Children need it desperately. Adults long for it. And during February, we celebrate it – love. It has been the inspiration for countless poems, songs and movies, and it is vital to healthy development and well-being.

If one of your New Year's goals is to lose weight, choose a plan that helps you make healthy lifestyle changes instead of following the latest diet craze. That's advice from Beth Reames, LSU AgCenter nutritionist.

Enter the World of Wonder and follow a path through a forest as you listen to birds chirping and water trickling in the wetlands. Feel the soft fur of different types of animals, and count the years of growth on a large tree “cookie.” These are some of the experiences at AgMagic – an interactive, visually stimulating educational experience for children and their families – at the State Fair of Louisiana.

Researchers at the Calhoun Research Station are developing new uses for small-diameter trees and for recycled wood. They are producing new chemicals and products by recycling preservatives and wood fiber from decommissioned telephone poles. They also have projects involving partial harvesting of unmanaged forests to improve tree growth and production of wood chips for energy.

Getting students excited about science is a big focus of National 4-H Week, Oct. 4-10, 2009. Students across Louisiana and the country will be making ethanol, one of the most common biofuels in the United States.

Nestled among rolling pastures framed by tall pines is the LSU AgCenter’s Hill Farm Research Station – so named for the geography of Claiborne Parish, where it is located. It is the northernmost of the AgCenter’s 20 research stations across the state.

Many people feel fortunate that they managed to hold onto their jobs this year, but few were fortunate enough to see a pay increase. Some who work hourly or on commission are actually seeing a decrease in their pay check, which leaves many families trying to figure out how to live on less.

Louisiana is renowned as an outdoor sports paradise. It’s a reputation earned by the world-class outdoor opportunities found across the state. To take advantage of these opportunities and make them safer, Louisiana 4-H is involved with an outdoor skills program that has become the fastest growing program within 4-H.

Developments in molecular biology, immunology and genetic engineering have given new dimensions to research on farm animal production. The LSU AgCenter’s Reproductive Biology Center is recognized worldwide as a leader in assisted reproductive technologies for use in livestock improvement, biomedical applications, and propagation of exotic and endangered animal species.

Nearly all of the rice grown in Louisiana was developed at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station in Crowley. The world’s first herbicide-resistant rice, which helps Louisiana producers fight the weeds that historically have plagued their rice, was discovered at the station. The station celebrates 100 years in 2009.