(Distributed 03/15/06) One gleaming ship stands out among the others in a Plaquemines Parish shipyard crowded with boats damaged by last year’s hurricanes. That vessel, the Pat-Al, went back in the water this week thanks to a device known as a Marine Travelift and the generosity of people from Alaska.

(Distributed 03/17/06) With only 10 certified organic growers in Louisiana, selling organically grown produce is easy. That’s what more than 65 people learned Wednesday (March 15) at a seminar held by the LSU AgCenter and its Lafayette Master Gardeners.

(Distributed 03/17/06) An acclaimed financial advisor and author will be the keynote speaker for a special sesson on "After the Hurricanes: Rebuilding Communities and Strengthening Families" March 29 in Baton Rouge. Sponsored by the LSU AgCenter and the Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge Inc., the session will begin at 1 p.m. March 29 in the Lod Cook Conference Center on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 03/14/06) As New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region struggle to recover from last year’s hurricanes, help continues to arrive, and LSU AgCenter faculty members continue to assist in coordinating those efforts. Among the latest to help was a group of students from Penn State University, who gave up their spring break last week (March 4-10) to visit the New Orleans area and help to get the city back up and running.

(Distributed 03/10/06) The LSU AgCenter will bring the "magic" of agriculture back to its Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge April 24-30. Known as "AgMagic," the successful event is in its third year. It is designed to help children and adults understand that food, clothing, lumber and other products all are part of the agricultural system.

(Distributed 03/14/06) A team of LSU AgCenter scientists that released 17 major rice varieties in 14 years received the Distinguished Rice Research and Education Team Award at the meeting of the Rice Technical Working Group held recently (Feb. 26 – March 1) in Houston.

(Distributed 03/22/06) Approximately 1,900 Louisiana 4-H members, volunteers, parents and agents participated in the 4th annual 4-H Game with the Hornets March 18 in New Orleans. Parishes with the highest attendance were East Carroll, St. John, East Baton Rouge, Washington, Plaquemines and St. Charles. 4-H’ers were featured in various special events, including a high-five greeting of players, the color guard, a group photo with the Honeybees and a center-court recognition at halftime.

(Distributed 03/06/06) The images of children sitting idle moved Tennessee high school student Emily Hollingsworth to take action, and Hollingsworth inspired a whole community.

(Distributed 03/06/06) The LSU AgCenter will offer a Master Farmer Model Farm Field Day March 23 in Ville Platte. The field day is intended for rice and cattle producers from the Vermilion-Teche and Mermentau watersheds who are enrolled in the Louisiana Master Farmer Program and Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program.

(Distributed 03/10/06) Years of budget cuts have taken their toll on the LSU AgCenter, and Friday (March 10) its chancellor received approval from the LSU Board of Supervisors to proceed with a plan for financial "exigency."

(Distributed 03/17/06) Avoyelles Parish is known as the Cajun Crossroads and home to a diverse agricultural economy. It’s where you will find Larry Sayes doing what he does best – growing bumper crops of corn, cotton and soybeans on nearly 3,000 acres. Sayes does it so well he was named the 2006 Louisiana Farmer of the Year.

(Distributed 03/06/06) LSU AgCenter experts at its Red River Research Station gave greenhouse tomato growers some new ideas to save money and boost production at a recent field day (Feb. 24).

(Photos Posted 03/31/06) Nationally acclaimed financial adviser Ric Edelman spoke about hurricane recovery March 29 at an LSU AgCenter meeting focused on rebuilding communities and families.

(Distributed 03/08/06) Insects don’t watch the calendar. Instead, weather is a big factor in their life cycles. So this year’s mild winter and the rising temperatures we’ve seen lately have set up a perfect scenario for early emergence of spring pests, according to an LSU AgCenter expert.

(Distributed 03/30/06) LSU AgCenter scientists are nearing the end of a two-year weed control study designed to help Louisiana iris growers save money. It is the only weed control study in the state concentrating on field production of Louisiana iris, and its purpose is to increase yields and reduce weed competition.

(Distributed 03/24/06) The once-common practice of rotating cattle pastureland with rice fields is still a good idea that makes agricultural sense. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, told approximately 40 people at an LSU AgCenter Master Farmer Field Day Thursday (March 23) that the rice-cattle rotation was once widely used throughout Louisiana.

(Distributed 03/22/06) Two LSU AgCenter faculty members received awards at the annual meeting of the American Forage and Grassland Council earlier this month (March 10-14) in San Antonio, Texas.

(Distributed 03/17/06) Prices for timber products should begin a slow improvement once the market absorbs the wood being salvaged from hurricane-ravaged forests, a Mississippi professor predicted at the LSU AgCenter Forestry Forum held recently in Shreveport.

(Distributed 03/17/06) Floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the surrounding area suppressed fire ants in some areas and eradicated them in others, according to experts from the LSU AgCenter. As families move back into the devastated areas, they’re offered a unique opportunity – a red-imported-fire-ant-free landscape, said Dr. Linda Bui, an entomologist with the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/08/06) The Botanical Garden in City Park will once again be the site of the New Orleans Spring Garden Show on April 1-2. This year’s show – the 27th annual event – will go on despite last year’s hurricanes, flooding and the massive cleanup effort.

(Distributed 03/29/06) Farmers with rice fields in southern Vermilion Parish should make sure salinity levels in their irrigation water is safe, even if their soil shows a low salt level, LSU AgCenter scientists advised at a meeting here Wednesday (March 29).

(Distributed 03/17/06) LSU AgCenter experts are preparing to monitor for Asian soybean rust in Louisiana this year as the fungus threatens to enter the state from a new direction – the west. The rust disease, which is spread by windborne spores, is feared because it’s hard to detect until it’s too late to do anything to stop it.

(Distributed 03/10/06) The 2006 Southwest Louisiana Garden Festival April 8-9 will provide the opportunity for area residents to buy plants and gardening accessories and get free advice on making things green again in their recovery from Hurricane Rita’s devastation, according to experts with the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/14/06) Camp Lagniappe, an outdoor challenge and relationship development program for military youth, will kick off Operation Military Kids in Louisiana April 8-9.