The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Grant project showcases model farms within commercial agricultural operations, demonstrating science-based best management practices (BMPs) for grain crops and sugarcane. Our goal is to promote economically and environmentally efficient farming methods. In collaboration with the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, our research supports outreach and education efforts, grounded in data-driven results.
"To the crops they produce, and of course, to our communities they will have cleaner water that makes its way down the river and into the Gulf."
Mrs. Phyllis Taylor
Essential nutrients such as nitrogen help crops grow and deliver high yields. But these same nutrients can cause problems when they leave the farm through runoff and erosion. To reduce the amount of nutrients entering rivers and reaching the Gulf of Mexico, the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation has awarded the LSU AgCenter $1.4 million to fund a four-year project to study the issue. We have potential for a great reduction or possibly the elimination of hypoxia, the dead zone, in the Gulf of Mexico. And more importantly that not only Louisiana, but all of the other agricultural states along the Mississippi River and other rivers, which could benefit from this study and model farms.
Map of Louisiana shows the locations of four model farms and two research stations. The Grain/Cotton Model Farm and Row-Rice Model Farm are both located in Newellton. The Sugarcane Model Farm is in Napoleonville, and the Rice Model Farm is in Kaplan. The Northeast Research Station is in St. Joseph, and the Sugar Research Station is in St. Gabriel.
Louisiana Soybean and Grain Research Board
Keith Dugas Farm Inc.
Hardwick Planting Co.