Dennis Burns, Ralph Frazier Jr., Kylie Miller and Bruce Garner

In 2019, distributing information to agricultural clientele in the LSU AgCenter Northeast Region was undergoing a change. Attendance at field days and production meetings had been declining. Producers were getting information from many sources: consultants, industry and social media. While the AgCenter was still the primary source for unbiased information, reaching clientele was becoming more difficult.

Three AgCenter agriculture natural resource agents, Dennis Burns, R.L. Frazier and Kylie Miller, who covered the five Delta parishes in northeast Louisiana, decided they needed to expand their outreach efforts into a new arena. The LA Delta Crop Podcast was started, and when COVID-19 eliminated face-to-face meetings, it flourished.

Starting with portable microphones attached to their cellphones, the goal was to convey current crop conditions, pest problems and solutions, assistance in planning, and any other topics that might be of interest to their clientele. Over the past five seasons, their guests have included LSU AgCenter administrators, extension specialists, scientists, politicians and producers. During this time, they have tried to maintain the original format of the podcast — “just a conversation” between the agents and their guests.

In 2020, they started the LA Delta Crop YouTube channel and established an account on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. “Billbugs in Furrow Irrigated Rice” was the first video recorded using a cellphone, and they progressed to video cameras with cordless microphones. A peanut harvest video in northeast Louisiana was done in 2020 and as of spring 2023, it has had 98,000 views. Videos have covered many different topics and have been used for recording field days as well as substituting for field days. In 2022, the row rice field day was replaced by videos because of the lateness of the crop. Presentations from the soil health field day in 2021 were covered live on Twitter during the field tour. The LA Delta Crop videos have covered many different aspects of crop production in northeast Louisiana. They have recorded videos of different speakers at the Advanced Corn Production Meeting in 2020 and the 2021 Wheat and Oat Field Days. These presentations are still available for producers to view on the LA Delta Crop YouTube video channel.

While podcasts range in length from 20 minutes to an hour, the team’s experience has taught them that for videos to be effective, they need to be between three and five minutes. The expansion into videos and the X platform further increased the number of clientele they could reach. It is very gratifying for the team to drive up to a farmer in the field and hear the farmer say, “I was just watching one of your videos or listening to a podcast.”

In 2021, Bruce Garner, agriculture and natural resources agent in Morehouse and West Carroll parishes, joined the crew, and the LA Delta Crop expanded into the Instagram social media platform. Their latest offerings included live Instagram broadcasts from the 2023 National Cotton and Rice Conservation Tillage Conference in Baton Rouge.

The podcast, X, Instagram and YouTube videos have allowed the agents to keep producers current without face-to-face meetings. The LA Delta Crop social media platforms have been used daily to inform producers of events and what’s going on in the field. They give an insight into what it is to be a county agent for the LSU AgCenter in northeast Louisiana.

The number of people who listen, follow and watch the programming from the LA Delta Crop offerings has been an eye-opening experience. Since its 2019 debut, the hosts have worked to expand the podcast’s reach across the globe. Currently there are podcast listeners from almost 30 states and from Belgium, South Africa, France, Australia and Singapore. The most downloaded episode has more than 360 downloads since it aired on May 9, 2022.

Developing social media platforms and podcasting has allowed not just producers but anyone interested in northeast Louisiana agriculture to tune in and learn about latest research or upcoming events.

Dennis Burns is an LSU AgCenter agriculture and natural resources extension agent based in Tensas Parish. Ralph Frazier Jr. is an agriculture and natural resources extension agent in Madison Parish. Kylie Miller is an LSU AgCenter agriculture and natural resources extension agent in Concordia Parish. Bruce Garner is an agriculture and natural resources extension agent in West Carroll and Morehouse parishes.

This article appears in the summer 2023 edition of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

The LA Delta Crop podcast had Andy Brown and Karl Wiggers with Louisiana Farm Bureau on the podcast to talk about disastrous weather events that impacted crops in northeast Louisiana. Left to right are Karl Wiggers, R.L. Frazier, Kylie Miller, Andy Brown and Bruce Garner. Photo by Dennis Burns

The LA Delta Crop Crew films a cover crop trial at the Northeast Research Station in 2023. R.L. Frazier and Kylie Miller check seed spacing and depth while Dennis Burns and Bruce Garner discuss the trial. Photo by Riley Tullos