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In October all seven kindergarten classes at Bains Lower Elementary (BLE) began learning about MyPlate and the five food groups. Also in October, all Pre-K students at BLE were introduced to the OrganWise Guys curriculum. The children are learning about nutrition and health from lovable organ characters called the OrganWise Guys. Integrated curriculum concepts they are learning from this curriculum are character development, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. During October, children prepared their 10 raised beds for planting radish, carrots, kale, and broccoli. In November and December, all Pre-K and kindergarteners learned about fruits and vegetables and the benefits of consuming them.
The 4-H Cooking Club has a new name- Mission Nutrition. At the November project club meeting, 4‑H’ers participated in Cooking Methods & Knife Skills Session. The club meeting taught the 4-H’ers different cooking methods and knife skills and provided them an opportunity to practice cutting vegetables.
Our hypertension series, Break Up with Salt was offered virtually and Diabetes & The Holidays was conducted at the Council on Aging (COA).
The FCS Agent continues working with the parish library and their Library of Things- health expansion. The healthy communities mini grant they received from the LSU AgCenter is not only funding the additional items for the library but will also help establish a seed library. A second healthy communities grant was also awarded to our farmers market to purchase signs and flags. Be on the lookout for those items to draw more farmers market patrons.
We are very excited to announce the release of another NEW Build a Healthy Meal recipe video! Below is the link to the “Sweet Potato Fries – 2 Ways” video. Our very own FCS Agent shows us healthy ways to make sweet potato fries in the oven and air fryer.
Here is the link to the video:
Follow us on Pinterest @BuildaHealthyMeal and on Instagram @BuildaHealthyMeal. You can find all of the Build a Healthy Meal videos on the LSU AgCenter website at Build a Healthy Meal (lsuagcenter.com).
This quarter was a busy one for health and resource fairs. Participants received nutrition resources during the Early Head Start Resource Fair, West Feliciana Hospital Health Fair, and COA Fall Fest.
On January 2, the LSU AgCenter Family & Consumer Sciences will change its name to Nutrition and Community Health. This change more accurately reflects the community-based approach to health and nutrition.
Fall was a busy time for the West Feliciana 4-H Program. Our club meetings are back in full swing, and our 4-H’ers are participating in two different lesson studies. Bains 4th and 5th are participating in Themes of Art History and Art Components Lesson Study while West Feliciana Middle School, West Feliciana High School, Parkview Baptist Flex, Home School Co-op, and Members at Large are participating in the Robotics Lesson Study. This lesson study is providing youth opportunities to build and code their own robots! As of January, we have 220 members enrolled in our program, and we are constantly recruiting.
Our 4-H Junior Leaders have been working on their service-learning projects for the year. This year, the state service theme is hunger and poverty, and our junior leaders have taken a unique approach. Due to the hard drought year, our junior leaders have been focusing on wildlife and hunger. They have completed several projects that address this topic. The Junior Leaders made a Halloween themed pumpkin feeder and for Thanksgiving, they made pinecone bird feeders to hang in the parish. During Christmas, they collected toys for Toys for Tots.
4-H’ers participated in our Wildlife and Wetlands Day Workshop where they learned about Louisiana wildlife and wetlands including wood duck ecology, different wildlife biologist career tracks, and many other topics.
Horse, Cooking (Mission Nutrition), Rabbit, and Sewing Project Clubs along with Archery and Shotgun Teams have all kicked off. Archery and Shotgun Teams have been working hard preparing for their competitions beginning in February. Our Horse Club youth have been learning how to care for their horses and will begin learning about the riding disciplines starting in January. Sewing Club has been working on crafts and are going to start working on their fashion show projects for Contest Day. Our livestock youth are also getting ready for a busy show year.
In November, we hosted a Farmers & Market Vendor Meeting with 14 attendees. LSU AgCenter Vegetable Specialist, Dr. Kiki Fontenot, spoke about vegetable and cut flower trials. Local Food Systems Specialist, Makenzie Miller, discussed Farmers Market Best Practices. Our Horticulture Agent explained the Senior Farmers Market Program and encouraged farmers to apply.
Our Horticulture Agent coordinated a Wildfire Tour for forest landowners to discuss the 2023 fire season and forest repercussions of a wildfire.
The East Feliciana Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting was held on November 16, 2023, in Slaughter, Louisiana. Approximately 90 livestock and forage producers from East and West Feliciana Parishes attended the annual event and heard updates regarding regulations for hauling ag equipment and farm vehicles on public roads.
The Louisiana Forage Conference was held on December 1st in Alexandria, Louisiana. The Louisiana Grazing Land Conservation Initiative (GLCI) and Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council (LFGC) sponsored the event where over 100 producers from around the state heard information pertaining to carbon sequestration, baleage, and NRCS program updates.
The 4-H Mini Farm will be held January 18 at the 4-H Barn. The Feliciana Livestock Show will be held on January 19 & 20 at the 4-H Barn.
The LSU AgCenter has scheduled two Private Pesticide Applicator (PPA) Training Courses in the area. According to the Louisiana Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry, applicators whose license will expire by December 31, 2024, will need to attend a recertification meeting before March 31st to maintain their certification. Please contact your local Extension office for more information.
More information about livestock activities and resources can be found at the LSU AgCenter Beef Cattle website or West Feliciana's Livestock website for information from West Feliciana Parish.
