Schuster to lead fundraising for agriculture

Dinah Schuster has been named senior director of development for agriculture at LSU. In this newly created LSU Foundation position, she will develop a comprehensive fundraising plan for the LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture.

Schuster, who is the former director of presidential initiatives at Montana State University, said her priorities include identifying synergies between the AgCenter and the college as well as areas of need among faculty.

“There are a lot of talented people doing extraordinary work at LSU,” Schuster said. “Along with state appropriations, private charitable support will provide us with the necessary resources to achieve even greater things.”

At her previous university, Schuster launched and directed the Student Ambassador Program, a multiple-year professional internship for juniors and seniors interested in developing their leadership skills through the foundation’s donor and alumni relations outreach activities.

Schuster wants to involve LSU students in her efforts because they are the beneficiaries of donors’ generosity. They also remind potential supporters of their college experience, she said, which is key in fundraising for higher education.

Through enhanced philanthropic efforts, Schuster hopes to give more people a chance to be part of a coordinated plan to advance LSU and its agriculture programs. That is important, she said, because agriculture affects everyone. Providing students, faculty and staff with appropriate resources is essential to our future.

“I absolutely believe that we are transforming lives and making life better for people,” she said. “There is no better investment than in our land-grant university because we create opportunities.”

Olivia McClure

Poultry Judging Team sweeps competition

The LSU College of Agriculture Poultry Judging Team swept the competition at the USPOULTRY National Poultry Judging Contest April 2-4 on the LSU campus. LSU’s team competed against nine other universities.

“The poultry judging courses and contests provide students with concrete, handson experience in assessing the quality of live birds and poultry market products such as carcasses and eggs,” said Theresia Lavergne, LSU AgCenter poultry specialist, who organized and conducted the national intercollegiate contest.

Team awards included First Place Team Overall, First Place Team in Poultry Production, First Place Team in Market Product Grading and Third Place Team in Breed Selection.

Individual awards included Overall High Individual, Nicholas Adams; Second Place High Individual, BJ McDill; 10th Place High Individual, Daniel Moreno; First Place High Individual in Breed Selection, Jacob Moise; First Place High Individual in Market Product Grading, Nicholas Adams; and Second Place High Individual in Market Product Grading, BJ McDill.

Dennis Ingram, retired poultry science professor, trained and coached the judging team. The U.S. Poultry and Egg Association sponsored the contest.

Tobie Blanchard

Students learn food FUNdamentals

Baylor Meche was trying to make the perfect egg over easy. The LSU freshman was cooking for his classmates in Judy Myhand’s Food FUNdamentals class in the LSU College of Agriculture’s School of Nutrition and Food Sciences. The biology major and lone male in the class decided to sign up for Food FUNdamentals with a friend.

“I wanted something that could give me a useful life skill,” Meche said “I’ve learned to cook things I never would have thought of and prepare foods in healthier ways that are really amazing.”

Across the kitchen, Brooke Ford was using a cookie cutter to cut hearts out of slices of bread. She then put the bread in a warm skillet and cracked an egg in the heartshaped hole.

“I took the class because I wanted to try something new and expand my taste buds,” Ford, a freshman in nutrition, said.

Myhand’s class is giving college students ideas, techniques and recipes that they have can work from to create healthy meals for themselves and their friends and families.

Abbey LeBoeuf, a freshman in nutrition, said she wants to eat more than just cereal and sandwiches.

“I want to learn how to cook things that are healthy for me,” LeBoeuf said. In the class she has already learned how to make quick and easy dishes such as macaroni and cheese that is healthier than the boxed versions.

Each class centers on a different theme. The theme a week before Easter was eggs. The students prepared deviled eggs, eggs and avocado on toast, eggs baked in bell peppers and huevos rancheros among other dishes. The students get to enjoy their work at the end of each class.

Myhand said that by taking this class, the students will master different cooking techniques. She also arms them with the science behind cooking, food safety information and economical ways to shop for food.

Tobie Blanchard

(These article was published in the spring 2014 issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.)