(Distributed 07/02/04) The LSU AgCenter and others are sponsoring a workshop in Alexandria July 21-22 that is designed to help forest landowners get the most from managing their land while also keeping thriving wildlife populations.

(Distributed 08/11/04) It may be a while before their work bears fruit, but researchers at the LSU AgCenter and others across the South are investigating how to assist the spread of a microscopic parasite that could reduce the number of red imported fire ants.

(Distributed 07/12/04) The LSU AgCenter’s Audubon Sugar Institute and the Michigan Biotechnology Institute have been awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

(Distributed 08/26/04) LACASSINE – Farmer Donald Berken of Lacassine had anticipated that his rice crop would bring a handsome yield this year. But the harvest for Berken and many others has been anything but a bumper crop. Average yields from last year appear to be down, while production costs were up, according to LSU AgCenter experts.

(Distributed 08/26/04) Summer afternoons often are filled with sounds of cicadas singing. This song is music to the cicada killers’ ears.

(Distributed 08/25/04) Calling it a "significant event in our evolution and development," William Jenkins, president of the LSU System, and several other dignitaries officially "broke ground" today for the new Louisiana Emerging Technologies Center already under construction on the LSU AgCenter’s campus.

(Distributed 08/23/04) A relatively new disease of trees and ornamental plants has found its way into Louisiana, and officials are keeping watch to make sure it doesn’t spread.

(Distributed 08/23/04) The LSU AgCenter’s Audubon Sugar Institute will hold an open house at its new facility in St. Gabriel from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 31.

(Distributed 08/20/04) More than 60 people gathered here this week to discuss water issues facing citizens of the area, and one of the key messages was that policies on water use are important to economic development.

(Distributed 10/27/04) Childhood obesity is one of the most critical health issues today, and the LSU AgCenter is working with universities in two other states to combat that problem across the Mississippi Delta Region.

(Distributed 08/20/04) A form of mastitis previously unreported in the state has been detected in Louisiana dairy cows and could prove costly to the state’s $72 million dairy industry if it’s not contained.

(Distributed 08/20/04) "Money Does Grow On Trees!" At least that’s the basic message to be presented at an LSU AgCenter workshop designed to help forest landowners determine if they are missing out on great opportunities.

(Distributed 08/20/04) Scientists at the LSU AgCenter’s Southeast Research Station in Franklinton are beginning a research project designed to help dairy farmers with wastewater management.

(Distributed 08/16/04)A tiny pest brought the U.S. honey bee industry to its knees, but a Louisiana scientist found a remedy in remote Russia.

(Distributed 10/27/04) Soil is an important factor in the forest ecosystem, and participants in a field day held recently at the LSU AgCenter’s Calhoun Research Station learned how to use good forest management practices to maintain the soil on their property.

(Distributed 10/27/04) Louisiana farmers and agribusiness leaders will address ways to keep Louisiana’s agriculture and forestry competitive at the 2005 AgOutlook Conference Jan. 12-13 in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 10/27/04) Programs to support Louisiana wildlife and forestry got a boost Wednesday (Oct. 20) when the LSU AgCenter officially dedicated its new research and extension center at the Idlewild Research Station at Clinton.

(Distributed 10/22/04) New regulations could boost the local economy by encouraging fishermen to harvest more oysters from the lower Calcasieu Lake.

(Distributed 10/22/04) Participants in the LSU AgCenter’s Hill Farm Research Station field day learned how to increase the value of their timber stands, how to reduce soil acidity and how to use improved sires without creating calving problems during the event held here last week.

(Distributed 10/22/04) The violent storms of the past two months devastated Florida’s citrus crop, but Louisiana hasn’t seen that sort of damage so far this year, according to Dr. Wayne Bourgeois, resident coordinator for the LSU AgCenter’s Citrus Research Station near Port Sulphur.

(Distributed 08/16/04) Although termites feed on wood and other cellulose products, they depend on bacteria in their digestive tracts, or gut, to actually digest the wood fibers and get the nutrients they need.

(Distributed 08/16/04) Fall armyworms are invading the state, and LSU AgCenter specialists say they expect the worms to hang around until cool weather comes in.

(Distributed 08/12/04) About 500 4-H’ers from across the South rode into the Ike Hamilton Expo Center here recently for the 2004 4-H Southern Regional Horse Show.

