Please continue to use this method of communication to keep up with Extension Service related policies and programs.
Due to the length of this e-Directions, it has been divided into sections. Click on the section you would like to read.
Pilgrim’s Pride agrees to sell
CSREES Competitive Funding
Cornerstone Report
President’s 2010 Budget
Ag Outlook Conference
Youth Wetlands Week
Census of Agriculture Shows Growing Diversity in U.S. Farming
IT Training Newsletter- Winter 2009
Faculty Appointments
Lafayette 4-H Junior Leader Club Recognized
CECP Courses moving to eXtension
Hurricane Relief Application
Governor's Gulf of Mexico Alliance Draft Action Plan
LaHouse wins Award
Louisiana 4-H Foundation
Pilgrim’s Pride agrees to sell
Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said Pilgrim’s Pride has agreed to sell its poultry interests centered in Farmerville to California-based Foster Farms for $80 million. Pilgrim’s Pride filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2008 and announced on February 27 that it would close its Farmerville poultry processing plant and lay off nearly 1,300 employees.
An additional 300 independent contract growers who raise chickens to market size would have been drastically affected by the plant closure. Strain praised the efforts of Governor Bobby Jindal and the Office of Economic Development. The deal calls for the state and Foster Farms to each put up $40 million. Foster Farms, located in Livingston, Calif., owns and operates hatcheries, grow-out ranches, feed mills, processing plants and delivery systems.
According to the 2007 Louisiana Summary compiled by the LSU AgCenter, poultry production is the largest animal agricultural industry in the state and is second only to forestry in total income production for all agricultural commodities. In 2007, 460 Louisiana growers produced 1.06 billion pounds of broiler meat with a gross value of $795 million. The gross value for all poultry production in Louisiana was $884.1 million in 2007. The total value of poultry production in the state was $1.733 billion.
Source: Sam Irwin, LDAF, 225-922-1280
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CSREES Competitive Funding
At the national Extension Directors and Administrators meeting held recently in New Orleans, Debby Sheely, Deputy Administrator for the Competitive Grants Unit at CSREES (the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service) gave an excellent presentation on an important new competitive funding opportunity for research and extension faculty at land-grant institutions nationwide. Complete information can be found at:
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/agriculturalandfoodresearchinitiativeafri.cfm
This link highlights outstanding federal grant funding opportunities available from the Food and Agriculture Research Initiative (AFRI) - a new funding source that was in the 2008 Farm Bill. Funding for proposals that are integrated (research and extension) and some with a standalone extension function will be eligible.
AFRI was established to make competitive grants for:
– Fundamental research
– Applied research
– Extension
– Education
– Integrated research, education and/or extension
– Plant Health and Production and Plant Products
– Animal Health and Production and Animal Products
– Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health
– Agriculture Systems and Technology
– Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities
– Renewable Energy, Natural Resources and Environment
Almost $200 million is available through AFRI this FY so we urge all faculty to consider participating and submitting letters of intent and proposals. We have expertise and interest in many of these focus areas and should be able to take advantage of these available competitive funds that resulted from the new Farm Bill.
Source: Deborah Sheely, Ph.D., Deputy Administrator, Phone: 202-401-5024, Fax: 202-401-6071, Email: dsheely@csrees.usda.gov
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Cornerstone Report: Vol. 7, No. 3 - February 23, 2009
Almost five months after the beginning of the fiscal year, U.S. House and Senate negotiators have finally reconciled their differences over the F.Y. 2009 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Thus, we are able to report final results for the programs at the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.
The overall funding for CSREES is up $45.41 million compared to F.Y. 2008. In addition, 13 of 14 of the programs on the list for priority enhancement increased by a total of $48.531 million. Full report.
Other Issues
Mandatory (Farm Bill) program funding. The final agreement between the House and Senate left intact the $106 million in F.Y. 2009 mandatory funding to flow through CSREES: (1) $18M for Organic Research and Extension, (2) $50M for Specialty Crops Research Initiative, (3) $18M for Beginning Farmer and Rancher and (4) $20M for Biomass R&D.
