Participating in the presentation of a check for $50,000 from PotashCorp, of Geismar, Louisiana, to the LSU AgCenter’s youth livestock program are, from left, Mark Tassin, AgCenter associate vice chancellor for youth programs; LSU Vice President for Agriculture Bill Richardson; Vickie Hutchinson and Randa Bordelon, AgCenter development officers; Misty Bonfanti and Garry Hiebert of PotashCorp human resources; Phil Elzer, AgCenter associate vice chancellor for animal programs. (Photo by Frankie Gould)

News Release Distributed 02/20/15

BATON ROUGE, La. – PotashCorp, of Geismar, Louisiana, donated $50,000 to the LSU AgCenter to support showmanship awards and serve as the corporate title sponsor for the 80th annual LSU AgCenter Livestock Show.

PotashCorp supports the lessons learned through participation in showmanship classes. Showmanship is about the exhibitor presenting the animal to the best of its genetic ability, presentation skills and sportsmanship.

The donation will support the state Livestock Show, which is an educational program of Louisiana 4‑H and FFA.

More than 2,000 4-H and FFA exhibitors and 1,500 breeding animals, 1,600 market animals, 180 pens of broilers and 700 exhibition birds are competing in the annual show held Feb. 14-21, 2015.

PotashCorp looks for education programs to support in communities where their plants are located. Their Geismar plant is located in the Ascension/Iberville parish area near the Lamer Dixon Expo Center where the state livestock show is held.

Garry Hiebert, resources manager of the PotashCorp Geismar facility, said the company wants to support and partner with programs that make a difference in the parishes and communities they serve.

The AgCenter youth livestock programs align with the company’s goal to support agribusiness and the leaders for tomorrow, he said.

Youth who participate in livestock projects gain knowledge of animal husbandry – including selection, genetics, nutrition, health, fitting, showing, economics and marketing, said Dwayne Nunez, Livestock Show manager.

As a result of what they learn, generations of young people who have participated in AgCenter livestock projects go on to become leaders, whether in the livestock industry or a variety of other fields ranging from medicine to government.