(Distributed 08/14/08) Why is my neighbor’s yard greener? That’s the most common phone call LSU AgCenter agent Troy Menard receives about lawn care.

(Distributed 08/26/08) 4–H and FFA goat exhibitors from across Louisiana took part in the second 4-H goat educational trip in Louisiana and Mississippi Aug. 3-8.

(Distributed 08/01/08) Squire Creek Country Club, a private course nestled in the rolling Louisiana hills near Ruston, will be the site of a 4-H benefit golf tournament Sept. 29.

(Distributed 08/01/08) Fourteen Bienville Parish 4-H’ers learned about the world of work in professional jobs this summer in a new program that’s a joint venture between the LSU AgCenter and the Bienville Parish Police Jury. Called Jurors Empowering Teens, or JET, the six-week program was an experiment to see if investing in young people would pay off.

(Distributed 08/01/08) The LSU AgCenter will hold a field day Aug. 14 at its Sweet Potato Research Station in Chase.

(Distributed 08/04/08) The 4-H team representing Louisiana at the national Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program walked away from the event with two pieces of good news – they placed second out of 18 state teams, and their state will host the event in 2009.

(Distributed 08/12/08) A U.S. Department of Agriculture-sponsored youth literacy program is being presented in three Louisiana parishes by the LSU AgCenter and the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center.

(Distributed 08/12/08) A fire ant treatment being touted on radio and on the Internet is a sham, LSU AgCenter experts say. The treatment – pouring two cups of club soda directly in the center of a fire ant mound – won’t control the insects.

(Distributed 08/14/08) Participating in Marsh Maneuvers was like “boot camp” for 16-year-old Austin Mouton, a 4-H student from Erath High School, who said the activities meshed with his career plans in wildlife management.

(Distributed 08/15/08) Trends in the sweet potato industry are showing a shift toward more processed products, LSU AgCenter experts said at a field day at the AgCenter’s Sweet Potato Research Station Aug. 14.

(Distributed 08/18/08) Louisiana’s oldest living 4-H’er, Elaine Marchand Edmonston, and the Louisiana 4-H organization have some notable things in common.

(Distributed 08/18/08) A new horticulture lecture series titled Reflections in the Garden will be presented at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center the first Monday of each month starting in September.

(Distributed 08/19/08) Businesses and local governments have an opportunity to join together to market their rural communities as a destination for regional tourism, experts told those attending a tourism conference Aug. 12-14.

(Distributed 08/20/08) Students attending the camp at the LSU AgCenter’s Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center had the chance to take classes in science – learning about rockets, robots and other high-tech subjects.

(Distributed 08/21/08) The Louisiana timber industry could get a financial boost from the results of research to create new value-added products from small-diameter trees.

(Distributed 08/25/08) The LSU AgCenter recently announced the appointment of Dr. John Russin as associate vice chancellor.

(Distributed 08/25/08) The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay have put Louisiana farmers in a wait-and-see mode. They are waiting to get back into their fields to plant and harvest crops while seeing the quality of crops ready for harvest being diminished by the wet weather, say LSU AgCenter experts.

(Distributed 08/26/08) Bobby H. Fletcher Jr. has been named assistant director of the LSU AgCenter’s Extension Service.

(Distributed 08/27/08) ALEXANDRIA – Corn with improved resistance to aflatoxin and soybeans that won’t lose quality from Louisiana’s heavy rains are two of the crop breeding goals of an LSU AgCenter researcher at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Station in Alexandria. And Dr. Steve Moore is making progress on both fronts, which was good news for the 150 farmers and agricultural industry representatives gathered for a field day there on Aug. 21.

(Distributed 08/27/08) An insecticide will be available soon for homeowners to use to treat their citrus trees for the Asian citrus psyllid, according to Alan Vaughn, LSU AgCenter extension agent in Plaquemines Parish. “We’ve been told a product called Merit 2F will be available in a few weeks. Homeowners should be able to obtain it from their local garden centers.”

(Distributed 08/29/08) Homeowners face many issues after a hurricane. If the home has escaped major structural damage, one of the first problems encountered may be the loss of electrical power.

(Distributed 08/29/08) With Gustav bearing down on the Louisiana coast, homes that have been stripped for repair since hurricanes Katrina and Rita – and those that are now elevated on columns – may be subject to high winds for the first time.

(Distributed 08/27/08) The LSU AgCenter has a wealth of information on preparing for hurricanes and other storms as well as what to do in the aftermath of a storm.

(Distributed 10/25/07) More than 350 people attended the recent (Oct. 10-12) Louisiana Master Gardener State Conference.

(Distributed 08/27/08) The LSU AgCenter has a wealth of information on preparing for hurricanes and other storms as well as what to do in the aftermath of a storm.