Specialty Crops – Unrecovered Indirect Costs. The final conference agreement contains a legislative “patch,” permitting universities to count their unrecovered indirect costs against the Specialty Crops Research Program’s 100% matching requirement.
Smith-Lever 3(d) – IPM. Due to strong opposition on the part of the House and Senate Agriculture (authorizing) committees, the conferees did not provide the legislative “fix," which the system had sought. This pertained to IPM funding moving from a formula-like basis to competitive funding.
Source: http://www.nasulgc.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=1465 |
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President’s 2010 Budget
President Obama has released the Administration’s FY 2010 Budget Overview. FY 2010 budget documents highlighting the president’s proposal are available on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Web site at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.
The budget proposal for the Dept. of Agriculture includes support for rural revitalization, education and land-grant programs and proposes an additional $70 million for rural areas, for competitive research grants that provide incentives for teachers working in rural areas to pursue professional development and for enhancing existing rural research and extension programs at land-grant and minority-serving institutions.
Additional information will be available in April when the details of the budget are announced.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
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Ag Outlook Conference
The LSU AgCenter – along with Farm Bureau, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Natural Resource Conservation Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Office – sponsored an agricultural conference recently at the Lod Cook Center on the LSU campus. Because the conference was video streamed on our Web site, you can view all of it or the parts you find most interesting. Go to AgOutlook 2009 and click on video stream.
Source: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/agoutlook/
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Youth Wetlands Week
Thirty percent of all coastal marshes in the United States are in Louisiana, and every 2.7 miles of wetland absorbs 1 foot of storm surge during hurricanes. These are just two facts about Louisiana’s wetlands that students across the state learn during Youth Wetlands Week April 20-24. This will be the third year LSU AgCenter 4-H has sponsored this activity, with funding from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Nearly 50,000 students in 54 parishes are registered this year. More than 77,000 participated the first two years. |
Source: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/calendar/comprehensive/2009+youth+wetlands+week.htm
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Census of Agriculture Shows Growing Diversity in U.S. Farming
The number of farms in the United States has grown 4 percent, and the operators of those farms have become more diverse in the past five years, according to results of the 2007 Census of Agriculture released in February by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
"The Census of Agriculture is a valuable tool that provides the general public with an accurate and comprehensive view of American agriculture. It's also a set of benchmarks against which this department must measure and demonstrate its performance to agriculture and the taxpayer," said Secretary Tom Vilsack.
"In the spirit of President Obama's call to make government more transparent, inclusive and collaborative, I will be directing my team at USDA to review the findings of the 2007 Census and propose ambitious, measurable goals to make sure that the people's department is hard at work for all the people – our diverse customers and the full diversity of agriculture."
The 2007 census counted 2,204,792 farms in the United States, a net increase of 75,810 farms. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the last census in 2002. Compared to all farms nationwide, these new farms tend to have more diversified production, fewer acres, lower sales and younger operators who also work off-farm. Full article.
Source: http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1RD?printable=true&contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/02/0036.xml
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IT Training Newsletter – Winter 2009
The IT Training Newsletter is a quarterly publication of "how-to" articles for LSU AgCenter employees.
Topics include:
- Spring CMS Training Schedule
CMS training classes have been scheduled through May. All classes are 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. 225 JC Miller Hall >>go
- Creating a Faux “Page in a Series”
In CMS, if you would like to have the navigation of a “page in a series” without creating one, an easy solution would be to use anchor links (or bookmarks , as they are called in Microsoft office) at the top of the article. >>go
- About the Help Desk
The LSU AgCenter Help Desk is a resource where AgCenter personnel may obtain assistance or guidance with computer support needs. >>go
- Tips for Managing Your E-mail Account
Learn some simple, yet effective tips for managing your e-mails. >>go
- What are Sunrise/Sunset Dates?
