(Distributed 12/17/09) A Claiborne Parish teacher and her school have won the first Promising Practices Award in Louisiana, an honor created by the LSU AgCenter 4-H program to recognize educators who emphasize character education with their students. Dana Smith, a Haynesville Junior/Senior High School teacher, coordinates an annual training to teach teen teams from Claiborne Parish schools about the importance of ethical, social and academic growth through character education.

(Distributed 12/17/09) For more than 15 years, Dr. Zhijun Liu with the LSU AgCenter’s School of Renewable Natural Resources has been investigating plants for medicinal properties. He started by looking at plants that traditionally have been used as folk remedies to treat diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer.

(Distributed 12/15/09) NEW ORLEANS – LSU AgCenter representatives gave their perspectives on the 2009 growing season in Louisiana and the upcoming year during the 2009 USA Rice Outlook Conference held in New Orleans Dec. 9-11.

(Distributed 12/14/09) The malicious people who spread viruses and malware to computers worldwide are getting evermore sneaky. One of the latest techniques is to infect your computer through advertisements on Web sites. “Be particularly cautious with ads on Web sites,” said Davis Dautreuil, a technical support specialist with the LSU AgCenter. “Even ads on news and social networking sites can be a problem.”

(Distributed 12/14/09) BATON ROUGE – The LSU AgCenter recognized six individuals, three teams of faculty members and two staff members for outstanding service and exemplary performance of their duties during ceremonies here Monday (Dec. 14).

(Distributed 12/10/09) The LSU AgCenter’s Get It Growing Lawn and Garden Calendar can be a great holiday gift for gardeners and others who enjoy beautiful plants, flowers, gardens and landscapes. The 2010 edition of the calendar is on sale now and provides a variety of helpful information tailored to Louisiana gardeners, as well as those who simply enjoy looking at garden scenes or learning more about plants.

(Distributed 12/09/09) The LSU AgCenter has received the go-ahead from the Board of Regents to begin establishing the Louisiana Institute for Biofuels and Bioprocessing. “This has moved us a step forward in our efforts to boost the biofuels business in the state,” said John Russin, LSU AgCenter associate vice chancellor and institute director.

(Distributed 12/08/09) Eleven 4-H members and one adult volunteer were honored at the Louisiana 4-H Educational Awards Trip banquet at the LSU’s Lod Cook Conference Center Nov. 24.

(Distributed 12/04/09) CALHOUN, La. – A host of topics important to current and future forest landowners will be featured at a forestry forum Jan. 16 starting at 8 a.m. at the LSU AgCenter Calhoun Research Station.

(Distributed 11/30/09) The LSU AgCenter will host the 2010 Agricultural Outlook Conference Jan. 21 in Alexandria. Designed to continue addressing the current issues facing the state’s farmers, agribusinesses and others, the theme of the conference is “Keeping Louisiana’s Agriculture Competitive.”