(Distributed 08/12/04) The LSU AgCenter will host a workshop on managing of mourning doves in Louisiana Aug. 28. Sponsored in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the field day/workshop will be held at the LSU AgCenter’s Idlewild Research Station located just south of Clinton on Highway 67.

(Distributed 08/11/04) An update on using "trap crops" to keep stinkbugs out of pecan orchards is among the topics to be discussed at the LSU AgCenter’s Pecan Research and Extension Station Annual Field Day Aug. 27.

(Distributed 08/11/04) The LSU AgCenter will host a field day at its Dean Lee Research Station Aug. 26. Known as the Rapides Parish/Dean Lee Crop Field Day, this third annual event is slated to start at 3 p.m. Aug. 26 at the research station south of Alexandria.

(Distributed 08/10/04) Weed science graduate students from across the southern United States competed in a series of challenges recently at the LSU AgCenter. The top three teams were the University of Arkansas, Mississippi State University and Clemson University, in that order.

(Distributed 11/03/04) The LSU AgCenter is working with Louisiana poultry producers to help them reduce the economic damage caused by fire ants.

(Distributed 07/20/04) The LSU AgCenter recently held the first-of-its-kind, two-day, large-scale composting workshop in Metairie for parishes and municipalities in the New Orleans area.

(Distributed 07/29/04) Too much rain and not enough sunshine – both at the worst times – are being blamed as the culprits that stole a bountiful rice harvest."The rain was in the right place at the wrong time," said LSU AgCenter plant physiologist Dr. Richard Dunand.

(Distributed 07/29/04) LSU AgCenter agents across the state are teaching children the importance of eating healthfully and exercising, and characters known as the OrganWise Guys are helping with those efforts.

(Distributed 07/28/04) Louisiana farmers are entering the second phase of the LSU AgCenter’s Master Farmer program and are creating environmentally friendly farms that will be models for others around the world to follow.

(Distributed 11/03/04) Central Louisiana landowners heard that managing forest resources is a good investment during a gathering here late last month.

(Distributed 07/28/04) Putting litterbags on boats to stop pollution is one of the best ideas to come along in years, according to officials with the LSU AgCenter, who say such measures also give every boater a chance to pitch in to help clean up our waters.

(Distributed 07/28/04) Two herbicides that received crisis registration this year for use in sweet potato fields will be among the topics covered during an Aug. 12 field day at the LSU AgCenter’s Sweet Potato Research Station.

(Distributed 07/23/04) Young people from various areas of Louisiana are venturing to coastal Louisiana again this summer for the adventures and education provided by the LSU AgCenter’s Marsh Maneuvers program.

(Distributed 07/22/04) Elmer Hunley says he is ready to start teaching his students about personal finance – thanks to the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 07/22/04) Forget hanging out at the mall or lounging by the pool. Six Louisiana high school student-teacher pairs spent six weeks of their summer in biotechnology labs, doing such things as extracting termite guts and taking skin biopsies from goats.

(Distributed 07/21/04) Rice farmers are being advised not to let their guard down as pests continue to threaten their maturing crops.

(Distributed 07/16/04) Louisiana pecan producers are invited to a regional pecan meeting slated for July 27 at the Bogard Pecan Orchard near Foreman, Ark.

(Distributed 07/14/04) The LSU AgCenter has announced the first in a series of educational programs for beef cattle producers in Louisiana. The first 10-week session in the Master Cattle Producer Program will begin on July 26 in Lafayette, according to Dr. Jason Rowntree, the LSU AgCenter state specialist responsible for the program.

(Distributed 07/12/04) The LSU AgCenter recently received research grants totaling nearly $1.4 million from the Louisiana Board of Regents. Awards for 2004 included $440,000 in the Regents’ Industrial Ties Program, $549,000 in the Enhancement Program and $392,000 in the Research Competitiveness Program.

(Distributed 07/09/04) Louisiana agricultural producers could see as much as $207 million in economic damages from rains that pelted the state in May and June.

(Distributed 07/02/04) May and June were the wettest months in 75 years in some parts of Louisiana and LSU AgCenter climatologist Jay Grymes said it’s hard to tell if the "unusual" weather patterns will continue.