Each posting has a sunrise and a sunset date. The AgCenter CMS will automatically place the date and time that the posting was created as the sunrise date. This is the moment when the create article button was clicked. The Sunset date should be set to one year after the sunrise date. One year is the maximum amount of time allowed before a posting must be reviewed and re-submitted or expired. >>go
- Why Do I Need to Add User Keywords?
User keywords are the most underutilized aspect of CMS. Although keywords are no longer essential to the search capabilities of the Web site, they can improve the chance of visitors finding a posting. >>go
- How to use Standardized Keywords
CMS integrates a comprehensive thesaurus provided and updated by AgNIC that compare terms authors enter as keywords to those found in the thesaurus. This article will show you how to take advantage of this CMS feature. >>go
- What to do if a CMS posting is Declined
All postings must be approved by at least two people other than the author before they will be live on the Web. Anywhere along that path they may be declined. This article will let you know what to when your article is declined. >>go
- New Calendar Template
The IT department has added a new and improved calendar to CMS. Events added to the AgCenter Public Calendar will display in CMS after approval by Communications. This online tutorial will walk you through the steps of creating a posting in the calendar. >>go
- Video Tutorials
Visit the IT Training site for our video tutorials on CMS and more. >>go
Source: Tanya Ruffin, IT Training Coordinator at truffin@agcenter.lsu.edu.
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Faculty Appointments -- FCS
Three more Family and Consumer Science (FCS) regional coordinators have been named to complement the three already on board to facilitate FCS programming in the field and serve as an assistant to the regional director in assuring greater accountability of our field faculty. Coordinators will have a 10-20% administrative assignment and will still be expected to continue their programming efforts.
These hires are a tribute to all of you in the field for doing such an excellent job and recognition as such by your regional directors. Because Adrianne and Terri do such a great job, Drs. Barnett, Colyer, Hodson and Mullen wanted a similar model.
Congratulations to Joan, Laura Lea and Robin!
FCS (part-time) regional coordinators
Northwest – Joan Almond
Southeast – Laura Lea Perault
South Central/Crescent – Robin Landry
Already on board:
Northeast – Terri Crawford
Central – Quincy Cheek
Southwest – Adrianne Vidrine
Source: Ellen Murphy, emurphy@agcenter.lsu.edu
Faculty Appointments- Animal Sciences
As all of you know, Dr. Paul Humes has announced his retirement as School Director effective April 30th. We thank Dr. Humes for his dedicated service and wish him well in this next chapter of his life. Under the current budgetary challenges facing the LSU AgCenter and the College of Agriculture, we have decided to select an Interim Director from the existing faculty. Three faculty expressed interest in this leadership opportunity. After internal discussions and after receiving input from the faculty, we have decided to appoint Dr. Gary Hay, professor in the School of Animal Sciences, as interim director effective May 1, 2009. We feel confident that Dr. Hay will do an outstanding job and work hand-in-hand with Dr. Humes over the next several weeks as this transition is implemented. We also know that faculty support and assistance will be vital and important to a successful transition. We do hope that our budget challenges do improve over the next year so that we can move forward with a national search for a permanent director appointment; however, until then, we want Dr. Hay to proceed with the development and implementation of strategic initiatives and innovative goals that will move the School forward in teaching, research and extension.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Hay for assuming this very important leadership position. The support of the faculty and staff is much appreciated.
As some of you may be aware, Dr. Clint Depew has announced his retirement as of April 30, 2009. We would like to thank Dr. Depew for his many years of service to Louisiana’s equine industry and the 4-H Horse Program during his time as Horse Specialist.
Because of the current budget circumstances facing the LSU AgCenter and in order to provide leadership to the 4-H Horse Program and Shows, we have decided to appoint Hilton Waits as State 4-H Horse Superintendent. Hilton has accepted this appointment in addition to his 4-H responsibilities in Vermilion Parish. He will provide leadership to the State 4-H Horse Program serving as an advisor to 4-H agents and FFA advisors. He will also work with District Horse Show Managers and State Horse Show Leaders to plan and conduct District and State Horse Shows.
