From his office on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, the path from Michael Patrick Hayes’ childhood in Fairhope, Alabama, to his career as a water quality specialist looks clear.

He grew up in the water on Weeks Bay in coastal Alabama, spending his days hunting, fishing and learning to gig fish, spearing them in shallow water.

“Both my granddads had me fishing and hunting from a really young age, catching soft shell and flounder,” said Hayes, who goes by his initials, M.P. “And I always tell people over here (in Louisiana) I gig flounder — not frogs. You know, a little different side of things.”

Even as a child, Hayes’ scientific mind recognized the estuary as part of a larger system of interconnected rivers, bayous and lakes.

“It all ties in to growing up down there in south Alabama, being so integrated with the outdoors and asking, ‘How does that work?’”

Hayes, who joined the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant in 2023, directs the Water Quality Extension Lab, a service that helps agricultural producers throughout the state learn to improve their operations and use water more efficiently. The lab also provides water-quality assessments to promote water conservation and waterway protection.

He credits his grandfathers — one an electrician and the other a building contractor — with teaching him to analyze both the natural world and the built environment. Their family practiced a conservation mindset when harvesting deer or other game, an approach that advocates for the preservation of the environment and wildlife through herd and natural resource management.

In school Hayes was also drawn to science, and he considered going to an engineering-focused university for undergraduate work.

Reflecting on the advice of some old-timers he drank coffee with at a diner in Fairhope, he chose to attend Spring Hill College, a small liberal arts institution in Mobile, Alabama, and majored in chemistry. The Jesuit-founded Catholic school encouraged community service, and he wanted to give back.

“I could be a scientist anywhere,” Hayes said. “I could be an engineer anywhere. But what’s going to help me give back to this community?”

At Spring Hill, Hayes met his wife, Chandler. They both moved on to graduate school at LSU and married in 2020.

Hayes pursued his doctorate in chemistry and researched wetland and river nutrient cycling. His dissertation was accepted in February 2020, and most job opportunities he anticipated dried up when the COVID-19 pandemic began. He accepted a job testing agricultural commodities at the port of New Orleans for pesticides, heavy metals and other substances.

Yet Hayes wished to return to the university setting. He wanted to mentor students and conduct research.

“But another reason was the ability to disseminate the science,” he said. “In the industry, a lot of it is trade secrets, and science is something that should be shared with all audiences.”

Hayes moved to the LSU Industrial Assessment Center and conducted sustainability assessments for industrial manufacturers.

Two years ago, M.P. and Chandler welcomed their son, whom they named Caspian after the inland sea that borders Europe and Asia.

In March 2023, Hayes joined the AgCenter and Sea Grant to build the Water Quality Extension Lab.

Through the lab, Hayes connects agricultural producers and manufacturers with research-based recommendations to help improve their processes. He can analyze their water quality and help them apply for grants to build projects that save money or improve water usage.

Hayes has helped a koi fish farm evaluate whether its wastewater could make a decent fertilizer, and he has assisted shrimp processors, plant nurseries and sugar mills. Recently he has also researched the use of floating solar panels on agricultural ponds for electricity generation and community resiliency.

“It’s an opportunity to put a value on currenty, unutilized space,” he said. “Instead of taking up agricultural land with solar, they can use water space.”

Working to improve water quality and help agricultural producers throughout Louisiana, Hayes feels like he has begun to fulfill the goal he set years ago of giving back to his community.

“I’m not quite back in Fairhope with my extension,” he said, “but I still feel like when I work with a lot of our rural manufacturers and agricultural communities here, I feel like I’m giving back to my roots.”

Kyle Peveto is the editor of Louisiana Agriculture.

This article appears in the spring 2024 edition of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

M.P. Hayes, LSU AgCenter assistant professor of agricultural and industrial water quality, poses at a pond on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. Photo by Olivia McClure