The Louisiana Master Farmer Program helps agricultural producers voluntarily address the environmental concerns related to production agriculture, as well as enhancing their production and resource management skills that will be critical for the continued viability of Louisiana agriculture.

Hundreds of sea oat plants bent in the breeze on a sandy beach as LSU AgCenter researchers walked among them, looking for plants with potential to help stem erosion on Louisiana’s Gulf Coast.

Washington Parish Master Farmer Participants

Calcasieu Parish Master Farmer Participants

West Baton Rouge Parish Master Farmer Participants

Tensas Parish Master Farmer Participants

Madison Parish Master Farmer Participants

West Carroll Parish Master Farmer Participants

East Carroll Parish Master Farmer Participants

Lincoln Parish Master Farmer Participants

Dates, times and locations of Master Farmer training opportunities in north and central Louisiana.

Vermilion Parish Master Farmer Participants

St. Landry Parish Master Farmer Participants

Lafayette Parish Master Farmer Participants

Why is the sugarcane industry important to Louisiana? Why do farmers burn sugarcane in the first place? What are the benefits of burning sugarcane? Find these answers and more. (PDF Format Only)

The ability of farmers to burn sugarcane is a significant economic factor for the state’s sugarcane industry. Burning of sugarcane before harvest eliminates from 30 percent to 50 percent of the leafy trash (residue), which constitutes from 20 percent to 25 percent of the total weight of the plant.

The purpose of this publication is to provide up-to-date information on agronomic and pest management practices for southern row crops in conservation tillage systems. Many of these recommendations will help producers and private crop consultants implement conservation tillage and other soil-conserving practices to maintain efficient and economical production while minimizing negative effects on soil and water quality. (PDF format only)

Introduction to the Louisiana Conservation Tillage Handbook prepared by the LSU AgCenter and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Phase I trainings are held twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall, through distance learning.

Sugarcane is the highest-valued row crop grown in Louisiana. For sugarcane production to continue to thrive in Louisiana, responsible management of soil and water resources should be a priority. This guide lists the Best Management Practices (BMPs) to use in Louisiana sugarcane production. (PDF Format Only)

Twenty-seven farmers, including three couples, joined an elite group of 92 that have been certified as Louisiana Master Farmers. The 27 were recently honored at a luncheon held at the Annual Meeting of the Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts in January 2009.

News release about availability of financial assistance to participants in Louisiana Master Farmer Program from the U.S. Dept of Agriculture to implement conservation practices on their land.

Provides instructions for downloading registration forms in PDF format. Return the completed registration form to your county agent's office or parish NRCS office.

Contact information about the Master Farmer Program.

Allen Parish Master Farmer Participants

Cameron Parish Master Farmer Participants

Ouachita Parish Master Farmer participants

Morehouse Parish Master Farmer Participants

The Master Farmer Newsletters are available to you online to keep you updated on the Master Farmer Program.

The Louisiana Master Farmer Program is an effort to demonstrate that agricultural producers can and will voluntarily reduce the impact that agricultural production has on Louisiana’s environment.

(Video) Bobby Morris is a West Baton Rouge Parish farmer who grows sugarcane on nearly 1,500 acres of land. Morris’ family grew grain crops when he was very young but made the switch to sugarcane after they saw a greater opportunity. He serves as a provider of seed cane for area farmers, and he sees farming as a great way to spend time with family. (Runtime: 4:02)

In Louisiana, agriculture is big business. The industry contributes billions of dollars to the economy, employs thousands of people and provides many opportunities for ancillary businesses that service the industry and market food and fiber products. Meet some of Louisiana’s farmers and ranchers in these short videos.

Evangeline Parish Master Farmer Participants

(Video) Bobby Morris is a fourth-generation farmer who specializes in sugarcane. He thinks farming is the perfect lifestyle that allows him to involve his family in his profession. (4 min.)

(Video) Charles Staples has been milking dairy cows nearly every day of the week for the past 54 years. He rises every day at 1:30 in the morning to begin his day that involves milking approximately 100 head of Holstein dairy cattle. And he does plan to retire anytime soon. (Runtime: 3:50)

(Video) Hank Rabb is a fourth-generation farmer from Tensas Parish. This St. Joseph resident grows primarily corn and cotton and is experimenting with his first wheat crop. While he grows more than 2,000 acres of corn, he is most fond of seeing white bolls of cotton glistening under a harvest moon. (Runtime: 3:24)

Provides links to Web sites that are of interest to participants in the Master Farmer program.

LSU AgCenter caps supporting the Louisiana Master Farmer Program are now available. Order form provided.

Master Farmer Curriculum information including classroom instruction, certification program activities, and development of conservation plans.

