The Louisiana Master Farmer Program will once again be hosting several field days and workshops for agricultural producers and industry personnel for the summer and fall of 2009. The program, initiated just over eight years ago, has grown and developed into one of the most widely known and successful environmental stewardship programs in the southern states.
Louisiana is the first and only state to offer this type of voluntary producer-certification program, and the support is evident in the growing number of producers enrolled in the program. Louisiana Farm Bureau, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the LSU AgCenter all partner in this effort to certify producers who complete all three phases of the program and fulfill the necessary requirements.
The phases include 8 hours of environmental instruction, attending a “model farm” or program field day where conservation related topics are discussed, and developing and implementing a comprehensive conservation plan on the entire farming operation. As of January 2009, 92 agricultural producers have completed these requirements and are certified, with just over 2,500 participants in the program.
Field days and workshops that will fulfill the Phase II requirement for 2009 include:
June 16 Stephen Logan Farm, Gilliam (row crops)
June 17 -- Northeast Research Station Field Day, St. Joe (row crops)
June 18 -- Red River Research Station Field Day, Bossier (row crops)
June 18 -- Precision Ag Workshop, Donovan Taves Farm, Lake Providence (row crops)
July 7 -- Kent Lounsberry’s Farm (Vermilion Parish Rice Tour), Lake Arthur (rice)
July 8 -- Rougon- Jones-Rummler Farm, New Roads (sugarcane)
July 14 -- Paul Hylan Farm (Pasture Walk), Athens (cattle/forages)
July 14 -- Concordia Parish Field Tour, Angelina Plantation (row crops)
July 17 -- Wiggers Farm, Winnsboro (row crops)
July 22 -- Iberia-St. Mary-Vermilion Parish Sugarcane Tour
August 20 -- Dean Lee Research Station Field Day, Alexandria (row crops)
October 1 -- Hill Farm Field Day, Homer (cattle/forages)
Fall (TBA) -- Raymond Fontenot Farm, Abbeville (cattle)
Fall (TBA) -- Cattle Field Day, Iberia Parish
For more information, please contact Donna Morgan, Ernest Girouard, or James Hendrix.