Dean Lee Research Station Profile

About the LSU AgCenter

The LSU AgCenter provides innovative research, information, and education to improve people’s lives. Working in a statewide network of parish extension offices, research stations, and academic departments, the LSU AgCenter helps Louisiana citizens make the best use of natural resources, protect the environment, enhance agricultural enterprises and develop human and community resources.

Research and Extension Highlights

Beef Cattle and Forages

Our research program evaluates a range of technologies (e.g., growth-promoting implants, growth-promoting additives, trace mineral injections, etc.) and supplementation strategies that could potentially enhance growth, reproductive performance, immune system, and overall profitability in cow-calf operations. Our studies are conducted in a forage-based production system, with animals grazing bermudagrass in the summer and a mix of ryegrass and clover in the winter, supplemented with hay, baleage, and concentrates in the fall. We are continuously exploring management practices aimed at improving the efficiency and economic sustainability of beef cattle herds.

Agronomy

The goal of the Agronomy Program is to increase yield and profitability of Louisiana corn, cotton, grain sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, and wheat. Agronomic research efforts include soil fertility, crop row widths and growth efficiency, planting methods, plant nutrition and biostimulants, and ripening strategies. Official variety evaluations are conducted to evaluate yield potential and adaptation of new varieties. These efforts are important to assist in validating crop production techniques and to help improve upon the best management practices currently utilized by producers.

Horticulture

At the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center, our horticulture initiatives center around our diverse demonstration gardens. These demonstration areas feature examples of Louisiana Super Plants, native plants, foundation plantings, and shade gardens, as well as blueberries, blackberry trellising, and composting techniques. We are dedicated to educating clientele through a variety of horticulture workshops, seminars, and field days held throughout the year. These events provide valuable opportunities for sharing research and best practices through hands-on learning opportunities.

Field Crops Entomology

Our research advances sustainable insect pest management for Louisiana agriculture by optimizing control strategies and reduce environmental impact. We evaluate pesticides, refine economic thresholds for major field crops, and develop integrated pest management (IPM) programs tailored to local production systems. We also monitor and mitigate insecticide resistance and identify emerging invasive species to safeguard crop productivity and resilience.

Field Crops Plant Pathology

Research is conducted to evaluate cultural practices, genetic resistance, and fungicides to develop effective plant disease management programs in cotton, corn, grain sorghum, small grains, and soybean. Other research is aimed toward monitoring for pathogen resistance to fungicides. The unbiased results from this research is used by stakeholders to optimize their production systems and maximize profits.

Weed Management

The objective is to develop strategies for the management of weedy pests that are economically and environmentally feasible.

Dean Lee Research Station
8105 Tom Bowman Drive
Alexandria, LA 71302

Location:
The station is located six miles south of Alexandria on Hwy. 71.

Phone: (318) 473-6520

Office Hours:
7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Monday-Friday

Regional Director and Research Station Coordinator:
Dr. Daniel Stephenson
dstephenson@agcenter.lsu.edu

Size:
3,000 acres, including 560 acres of field crops research and 820 acres in pasture and beef cattle research. The station also 1,360 acres of timber and wetlands.

Research focus:

• Beef Cattle and Forages
  • Nutrition
  • Forages
• Agronomy
  • Sugarcane agronomy
  • Soybean agronomy
  • Corn, cotton, grain sorghum, oats, and wheat hybrid/variety evaluations
• Insect, Plant Disease, and Weed management in field crops
  • Corn, cotton, grain sorghum, soybean, sweet potato, and sugarcane.

Significance Of Research

• Research evaluating agronomic and pest management practices that can make Louisiana products competitive in a global market
• Beef cattle research provides information to the stakeholders to improve cattle health and increase productivity
• Forage research is aimed at suitability for year-round grazing systems with improved efficiencies
• Each year, over 50 cotton varieties, 50 corn hybrids, 25 grain sorghum hybrids, and 100 soybean varieties are evaluated in the LSU AgCenter Official Variety/Hybrid Trial. These studies provide important information to farmers for variety/hybrid selection
• Disease resistant crop varieties/hybrids have been identified in the Official Variety/Hybrid Trials and Plant Introduction tests. These varieties can be utilized by stakeholders which reduces the need for fungicides for disease management. This also reduces the pesticide load in the environment.
• Evaluation of insect and weed management programs to provide Louisiana crops producers with strategies that can increase productivity while being economically and environmentally feasible

2024 Louisiana Agricultural Statistics

• Total gross farm value generated by beef cattle was approximately $682.5 million
• Gross farm value of corn, cotton, grain sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, sweet potato, and wheat in Louisiana was $2.16 billion
• Statewide acreage of crops researched at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center are:
  • Corn – 454,640
  • Cotton – 143,664
  • Grain sorghum – 39,594
  • Soybean – 1,101,907
  • Sugarcane – 535,402
  • Sweet potato – 5,532
  • Wheat – 18,665.

Data from the Louisiana Ag Summary at www.LSUAgCenter.com/agsummary.

Future Plans

• Research efforts will continue to address the changing landscape of crop production methods and techniques. The commodity markets will continue to influence Louisiana crop production and new crops and rotations will be researched as needed.
• Research on newly released varieties/hybrids that contain tolerances to various herbicides, insects, and diseases will be a focus area of the program in the future. As higher-yielding varieties/hybrids are continually introduced, research on their management and adaptation will be needed to optimize production and profitability for Louisiana farmers.
• Sugarcane research focusing on sugarcane agronomy will continue to provide Central Louisiana producers with regionally based information.
• Research and extension efforts to determine best management practices for blackberry, mayhaw, and pecan.
• The LSU AgCenter is committed to providing our stakeholders with unbiased information on disease, insect, and weed management. Therefore, research will continue in the future and evolve with the changing agricultural landscape to address stakeholder needs and keep them profitable.

Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Louisiana’s unique combination of crops — ranging from corn, cotton, rice and sugarcane to extensive forestry, poultry, cattle and fisheries industries — presents challenges for providing research-based information to ensure sustainable agricultural production systems.

To address the needs of these industries, the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station operates 14 academic departments/schools and specialized units shared by the LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture, as well as 14 research stations located across the state. To fund the basic and applied research, scientists compete for federal and state grants and checkoff dollars provided by some farmers’ groups, along with state and federal dollars. Many of the facilities also sustain their research operations through the sale of agricultural commodities produced on the stations.

The LSU AgCenter has the most successful record of commercialization of intellectual property in the LSU System. Since 2000, 21 new companies have been started based on licensed technology from the LSU AgCenter. The income is distributed among the LSU System, the inventors and more research.