LSU AgCenter Receives $10M Grant To Design Drought Resistant Rice
As anyone in South Louisiana knows, rice is a major part of one’s diet. It is the most widely consumed staple food for more than half of the world’s population, which continues to grow each year. With the production of rice increasing, so does the need for water to grow it. In order to not use up nature’s most precious valuable resource—water—one LSU College of Engineering professor is working with the LSU AgCenter to design a new variety of rice that will be able to withstand drought conditions, making rice production fruitful while not exhausting natural resources.
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Seeds To Success Spotlight: Armstrong Farms
A major goal of the Louisiana Farm to School Act is to promote the use of locally grown and raised foods in school nutrition programs. One avenue to achieve this is for school food service personnel to source ingredients for school cafeteria meals within the state. In doing this, school districts directly support their local economies and community members who grow these products.
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La. County Agricultural Agents Association Conference Culminates By Honoring Its Best
The Louisiana County Agricultural Agents Association met in Gonzales June 4 to 7 for its annual meeting and professional improvement conference. The meeting culminated with an awards banquet highlighting the achievements of LCAAA members throughout the year.
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Louisiana Farm To School Program Connects Students To Full Plates and Healthy Habits
An elementary school implements a gardening and culinary program to teach students how to prepare recipes using produce grown in their own school garden through the help of a local farmer.
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Managing Nitrogen For Corn And Soybean Crops
Nitrogen (N) is one of the most essential nutrients required for crop growth, development and reproduction. It is the building block of proteins, amino acids, chlorophyll and DNA. Plants require more nitrogen than any other mineral nutrient. Generally, the aboveground portion of the plant contains 3% to 4% nitrogen. Therefore, fertilizing with nitrogen sources is often required for maximizing crop yield and profit.
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LSU AgCenter 'Scout School' Helps Battle Bugs In Crops
While schools were letting out for the summer, the LSU AgCenter was hosting two sessions of Field Crops Insect Scout School to help train crop consultants, insect scouts, extension agents and others on what and how to look for insect pests and damage in field crops.
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Can You Eat Oysters this Month? LSU Ag Center has Answers!
“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster,” said 18th-century Irish satirist Jonathan Swift. Whether enjoyed fried, grilled, in a seafood gumbo or, perhaps most opinion dividing, raw, there is no denying the oyster’s impact on both Louisiana’s culture and seafood industry.
Oysters have been consumed by humans for thousands of years. Wealthy Greeks and Romans thought of them as a delicacy and an aphrodisiac. While the former is still true in many cultures, the latter is more debatable.
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LSU AgCenter ‘Scout School’ Helps Battle Bugs in Crops
While schools were letting out for the summer, the LSU AgCenter was hosting two sessions of Field Crops Insect Scout School to help train crop consultants, insect scouts, extension agents and others on what and how to look for insect pests and damage in field crops.
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LSU AgCenter Creates Extension Agent Position for Crawfish Production
The LSU AgCenter has created a new extension agent position that is aimed at connecting commercial crawfish producers with valuable AgCenter research.
Todd Fontenot will now serve as the AgCenter’s area crawfish extension agent. He said his work in this new role will revolve around crawfish production that is in rotation with rice production.
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Sweet Potato Planting Wrapping up in Louisiana
Once they got started, Louisiana sweet potato farmers made quick work of planting this year’s crop. LSU AgCenter reporter Craig Gautreaux has this report from northeast Louisiana.
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Good Weather Helped Wheat Group During Growing Season and at Harvest
For the past two weeks, combines have been harvesting wheat fields across Louisiana. Producers have been pleased with the yields, and some are planting soybeans right behind their wheat crop.
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Pointe Coupee Parish Hosts First Sugarcane Field Day of 2023
A group of more than 100 sugarcane growers, LSU AgCenter researchers and other interested parties assembled at Joby Beaud’s barn in the LaBarre community north of New Roads to hear the latest about new cane variety developments, weed control and other topics.
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How Sustainable Farms Benefit Communities: Farmers Make Money and are Environmental Stewards
Corralled by staff from the LSU AgCenter, the array of cars trundled through the countryside outside Lafayette, stopping periodically at small farms along the route. It was the AgCenter's sustainable farm tour and, by all accounts, there was plenty to see.
Sustainable agriculture (in this case farming) is farming as it was before the arrival of the modern supermarket system, with smaller farms growing and serving local, fresh produce.
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LSU AgCenter Hosts SEEDS Institute To Discuss National Security, Collaboration
Leaders from several countries recently attended the Sustaining Our Seas conference to discuss illegal fishing off Africa’s coast and a host of other national and international issues.
The meeting was hosted by the LSU AgCenter in Baton Rouge and sponsored by the Sustainable Economic and Educational Development Solutions (SEEDS) Institute.
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Diseases on the Rise in Louisiana Vegetables
Vegetable growers all over Louisiana are facing southern bacterial wilt and bacterial spot in tomatoes and pepper production.
LSU AgCenter plant doctor Raj Singh said Southern bacterial wilt is caused by the soil-borne bacterium, Ralstonia solanacearum.
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