(Distributed 04/29/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The agricultural economy in Louisiana grew to a record high value of $11.4 billion in 2012, an increase of 6.5 percent over the 2011 amount of $10.7 billion, according to the latest figures released by the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 04/29/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new pavilion on April 25.

(Distributed 04/29/13) CROWLEY, La. – Southwest Louisiana farmers are frustrated this year with a larger-than-usual number of birds eating rice seed, causing many farmers to replant.

(Distributed 04/26/13) HAMMOND, La. – One of the nicest small, flowering trees for Louisiana landscapes is the chaste tree or vitex (Vitex agnus-castus). Midspring through early summer is the main time for flowering on this increasingly popular plant.

(Distributed 04/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Matt Fannin, an associate professor in the LSU AgCenter Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, has been appointed as associate director for analytic and academic programs in the Rural Policy Research Institute.

(Distributed 04/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The day after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig – April 21, 2010 – Linda Hooper-Bui, an LSU AgCenter entomologist, had a graduate student sampling insect populations in the marshes of southeast Louisiana.

(Distributed 04/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana cotton producers have the opportunity to provide direction for prioritizing cotton research in Louisiana by participating in a survey being conducted by the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 04/23/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Many area students who know little about where their food comes from received a lesson complete with live farm animals when they attended Farm Day at the LSU AgCenter dairy on April 18-19.

(Distributed 04/22/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are presenting a workshop on complying with regulations on genetically engineered organisms on April 30 in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 04/19/13) WINNSBORO, La. – The 2013 wheat harvest in Louisiana is only a few weeks from beginning, and experts aren’t sure how the crop will turn out.

(Distributed 04/19/13) HAMMOND, La. – Lantanas continue to be one of the most popular herbaceous perennials for Louisiana landscapes. Many varieties, some old and some new, offer a multitude of growth forms and flower colors.

(Distributed 04/18/13) BOSSIER CITY, La. – Growing grass efficiently was the focus of the LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station Beef and Forage Field Day held April 16.

(Distributed 04/12/13) HAMMOND, La. – As the peak of the spring bedding plant season arrives, we may need a few warm-season flowers in our shade areas around the landscape.

(Distributed 04/11/13) CAMERON, La. – LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant representatives met with a handful of shrimpers April 9 to tell them about ways to make more money.

(Distributed 04/10/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden will hold the groundbreaking ceremony for its new pavilion at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 25.

(Distributed 04/10/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana agricultural producers are highly dependent on the world market to sell their commodities, and a new export facility at the Port of Baton Rouge could increase the amount of ag products shipped abroad.

(Distributed 04/10/13) CHALMETTE, La. – Darion Dewhirst had never tasted a tomato before Beth Gambel brought her mobile iPad lab and bags of fresh vegetables to his school. Now the third grader looks forward to trying new vegetables.

(Distributed 04/09/13) CROWLEY, La. – Rice planting in the southern part of Louisiana is wrapping up, and north Louisiana farmers are getting ready to plant.

(Distributed 04/09/13) FRANKLINTON, La. – Scientists from the LSU AgCenter and Mississippi State University shared findings from research on forage and feed at a Southeast Research Station field day here on April 5.

(Distributed 04/09/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – This prom season high school girls will spend weeks struggling to find the perfect dress – will it be gold metallic, ravishing red, bright white or the hottest color? The dress is just the beginning.

(Distributed 04/05/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – April is the ideal time to resume the annual war against red imported fire ants in Louisiana, according to experts in the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 04/09/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana 4-H Foundation has announced that it has met its financial goals to begin construction on the first phase of its multipurpose building at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center near Pollock, La.

(Distributed 04/08/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – An LSU AgCenter researcher recently received a $100,000 grant from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources pending final approval from the state contracting office to provide a series of water project evaluations and management plans regarding the Atchafalaya Floodway System.

(Distributed 04/05/13) HAMMOND, La. – Joseph’s coat, which includes several species of Alternanthera, is one of those old garden plants that is becoming new again. These are foliage plants for the landscape.

(Distributed 04/05/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Tax credits can reduce the amount of tax you must pay. A refundable tax credit not only reduces the federal tax you owe, but may also result in a refund.

(Distributed 04/05/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Connecting Cooperative Extension Service personnel in each state when information is needed after a disaster is the goal of LSU AgCenter disaster specialist Pat Skinner.

(Distributed 04/04/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter and Junior League of Baton Rouge will offer the last of the Story Time at Burden series on April 13 at the Steele Burden Orangerie.

(Distributed 04/04/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Before the LSU AgCenter’s Operation Military Kids program began, Louisiana children who were not connected to a military base felt detached and alone, but this is changing, according to Christina Lawson, the program’s coordinator.

(Distributed 04/02/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The next lead-certified renovator training class will be held at the LSU AgCenter LaHouse Resource Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on April 16.