To receive a notification through the Remind text messaging system when a Tangi-Washington Grower Update is posted, please contact Mary Helen Ferguson. Click here for links to previous Tangi-Washington Grower Updates.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays! I want to share several events and other notifications with you.
Note that the 2025 Watermelon Education Meeting has been scheduled, sweet potato seed orders can be placed, and there is a short window of opportunity to apply for the recently announced Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program.
This recently announced program may be of interest to some of you. Contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency office if you’re interested.
The following links provide more information about the program:
Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops Program | Farm Service Agency
Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops: A Closer Look | American Farm Bureau Federation
(I had asked that people respond to this questionnaire by December 6, but our overall parish advisory meeting was postponed, so I have more time to collect responses. If you haven’t responded yet, please do.) Each year, the LSU AgCenter seeks input from client groups to help set priorities for the upcoming year. To get input from commercial horticultural crop growers in Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes, I’ve created thisshort questionnaire. If you are a current or prospective commercial horticultural crop (vegetable, fruit, nut, nursery, greenhouse, etc.) grower in Tangipahoa or Washington Parish, please give me your input. Of course, you can contact me directly to give input at any time of year, but please respond to this if you are able.
The Sweet Potato Research Station now has an online form for taking orders for sweet potato “seed” from the AgCenter’s Foundation Seed Program. Orders submitted online are due by Monday, February 3, 2025. If you are in Tangipahoa or Washington Parish and want to submit your order through me, please contact me by Thursday, January 30.
The variety Beauregard is available for $25 per 40-pound box. Avoyelles, Bayou Belle, Evangeline, and Orleans roots can be purchased in a 40-pound box for $30 or a 20-pound box for $16. Murasaki-29 and Sakura are available at $16 per 20-pound box.
Commercial growers needing large quantities of seed can purchase 25-box bins of Bayou Belle, Beauregard, or Orleans roots. Contact the Sweet Potato Research Station for details.
A licensing fee of $500 for up to 250 acres of production is charged for the patented varieties Avoyelles, Bayou Belle, Burgundy, Murasaki, and Orleans, but those who will be growing less than one acre of sweet potatoes are exempt from this fee.
Variety descriptions are available here. Sakura is not included on that page, but a description of it can be found in the sweet potato section of this list. This page has information about Avoyelles, which is the LSU AgCenter sweet potato breeding program’s newest release.
Growers who raise sweet potatoes to sell are required to have a Sweet Potato Dealer’s Permit from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Here in Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes, we are in the “pink tag” area, since we are within the area quarantined for the sweetpotato weevil.
Some additional information is available here.
Contact Robert Turley for more information or to join LSHS.
Click here for more information and to register.
From the organizer: "There will be a persimmon grafting workshop held at the East Feliciana Extension Office in Clinton, LA on January 16, 2025 beginning at 10:00 am. There is a $25 supply fee and you must register and pay ahead of time. Please sign up at this link and call our office with any questions."
We’ve received a save-the-date for this event. I expect that details will be available through the LSU AgCenter Events page once they’re posted.
Dr. Eric Stafne of Mississippi State University has announced dates for in-person (January 29, 9 AM – 12 PM) and virtual (February 7, 1-2 PM) blueberry education workshops. Some details about the workshops are in the December2024 Mississippi Vaccinium Journal. To get updates about the workshops and Mississippi Vaccinium Journal emails, contact Eric.
This year’s meeting will take place from 6:00 to 7:45 PM on Friday, February 7, 2025, at the LSU AgCenter’s Washington Parish office (1104-B Bene St., Franklinton). Dr. Michael Deliberto of the LSU Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness will discuss farm enterprise budgeting, breakeven analysis, and pricing of watermelons. I will review and provide updates on watermelon production and pest management recommendations. Please RSVP to me if you plan to come. For accommodations for persons with disabilities, please contact me at least one week before the event. The LSU AgCenter and LSU provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.
The 2025 Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference will be held on January 9-11 in Savannah, GA.
The annual Gulf States Horticulture Expo, with educational sessions and a trade show, will take place January 22-24 in Mobile, AL.
The North American Strawberry Growers Association (NASGA) and the North American Raspberry Blackberry Association (NARBA) have planned a joint meeting for next year, the 2025 North American Berry Conference, on February 3-6 in Hawaii.
Let me know if you have questions.
Contact Mary Helen Ferguson, Ph.D.
The LSU AgCenter and LSU provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.