Acadia Parish Master Farmer Participants

Composting fish waste is a relatively new, practical and environmentally sound alternative to disposing of fish waste. It is an economical, fairly odorless and biologically beneficial practice for seafood operations. This publication explains that a commitment to proper management of the compost bins is the key to successful composting. (PDF Format Only)

Pointe Coupee Parish Master Farmers Participants

A TMDL is a pollution budget for a specific waterbody (river, lake, stream, etc.). It is the maximum amount of a pollutant (sum of allowable pollutant loads from point and nonpoint sources) that can be released into a waterbody without causing the waterbody to become impaired and/or violate state water quality standards.

The Master Farmer National Curriculum project delivers a nationally applicable curriculum and supporting educational tools to U.S. agriculture and natural resources extension agents to help producers achieve environmentally sustainable production systems. Producers can also benefit directly from the information that the curriculum provides.

BMPs for poultry farms are a specific set of practices used by farmers to reduce the amount of soil, nutrients, pesticides and microbial contaminants entering surface water and groundwater while maintaining or improving the productivity of agricultural land. This BMP manual is a guide for the selection, implementation and management of those practices that will help poultry farmers conserve soil and protect water and air resources. (PDF format only)

Agronomic crops are important commodities in Louisiana. The intent of this publication about best management practices is to provide the growers of soybeans, cotton, corn, grain sorghum and wheat with guidelines about practices they can implement to reduce the effects agricultural production may have on the environment. (PDF format only)

Photos of certified Master Farmers from around the state pose with several LSU AgCenter employees that coordinate the Master Farmer Program.

Natchitoches Parish Master Farmer Participants

Field days and activities that fulfill Phase II requirement for the Louisiana Master Farmer program.

Jefferson Davis Parish Master Farmer Participants

Livingston Parish Master Farmer Participants

Best management practices (BMPs) are a set of practices used by farmers to reduce the amount of soil, nutrients, pesticides and microbial contaminants entering surface water and groundwater while maintaining or improving the productivity of agricultural land. This list of BMPs is a guide for selection and implementation of practices that will help swine farmers conserve soil and protect water and air resources by reducing pollutants. (PDF format only)

Claiborne Parish Master Farmer Participants

A total of 135 agricultural producers are now certified Master Farmers in the Louisiana Master Farmer Program. Eleven producers from around the state were certified at the Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts Annual Meeting in Lafayette on January 12, 2012.

In addition to those listed, other specific workshops and trainings may become available throughout the year.

Tangipahoa Parish Master Farmer Participants

Avoyelles Parish Master Farmer Participants

Master Farmer Program Participant List: Lafourche Parish

Vernon Parish Master Farmer Participants

Iberville Parish Master Farmer Participants

Louisiana has stepped out ahead of all other states in the nation in helping farmers learn to voluntarily comply with stricter environmental regulations governing water quality. This has happened because of the LSU AgCenter’s Master Farmer Program.

Attached is a list of professional engineering and planning firms that have experience in developing SPCC and SPC plans. Producers and companies needing plans are greatly encouraged to contact these companies and seek their guidance in implementing the practices required by SPCC/SPC. Firms that are not listed, and would like to be included in this list, are requested to contact Dr. Ron Sheffield at rsheffield@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Conflicting information and media coverage about hazards of mold and how to handle mold problems have left many people confused, concerned and sometimes frightened. If you have or suspect a mold problem in your home, this fact sheet will help you make well-informed decisions about how to fix the problem and prevent its return.

Franklin Parish Master Farmer Participants

St. Mary Parish Master Farmer Participants

Catahoula Parish Master Farmer Participants

Concordia Parish Master Farmer Participants

In the right conditions, molds multiply and can release enough spores in the air to cause health problems.

Richland Parish Master Farmer Participants

The goal of the EPA's SPCC program is to prevent oil spills into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines. Oil spills can cause injuries to people and damage to the environment. A key element of this program calls for farmers and other facilities to have an oil spill prevention plan, called an SPCC plan. These plans can help farmers prevent oil spills, which can damage water resources needed for farming operations.

Louisiana accounts for 80 percent of the nation's coastal wetland loss. Simply put, a large proportion of Louisiana acreage is wetland. Much of the state's economy depends upon wetlands. Find information on causes of wetland loss, definitions of wetlands and wetland functions and values. (PDF format only)

Winn Parish Master Farmer Participants

Caldwell Parish Master Farmer Participants

Beauregard Parish Master Farmer Participants

Grant Parish Master Farmer Participants

Rapides Parish Master Farmer Participants

Terrebonne Parish Master Farmer Participants.

Iberia Parish Master Farmer Participants

East Baton Rouge Parish Master Farmer Participants

St. Martin Parish Master Farmer Participants

Master Farmer Participant List: St. Charles Parish

Follow these 12 easy steps to make and maintain your compost pile. (PDF Format Only)

Assumption Parish Master Farmer Participants

Ascension Parish Master Farmer Participants

Attached are copies of an Example SPCC plan and a template that can be completed for farms wishing to self-certify their own plan instead of hiring a company to assist them. Only Tier 1 farms may develop their own plan without the approval from a professional engineer. Tier 1 farms have a fuel/oil storage capacity less than 10,000 gallons, no underground tanks and no single tank greater than 5,000 gallons.

