical Pot Program Expands to New Facility; Will Grow and Sell Smokable Marijuana to Pharmacies
LSU's AgCenter will soon grow and sell smokable medical marijuana to Louisiana pharmacies as a new bill goes into effect early next year, prompting the university's cannabis operation's expansion to a new facility in Ruston on Oct. 20. The university is partnering with Good Day Farm Louisiana.
Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a bill earlier this year that will enable patients to purchase smokable medical marijuana in January 2022 in addition to the tinctures, edibles, inhalers and other options that are already available.
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LSU AgCenter Hosts Assumption Parish Sugarcane Field Day
The LSU AgCenter hosted a sugarcane field day at Dugas Farm, Inc. on Oct. 20 in Assumption Parish. The field day was supported by the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation.
The Taylor Foundation awarded a grant to the LSU AgCenter to fund a four-year research project on reducing nutrient runoff from crop fields. Forty-two event attendees were provided with unique learning opportunities and hands-on demonstrations that highlighted the benefits of the best management practices being researched on this project.
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Three Year Grant Awarded To LSU AgCenter For Integrated Pest Management
The Louisiana agriculture industry is valued at more than $12 billion. But with the state’s subtropical climate comes insects, diseases and weeds, which affect every facet of the business.
A three-year National Institutes of Food and Agriculture grant was recently awarded to a team of LSU AgCenter researchers and extension specialists who are combining their decades of experience to find solutions to a variety of harmful pests.
The Extension Implementation Program grant — valued at $110,000 for the first year and $106,000 each subsequent year, based on meeting certain criteria in year one — was awarded to entomologist Gene Reagan and plant pathologist Boyd Padgett.
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Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction Accepting Nominations
The Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction is now accepting nominations for its annual induction ceremony, which will be held March 24, 2022, in Baton Rouge.
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Cane Farmers Get an Assist From the Weather
A few weeks of dry weather are giving St. Mary sugar cane farmers a break, although it's a working break.
After what experts called a great 2020 cane crop, farmers have worried their way through a hard freeze in February, pushed machinery through mud created by months of heavy rain and watched with trepidation while tropical weather approached.
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