(Distributed 03/02/07) For more than 33 years, Vendal Fairchild has worked the fields of Northeast Louisiana – growing corn, soybeans and rice on nearly 2,500 acres. His proficiency as an agricultural producer was rewarded Friday (March 2) when he was named the 2007 Louisiana Farmer of the Year

(Distributed 03/06/07) The Louisiana Civil Service League recently honored an LSU AgCenter employee with its Charles E. Dunbar Career Service Award. Mary Baronet, a 25-year employee of the LSU AgCenter, was the honoree.

(Distributed 03/07/07) The LSU AgCenter is partnering with an area newspaper in a project to help students, parents and teachers with the learning process. Teaming with the Lafayette Daily Advertiser, the LSU AgCenter is sponsoring Kid Scoop, which appears in the newspaper every Tuesday.

(Distributed 03/07/07) A renowned public health educator and researcher will address several facets of childhood obesity March 19 as part of an annual endowed lecture series on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. Dr. Theresa Nicklas will deliver the 2007 Patrick Lecture on the topic of "Overweight, Undernourished and at Risk: Tackling Today’s Childhood Nutrition Problems."

(Distributed 03/08/07) You may know how and when to plant your pansies and petunias, but do you think about a little stretching exercise before heading out into the garden? LSU AgCenter horticulturist Bob Souvestre says that’s just one of the important "healthy gardening" tips you should consider before starting your spring chores.

(Distributed 03/12/07) The LSU AgCenter will present the "magic" of agriculture and natural resources again this spring as its annual "AgMagic" events unfold April 23-29 in the Parker Coliseum on the university campus in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 03/13/07) The 10th Annual Louisiana 4-H Foundation Charity Golf Tournament will be Thursday, April 5, at Carter Plantation in Springfield, La., according to Eric A. Eskew, executive director of the foundation.

(Distributed 03/15/07) The LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Mosquito Control Association are sponsoring a workshop March 20-22 in Alexandria for those interested in being certified as commercial pesticide applicators in mosquito control and public health.

(Distributed 03/15/07) A March 21 tour for cattle and forage producers will include remarks from a variety of experts, as well as pasture and forage demonstrations.

(Distributed 03/15/07) A deer management and food plot workshop for hunters will be held March 28 north of Lafayette.

(Distributed 03/16/07) The 4-H outdoor skills program is among the fastest growing programs in some areas of the state, and hundreds of youngsters from Southeast Louisiana recently gathered to take part.

(Distributed 03/16/07) Organizers of the state's first Equine Expo last weekend (March 9-11) are calling the event a success and say plans are under way for next year.

(Distributed 03/16/07) Collegiate 4-H members from 34 schools in 27 states converged on St. Bernard Parish last month to lend a helping hand in the recovery effort.

(Distributed 03/20/07) During the week of April 16-20, school children in every parish will learn lessons about Louisiana’s wetlands, and some will actually participate in wetland renewal projects at neighboring wetland sites. These lessons and activities are all part of "Youth Wetlands Week," which educators at the LSU AgCenter hope will become an annual event in the state.

(Distributed 03/22/07) The LSU AgCenter has established an endowed scholarship to honor a longtime employee who completed her career as its director of corporate relations. The scholarship, which was set up in the LSU School of Human Ecology, is a memorial to Ganelle S. Bullock.

(Distributed 03/21/07) Officials recently broke ground for a new office building and meeting center that will help the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station implement plans for increasing its focus on urban horticulture and landscape maintenance. At the March 16 ceremony, officials said the construction of the 3,700-square-foot facility is the first step toward what is expected to be an increasing volume of research and educational programs related to the state’s "green industry."

(Distributed 03/28/07) The 2007 USA Rice Leadership Development Class visited the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station last week (March 18-23) on its tour of the Louisiana and Texas rice industry.

(Distributed 03/28/07) Spring is here, the weather is warm and sunny, and the plants and trees have budded out and started to bloom. Among all that activity, you’re probably also seeing more bees and other insects, LSU AgCenter entomologist Dr. Dale Pollet said.

(Distributed 03/28/07) Cattle producers who don’t grow clover are passing up a good chance to improve their profits, a retired Texas A&M forage specialist said recently (March 21) at a field day at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette research farm. The field day was a cooperative effort between ULL, the LSU AgCenter and the Pennington Seed Co.

(Distributed 03/30/07) Louisiana and its neighboring states have the potential to raise nonfood crops for biofuels because they have suitable available land and a long growing season, according to Dr. Michael Blazier, assistant professor of forestry at the LSU AgCenter’s Hill Farm Research Station near Homer.