(Distributed 04/13/06) The USA Rice Leadership Development Class recently toured the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station during its swing through Louisiana.

(Distributed 04/03/06) Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco recently heard from LSU AgCenter county agents about the losses Vermilion Parish farmers have endured in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita.

(Distributed 04/12/06) The boll weevil can cause extensive damage to a cotton crop, but the state’s boll weevil eradication program, which started in the late 1990s, has managed to rid most cotton fields of this insect, according to LSU AgCenter entomologist Dr. Ralph Bagwell.

(Distributed 04/10/06) The LSU AgCenter is sponsoring a portable sawmilling workshop and demonstrations on May 13 at its Idlewild Research Station near Clinton.

(Posted 04/07/06) Spring is garden show time in Louisiana. LSU AgCenter faculty members across the state are participating in a variety of events aimed at helping the public learn more about gardening and be more successful at it.

(Distributed 04/10/06) Volunteer leaders from across the state will gather for the 17th Louisiana Community Economic Development Seminar May 16-17 at the Louisiana Emerging Technology Center on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 04/18/06) Fish will swim, crawfish will crawl, butterflies will fly… and kids will learn while having fun April 29-30 when the LSU AgCenter opens the doors to its AgMagic exhibits to the public. Slated for the LSU AgCenter’s Parker Coliseum on Highland Road in Baton Rouge, Ag Magic is designed to help children and adults understand agriculture, natural resources and the environment – as well as the important roles those play in their lives.

(Distributed 04/26/06) Louisiana sugarcane farmers are going to have the opportunity to diversify their sugarcane crops with the release of two new sugarcane varieties.

(Distributed 04/19/06) The overall value of Louisiana’s agricultural production was down by $1 billion last year, and officials warn the long-term effects of the 2005 hurricanes could mean even more decreases.

(Distributed 04/18/06) Forest landowners and family members interested in transferring family-owned forests from one generation to another can learn more about the subject at a May 13 meeting in Ruston. Sponsored by the LSU AgCenter and the Northeast Louisiana Forest Landowner Association, the one-day session will focus on continuity in forest management plans and objectives as part of estate planning, according to Steven Hotard, LSU AgCenter area forestry agent.

(Distributed 04/27/06) Heavy rains that moved across South Louisiana this week (April 25-26) brought a little relief to some Louisiana farmers, but they weren’t enough to allay all concerns for the current growing season.

(Distributed 04/19/06) Much of South Louisiana is enduring a drought that traces back as much as a year or more. Worse yet, experts say the effects of dryness now could be more serious for home landscapes and some crops as we progress through May and June.

(Distributed 04/10/06) The LSU AgCenter’s Rosepine Research Station will host its annual Beef Cattle and Forage Field Day May 4. Co-sponsored by the Beauregard Parish Cattlemen’s Association, the event will feature tours of research plots at the station and will include the 19th Annual Beauregard Cattlemen’s Trade Show.

(Distributed 04/12/06) The moods of farmers at the Thornwell Warehouse farm supply and rice dryer in Jefferson Davis Parish seem to be marked by plenty of highs and lows at the beginning of the 2006 rice growing season.

(Distributed 04/21/06) The LSU AgCenter received approval from the LSU Board of Supervisors today (April 21) to move ahead with part of its exigency plan to reduce costs. This first step involves merging two academic departments and closing one of its three dairies.

(Distributed 04/28/06) LSU AgCenter 4-H agents are working with students in St. Bernard Parish to help them find things to do and ways to take their minds off the devastation all around them.