Union Parish Master Farmer Participants

Sabine Parish Master Farmer Participants

Master Farmer Program Participant List: Orleans Parish

The Louisiana Master Farmer Program is targeted at helping agricultural producers voluntarily address the environmental concerns related to production agriculture, as well as enhancing their production and resource management skills that will be critical for the continued viability of Louisiana agriculture.

Red River Parish Master Farmer Participants

St. Helena Parish Master Farmer Participants

Bossier Parish Master Farmer Participants

Caddo Parish Master Farmer Participants

St. John Parish Master Farmer participant information.

St. Tammany Parish Master Farmer Participants

Webster Parish Master Farmer Participants

DeSoto Parish Master Farmer Participants

East Feliciana Parish Master Farmer Participants

Jackson Parish Master Farmer Participants

Bienville Parish Master Farmer Participants

This BMP manual is a guide for the selection, implementation and management of practices that will help growers conserve soil and protect water and air resources. (PDF format only)

Thirteen field days and workshops have been held during the spring and summer of 2009 that fulfilled the requirements for Phase II and Continuing Education. Over 300 attendees participated in these events that were held all over the state. Other agencies, such as NRCS, helped coordinate and present at these functions as well.

Master Farmer Program Participant List: Jefferson Parish

Master Farmer Program Participant List: St. Bernard

Master Farmer Program Participant List West Feliciana Parish.

Master Farmer participant list for LaSalle Parish.

Master Farmer Program Participant List: St. James Parish

These guidelines are intended to help manage smoke and ash from sugarcane prescribed burning operations to lessen their impact on public health and welfare.

Master Farmer national curriculum PowerPoint presentations

Master Farmer phase 1 recap and reviews.

This publication inventories the functions and values of the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary System at the interface of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and it chronicles the serious plight of landscape deterioration facing its inhabitants. (PDF format only)

(Video) Christian Richard, who farms 2,000 acres of rice, soybeans and crawfish in Kaplan, was named the 2010 Outstanding Louisiana Master Farmer. Bruce Schultz, communications specialist, joins him in his tractor cab as he’s planting rice to talk to him about farming and the latest technology he uses. (5 min.)

(Video) Dennis Kieffer is a cattle and hay producer and farm manager in Wheeling in Winn Parish. His company, Circle K Cattle, oversees both registered and commercial herds. Learn more about the Louisiana's cattle industry. (4 min.)

(Video) For three generations, the Gravois family has worked the fields near Vacherie in St. James Parish producing sugarcane, cattle and soybeans. Gravois was the 2011 Louisiana Farmer of the Year. (4 min.)

An historical overview of Louisiana fisheries in the context of pre- and post-levee construction on the Mississippi River. Data from the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion is used to describe the relationship between freshwater re-introduction and estuarine fisheries productivity. The report characterizes the conflict between Louisiana’s short-term and long-term goals of coastal restoration and coastal fisheries management.

More than 75% of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are privately owned, yet the majority of restoration funding provided through federal and state initiatives is directed toward large-scale, public restoration projects. This report compares and contrasts the programmatic and economic aspects of the coastal and inland models of wetland restoration that have evolved in Louisiana over the past decade.

This document provides a synoptic overview of this 40-year-old navigation channel from project inception through modern day. Economic and environmental impacts related to the MRGO are documented for St. Bernard Parish and potential restoration scenarios are described. Additional information is provided on the time and financial resources required to fully address the environmental degradation caused by the MRGO.

One of the biggest questions that has arisen in recent years involves the apparent disparity in federal restoration funding provided for the Florida Everglades versus that provided for coastal Louisiana. This document uses published reports and secondary data to develop a parallel comparison of Florida and Louisiana wetlands at the state, regional, program and resource levels.

The Louisiana Master Farmer Program thanks cooperative partners for assisting in these programs. You can link to their web sites.

Troubleshooting: Symptoms, possible causes and prescriptions for your composting problems. (PDF Format Only)

A process for recycling treated wood products could save on disposal costs and liability concerns by keeping treated wood out of high-cost landfills, according to developers at the LSU AgCenter.

Which composting system is right for you? Find the answers and more in this helpful guide to composting. (PDF Format Only)

(Distributed 05/25/05) What to do with decommissioned, preservative-treated wood has become a burning issue. Well, not burning, actually. That’s one of the methods that can’t be used any longer, according to Dr. Todd Shupe of the LSU AgCenter.

The Louisiana Master Farmer Program awarded its first annual Outstanding Master Farmer award at the Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts annual convention on January 8, 2009. A certified Master Farmer who has shown dedication to agriculture, conservation, and his profession is chosen for this award .

Louisiana’s coastal wetland forests are of tremendous economic, ecological, cultural and recreational value. But many acres of these forests have disappeared over the past century, and many more are being degraded or lost each year.