(06/13/19) BATON ROUGE, La. — The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation has awarded a $1.4 million grant to the LSU AgCenter to fund a four-year research project on reducing nutrient runoff from crop fields.

The award was announced at a ceremony June 13 at the AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge.

“The issues that are to be addressed during this project are varied and complex,” said Mrs. Phyllis Taylor, chairperson and president of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation. “While there has been some work done in this arena, there is much more required. We hope to advance effective solutions that benefit the farming industry and produce a positive result of a substantial, if not complete, elimination of the nutrient runoff. The team that has been engaged for this project is well qualified to do the work, and we wish them every success.”

“The Taylor Foundation funding provides critical on-site research and demonstration for applied and sustainable agricultural production,” said LSU Vice President for Agriculture Bill Richardson. “It also funds graduate students, propagating the next generation of agricultural scientists and communicators.”

AgCenter soil scientists Lisa Fultz and Brenda Tubaña are studying practices farmers can implement to decrease the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers, pesticides and other agricultural inputs needed to grow a successful crop. The goal is to reduce nutrient runoff that contributes to hypoxia, or inadequate oxygen, in the Gulf of Mexico.

As part of the project, the scientists will work with Keith Dugas Farm Inc., a sugarcane farm in Paincourtville, and Hardwick Planting Company, a farm in Newellton that grows corn, cotton, grain sorghum, soybeans and wheat. They will test and demonstrate efficient nutrient management techniques.

Several partner agencies will help disseminate information on the scientists’ findings. Those organizations include the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts, American Sugar Cane League, and Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research and Promotion Board.

From left, LSU President F. King Alexander, Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Chairperson and President Phyllis Taylor and LSU Vice President for Agriculture Bill Richardson sign documents related to a $1.4 million Taylor Foundation grant awarded to the LSU AgCenter. The funding was announced June 13, 2019, at a ceremony at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge. The grant will fund a project aimed at reducing nutrient runoff from crop fields. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

Phyllis Taylor, second from right, chairperson and president of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, greets Mead Hardwick, of the Hardwick Planting Company in Newellton, on June 13, 2019. The Hardwick family farm is participating in an LSU AgCenter project funded by the Taylor Foundation. Looking on, from left, are LSU President F. King Alexander, LSU Vice President for Agriculture Bill Richardson, Mary Hardwick, Marshall Hardwick and Taylor Foundation board member and former LSU Chancellor James Wharton. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

LSU Vice President for Agriculture Bill Richardson speaks during a ceremony announcing a $1.4 million Patrick F. Taylor Foundation grant awarded to the LSU AgCenter. The ceremony was held June 13, 2019, at the AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge. The grant will fund a project aimed at reducing nutrient runoff from crop fields. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

Phyllis Taylor, chairperson and president of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, speaks during a ceremony announcing her organization’s grant of $1.4 million to the LSU AgCenter. The ceremony was held June 13, 2019, at the AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge. The grant will fund a project aimed at reducing nutrient runoff from crop fields. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter

LSU AgCenter soil scientists Brenda Tubaña, left, and Lisa Fultz stand next to a poster featuring information on their nutrient runoff reduction project, which is funded by a $1.4 million grant from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation. The funding was announced June 13, 2019, at a ceremony at the AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter