The Louisiana Master Farmer Program recognized three new graduates, two people who have completed recertification and the winner of the Outstanding Master Farmer Award at a ceremony Jan. 12.

The event was held in Baton Rouge in conjunction with the Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts annual meeting.

Gov. John Bel Edwards will give the keynote address as he joins 20 researchers, five farmers and six certified crop advisors, all from Louisiana, who will speak at the upcoming Conservation Systems Conferences on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Crowne Plaza hotel conference center in Baton Rouge.

The cotton leafroll dwarf virus causes yellowing and distortion of leaves (Figure 1) and is believed to be vectored by the cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) during feeding (Figure 2). A litany of other symptoms has been attributed to the virus including missing fruit and bolls, over-tall plants, reddening of veins, dwarfed plants and leaf cupping. In some situations in the southeast United States, significant yield losses have been attributed to the virus.

For many beef cattle producers, evaluating breeding soundness of their herd bulls is often an overlooked practice. Selection of bulls based on genetic potential is one of the most progressive ways to improve the beef herd. However, bulls that do not properly settle cows contribute to reproductive inefficiency and lost income — no matter how genetically superior they may be. Performing an annual bull breeding soundness exam (BBSE) on every bull in the herd is the only way producers can predict with relative certainty that their bulls can adequately service the cow herd during the breeding season.

For cousins Adam and Jonathan Knight, the cattle business is a part of their heritage.

Their family once ran a dairy farm on hundreds of acres that straddled East Baton Rouge and East Feliciana parishes, and they grew up around beef cattle. Now the Knights both run small cattle operations on those pastures and on leased land adjacent to them.

The 2023 Projected Costs and Returns (crop enterprise budgets) have been posted to the LSU AgCenter website. To access the enterprise budgets, please click on the desired “Crops” tab followed by the “Budget” icon. T

In every parish of Louisiana, groups of feral pigs roam the countryside.

The packs of pigs, called sounders, are extraordinarily destructive. They devour crops, dig up trees and eat food that other animals depend upon for survival.

“They’re omnivores,” said Dr. Jim LaCour, state wildlife veterinarian with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “They’ll eat anything with a calorie.”

The invasive Mexican rice borer (Eoreuma loftini) has become increasingly problematic in Louisiana in recent years and threatens both rice and sugarcane, the two most important crops in the southern part of the state. Adult moths lay eggs on grasses and larvae feed internally within stems hindering plant growth and damaging crop yields.