With Thanksgiving over, it's almost time for a season that nearly every person in Louisiana's appetite is craving: crawfish season.
Todd Fontenot, a crawfish agent who works with the LSU AgCenter, tells WBRZ he's been talking to crawfish farmers around the state to learn how this season will compare to last season.
He says this year's outlook is much better.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter is accepting applications for the Charles and Rose Broussard Internship, a program that gives high school and college students the opportunity to gain hands-on agricultural research experience.
The internship program is named for Charles Broussard, a ninth-generation Vermilion Parish farmer and rancher, and his wife, Rose.
Read MoreSome Louisiana pecan producers could amass a larger pile of rejected nuts because of abnormally dry weather through the late summer and early fall, said Michael Polozola, the LSU AgCenter state fruit and nut specialist.
A lack of rain just before harvest prevented some pecans from filling out, Polozola said, leading to lower yields for many producers.
Read MoreCars pack a gravel lot outside Hope Ministries, a Methodist nonprofit situated in the 70805 zip code, where the per capita yearly income is $18,340. The organization’s mission is to prevent homelessness and promote dignity.
A week before Thanksgiving, residents wait patiently for their turn at the organization's Client Choice Food Pantry.
Read MoreNovember 20 & 21, The LSU Agricultural Center is holding the annual ‘AgMagic Cenla’, an educational experience for third and forth graders to learn about agriculture and the environment.
Read MoreA team of Louisiana researchers has received a federal grant worth more than $100,000 for the first step of a study that aims to use wastewater from aquaculture ponds, seafood processors and farms for fertilizer.
Read MoreCasey Stannard admits she didn’t have any experience with hemp fiber throughout her studies and career in apparel design until she took on a recent research project.
The associate professor in the LSU College of Agriculture Department of Textiles, Apparel Design and Merchandising said that was the case for many of her students and colleagues even though hemp was the first cultivated fiber, with evidence of hemp ropes in ancient China and along the Dead Sea dating back between 3,000 and 10,000 B.C.E.
Read MoreFor more than 130 years, research has been a top priority for LSU agriculture.
Since the 1880s, agricultural experiment stations have provided researchers fertile ground to work to improve the agricultural production and economy of Louisiana.
What began with three agricultural research outposts staffed by 15 employees more than a century ago has evolved into 14 LSU AgCenter research stations statewide staffed by dozens of world-renowned scientists.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction is still accepting nominations through Nov. 18 for its induction ceremony, which will be held March 6, 2025, in Baton Rouge.
The nomination form can be found online at www.louisianaagriculturehallofdistinction.com or any parish LSU AgCenter extension office.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter Dean Lee Research and Extension Center near Alexandria is named in his honor, and so is a road south of LSU’s campus in Baton Rouge. Scholarships bearing his name have been awarded to College of Agriculture students.
Dean Lee must have been an important person for his name to be on so many things. So who exactly was he?
Read MoreAccording to the findings of the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, American farmers produced and sold $9 billion worth of edible commodities directly to consumers, retailers, institutions and intermediaries. This represented a 3% increase in direct food sales since 2015.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Forage Conference will be held Friday, Dec. 13, near Alexandria. This conference is sponsored by the Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council and the Louisiana Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative.
The meeting site will be the State Evacuation Shelter near the LSU Alexandria campus on U.S. Highway 71.
Read MoreA startup led by an LSU alumni and two current students is making strides in transforming how farmers and agricultural professionals access essential information.
FarmSmart, an AI-powered app currently in beta testing, promises to streamline complex research from dense agricultural documents into quick, user-friendly responses available at the touch of a button.
Read MoreLouisiana FFA members were recognized numerous times at the 97th National FFA Convention and Expo held in Indianapolis on Oct. 23-26. FFA members from across the state participated in many competitive events, and top honors were taken home throughout the week.
Read MoreThroughout the southeastern United States, an invasive species, Chinese privet, has been entering and taking over land at an exceptional rate. The shrub produces thousands of small, green and purple fruits that are eaten by animals and spread with notable efficiency. In south Louisiana, these plants are not hard to find on the side of the road and in areas of overgrowth.
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