(Distributed 05/31/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter School of Renewable Natural Resources will host the fourth Louisiana Natural Resources Symposium on Aug. 1-2, 2013, at the Lod Cook Conference Center on the LSU Campus.

(Distributed 05/30/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Rice farmers joined an LSU AgCenter reception for legislators and their staffs on May 28. The event, held at the Pentagon Barracks near the Capitol, featured a new line of Louisiana-grown rice products by Louisiana Rice Mill.

(Distributed 05/29/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter and Pennington Biomedical Research Center are embarking on an ambitious nutrition education program in West Carroll Parish, starting June 1. Anchored by the town of Oak Grove, West Carroll sits in Louisiana’s Delta region where the incidence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity are higher than in other areas of the state.

(Distributed 05/28/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter personnel are looking for Asian soybean rust in kudzu and soybean sentinel plots across the state.

(Distributed 05/27/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Cattle industry experts are becoming increasingly concerned about cattle parasites’ resistance to dewormers – a condition known as anthelmintic resistance.

(Distributed 05/27/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – While it has been three years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists are still researching to determine its impact on the plants and animals that inhabit the ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico.

(Distributed 05/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – After the devastating tornado in Oklahoma, people in Louisiana may be wondering how they can protect themselves from a storm’s winds. LaHouse, the LSU AgCenter’s showcase home and landscape resource center on the LSU campus, addresses storm safety issues, according to Claudette Reichel, extension housing specialist.

(Distributed 05/24/13) ABBEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana County Agents Association honored two of its members on May 21 at the organization’s annual convention.

(Distributed 05/24/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – This year will mark the 99th time 4-H Club members will compete in a variety of contests and hold elections for statewide officers on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 05/24/13) MAMOU, La. – LSU AgCenter rice experts speaking at the Evangeline Parish Rice Tour on May 23 said this year’s rice crop so far has been unusual and difficult.

(Distributed 05/24/13) HAMMOND, La. – Vinca is the most popular, most sold and most planted warm-season bedding plant in Louisiana. We sometimes call this plant periwinkle.

(Distributed 05/22/13) LAFAYETTE, La. – Joey Durel, Lafayette city-parish president, wants to make sure the local Master Gardeners organization will have a major role at the new 100-acre park commonly known as the Horse Farm.

(Distributed 05/23/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – With the heat of summer here and people headed outside to enjoy the sunshine and warm temperatures, it may seem like a great time to take your dog for a run. But is it safe?

(Distributed 05/21/13) ST. JOSEPH, La. – Research at the LSU AgCenter Northeast Research Station on corn, cotton and soybeans will be featured at the pest management and crop production field day on June 19.

(Distributed 05/20/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Wholesale beef prices are at historically high levels. This may affect summer cookouts as consumers can expect to see higher prices at the grocery store. LSU AgCenter livestock economist Ross Pruitt said drought in the Midwest in 2012 led to a shortage of hay and higher corn prices. This in turn is affecting beef prices.

(Distributed 05/16/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter researchers are studying a bird species that lives only in coastal marshes to try to determine how it may be affected the by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010.

(Distributed 05/20/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – For almost 20 years a group of volunteers has made life easier for those with gardening questions and others in need of an extra set of hands to help with a big seminar.

(Distributed 05/17/13) HAMMOND, La. – Spring blooms on roses came late this year due to unusually cool conditions in March and April. But May flowering has been outstanding throughout Louisiana. In most home landscapes, roses perform their best at first flowering in spring and at fall bloom in October.

(Distributed 05/17/13) LAFAYETTE, La. – Building a pond requires more than just digging a hole and waiting for rain, LSU AgCenter experts said at a pond seminar recently (May 14). Planning and following basic guidelines can prevent problems.

(Distributed 05/15/13) MAMOU, La. – The Evangeline Parish Rice Tour will be held May 23 starting at 8 a.m. The first stop will be at Hebert Farms off Bieber Road. Signs will be posted to indicate the location, approximately 4.7 miles west of La. Highway 13.

(Distributed 05/15/13) MANY, La. – Poultry producers are getting help to face the expected challenge of inspections by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(Distributed 05/14/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Children from all regions of Louisiana are learning about science, math and other subjects while watching their food grow in school gardens, according to LSU AgCenter county agent Miles Brashier, of Pointe Coupee Parish.

(Distributed 05/14/13) HAMMOND, La. – More than 200 Louisiana Master Gardeners braved downpours to be recognized for their volunteer efforts at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station on May 10.

(Distributed 05/13/13) MANSURA, La. – A dozen new inductees into the Louisiana 4-H Hall of Fame were recognized at a ceremony at the 4-H Museum here on May 11 for their work with 4-H clubs across the state.

(Distributed 05/13/13) The LSU AgCenter 4-H program will share in a $2 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to help teach healthy living and eating choices.

(Distributed 05/10/13) HAMMOND, La. – Althea goes by the scientific name of Hibiscus syriacus. When they look at althea, most gardeners are reminded of the hibiscus family, to which this popular, Southern heritage plant belongs. These plants are also known as rose of Sharon.

(Distributed 05/10/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter LaHouse Resource Center will host a Lead Certified Renovator Training course on Thursday, May 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

(Distributed 05/10/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Small studies on alligator nutrition have been ongoing at the LSU AgCenter Aquaculture Research Station, but with the addition of new facilities, those projects can be expanded, according to LSU AgCenter assistant vice chancellor Phil Elzer.

(Distributed 05/09/13) Barbe Elementary School in Lake Charles received a gold award of distinction from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service’s HealthierUS Schools Challenge Tuesday (May 7) at the Calcasieu Parish School Board meeting. The award recognizes schools that have created healthier school environments through promotion of nutrition and physical activity.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Food, music and hayride tours will be featured at the annual Garden Fest at Burden on June 15 at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 05/07/13) SHREVEPORT, La. – Pecan growers meeting at the LSU AgCenter Pecan Research Station May 3 heard that proposed federal regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act could have a major effect on their operations.

(Distributed 05/07/13) BATON ROUGE, La. – Five 2013 state 4-H Commodity Ambassador contests named 15 winners on Tuesday, April 16, on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. In all, 80 4-H’ers from across the state competed in the chicken, egg, seafood, sugar and turkey ambassador contests.

(Distributed 05/07/13) MANGHAM, La. – Students and parents gathered at Mangham Elementary School on April 25 to participate in Family Nutrition Night, an innovative, hands-on experience as part of the school wellness program.

(Distributed 05/16/13) LAFAYETTE, La. – The LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant will hold a pond management seminar May 14, starting at 6:30 p.m.

(Distributed 05/03/13) HAMMOND, La. – If you like the flowering habit of shade-loving impatiens, you’ll be excited to know that a new type of impatiens is on the market that will thrive in our Louisiana summer heat and humidity – SunPatiens.

(Distributed 05/02/13) CROWLEY, La. – Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency met for a two-day (April 30-May 1) whirlwind tour of Louisiana agriculture with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the LSU AgCenter to give the EPA an understanding of the state’s unique challenges.

(Distributed 05/02/13) NORCO, La. – On an unseasonably cold day in late April, a group of high school students from Washington, D.C., got into Lake Pontchartrain to help save the wetlands that border it.