Please join me in congratulating Hilton on assuming this leadership role in the 4-H Horse Program. The support of agents and staff for Hilton as he assumes this additional responsibility is appreciated.
Source: Paul Coreil, pcoreil@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Lafayette 4-H Junior Leader Club Recognized
The 4-H Junior Leader Club in Lafayette Parish has been chosen for the Governor’s Conservation Award by Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) for helping Cameron Parish after hurricanes Rita and Ike. Club members received the award at the LWF convention in Monroe held Feb. 27-March 1.
Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor and director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service, said the award demonstrates what young people involved in 4-H can accomplish.
"This prestigious award is the highest honor any organization can achieve in Louisiana for work related to the conservation of natural resources,” Coreil said. “These young people from Lafayette Parish 4-H should be proud of this achievement. We in the LSU AgCenter are impressed with the leadership exhibited by the junior leaders and the sense of hope they provided to Cameron Parish youth during a time of major crisis." Click here for full story.
Source: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/communications/news/headline_news/Lafayette+4Hers+receive+conservation+award+for+hurricane+recovery+work.htm
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CECP Courses moving to eXtension
In 2002 the Southern Region Program Leader Group began developing Cooperative Extension Curriculum (CECP), which is online learning opportunities for extension faculty and staff. The CECP “campus” currently lists 108 courses and has decided to move courses still relevant for today’s professional to eXtension’s Moodle sites. At this point, 53 courses have been migrated to eXtension. For more information about the sites, please see listing at http://about.extension.org/tools
Source: www.extension.org
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Hurricane Relief Application
The Louisiana Association of Extension 4-H Agents (LAE4-HA) is accepting applications for employees who suffered losses during the 2008 hurricane season. Applications can be secured from your regional director or department head. Contact Charles Hebert at 337-291-7090 with additional questions.
Source: Charles Hebert, chebert@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Governor's Gulf of Mexico Alliance Draft Action Plan
The Governor's Gulf of Mexico Alliance, a partnership among the five states bordering the Gulf to improve water quality and habitat, is seeking public input regarding a draft of its second plan to reduce nutrient input, improve community resiliency, restore coastal wetlands and expand environmental education. The Draft Action Plan II can be read by clicking the following http://www.gulfofmexicoalliance.org
Source: Chris Macaluso, (225) 342-3968, chris.macaluso@la.gov
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LaHouse Wins Award
Recently, the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition’s Good Growth group recognized LaHouse as the winner of the Good Growth Award. This will be featured in an upcoming Business Report.
Source: Claudette Reichel, creichel@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Louisiana 4-H Foundation:
The state of the economy is not only impacting the anticipated state budget, it has also impacted the Louisiana 4-H Foundation’s endowments. The 4-H Foundation has numerous endowed accounts where only the interest from these funds is spent on 4-H programs. In fact, the Foundation uses the interest earned from their endowments to fund over 80% of their yearly budget. The current state of the economy will make it extremely difficult for the 4-H Foundation to sustain their normal funding levels.
Louisiana 4-H Foundation Executive Director, Eric Eskew, says that the 4-H Foundation will continue to work tirelessly to raise funds to enhance and improve the hundreds of 4-H activities that take place across the state. “We are still committed to providing positive educational experiences for our 4-H youth across Louisiana and this year, we are appealing to our loyal 4-H donor base to come together and help ensure that our youth do not miss out on these wonderful opportunities” says Eskew.
Source: Eric Eskew, eaeskew@agcenter.lsu.edu
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Please continue to visit the director’s Web site: click here
If you have any comments or suggestions to improve e-Directions or the director’s Web site, please contact me at pcoreil@agcenter.lsu.edu.