(Distributed 07/02/04) Few people know crawfish come in several colors besides the traditional red or brown. Dr. Ray McClain, a crawfish researcher at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station in Crowley, said he had heard of pure white and has seen a few sky-blue crawfish over the years.

(Distributed 07/02/04) Approximately 500 people attended the annual field day Thursday (July 1) at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station to learn about new projects to help farmers.

(Distributed 07/02/04) Some people say summer is sweet – or at least that’s the opinion when it comes to watermelons. And those tasty melons that make the summer heat and humidity in Louisiana a little more tolerable also contribute to the state’s economy.

(Distributed 07/02/04) The third annual LSU AgCenter Rapides Parish/Dean Lee Research Station Field Day is set for Aug. 26 at the Dean Lee Research Station south of Alexandria.

(Distributed 07/02/04) An LSU AgCenter professor recently began serving as the president of the American Forage and Grassland Council. Dr. Ed Twidwell, a professor in the Department of Agronomy and Environmental Management, moved into that role during the council’s annual meeting in mid-June.

(Distributed 07/01/04) Scientists are uncovering evidence that components in our everyday foods can reduce risks of chronic diseases and promote improved health, according to Dr. Sam Godber, a researcher in the LSU AgCenter’s Food Science Department.

(Distributed 11/16/04) Three of four samples tested from an inspection tour in Louisiana Thursday (Nov. 11) were confirmed as Asian soybean rust, a potentially devastating plant disease, today (Nov. 16) by officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

(Distributed 11/15/04) "We have to become a business," Diana Boudreaux of Abbeville said of the Louisiana horse industry, stressing, "We have to come together."

(Distributed 11/12/04) With hunting season in full swing, an LSU AgCenter expert says it’s a good time to remember that safety should be everyone’s top priority.

Distributed 11/12/04 The Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council will address several different aspects of forage production at its 2004 annual conference Dec. 10 in Alexandria.

(Distributed 11/10/04) A costly and potentially devastating plant disease has been discovered in Louisiana – its first occurrence in the United States, officials confirmed Tuesday.

(Distributed 11/10/04) "Green industry" professionals will have a chance to learn the latest about plants available for use in the state at the 10th annual Louisiana Plant Materials Conference Dec. 2.

(Distributed 11/05/04) The quality of water, not the quantity, is a problem for anyone who considers venturing into the nursery business in Louisiana.

(Distributed 11/05/04) "Lucky is the tomato grower who has tomatoes for sale now," said Dr. H.Y. Hanna of the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 11/05/04) Thanks to LSU AgCenter faculty, farmers this year can use data collected from the largest on-farm demonstration trials ever conducted in Louisiana to select what they plant next year.

(Distributed 11/03/04) Rains in May and June seem to have hampered Louisiana’s 2004 pecan crop, and September hurricanes on the Gulf Coast greatly reduced the crop in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

(Distributed 11/03/04) LSU AgCenter faculty members are working to increase awareness about the potentially devastating effects of diabetes and how to recognize its symptoms, and they have developed a new educational program to assist in those efforts.

(Distributed 07/01/04) RAYVILLE – The LSU AgCenter’s annual Northeast Louisiana Rice and Soybean Field Day is set for July 22 at Woodsland Plantation in Richland Parish.

(Distributed 07/01/04) Dairy farmers across the state of Louisiana are going back to class to ensure that their industry weathers the latest storms.

(Distributed 07/01/04) Two new sugarcane varieties will highlight the LSU AgCenter’s annual sugarcane field day July 21 at its Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel.

(Distributed 11/24/04) A half-century-old practice used to produce superior cattle is on the threshold of contributing to improved production in aquaculture thanks to research at the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 11/23/04) Five Louisiana 4-H’ers were among those winning national championship honors last week in Louisville, Ky.

(Distributed 11/19/04) The LSU AgCenter has scheduled its 2004 Poinsettia Open House for Dec. 9-10 on the campus in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 11/19/04) As farmers work to complete harvesting this year’s sweet potato crop in Louisiana, an LSU AgCenter expert predicts overall production for 2004 will be down significantly because of a mixture of excessive rains and drought conditions.

(Distributed 11/17/04) LSU AgCenter experts will be among those sharing their expertise at a meeting of vegetable growers from across the South next month in Mobile, Ala.