(Distributed 03/27/09) The Louisiana Delta Initiative is inviting community and governmental leaders to “One Voice: Communities Moving from Poverty to Prosperity” from 1 to 3:30 p.m. April 2 at the Rayville Civic Center in Rayville.

(Distributed 03/27/09) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter is hosting a two-day comprehensive workshop on how to make your own biodiesel fuel from used vegetable oil on April 28-29 at the Callegari Environmental Center. “This is an advanced workshop and different from the workshops we offered last summer,” said Dr. Bill Carney, LSU AgCenter environmental educator and director of the Callegari Center. The AgCenter offered several workshops in 2008 on how to make biodiesel.

(Distributed 03/27/09) NEW IBERIA, La. – Farmers will get the chance to see an LSU AgCenter demonstration plot of wheat varieties at an April 6 field day.

(Distributed 03/26/09) The LSU AgCenter invites you to learn more about roses, and it’s offering an event in April that’s designed to help. "An Afternoon of Roses" will be held from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. April 19 at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 03/26/09) JEANERETTE, La. – The Acadiana Legislative Delegation, concerned about the effects of potential state budget cuts, unanimously passed a resolution supporting the restoration of sufficient funds to the LSU AgCenter and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry at a meeting with farmers here March 25.

(Distributed 03/25/09) JEANERETTE, La. – A crowd of approximately 100 beef and forage producers turned out for the March 21 Acadiana Cattle Producers 2009 Spring Field Day held at the LSU AgCenter’s Iberia Research Station here.

(Distributed 03/25/09) Athens Select is a plant evaluation program that measures a variety’s heat and humidity tolerance. Founded in 1999 at the University of Georgia, the program includes trials at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center in Baton Rouge and the Hammond Research Station in Hammond.

(Distributed 03/24/09) JoAnn Smith, an LSU AgCenter nutrition educator in Richland Parish, has been awarded a certificate of recognition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service for her contributions to the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP).

(Distributed 03/24/09) People facing unemployment should not relax because finding a job can often take a lot of work.

(Distributed 03/23/09) Chesapeake Energy is sponsoring 60 4-H camp scholarships in six northwest Louisiana parishes.

(Distributed 03/20/09) LAFAYETTE, La. – State Rep. Jack Montoucet of Duson, speaking at a Louisiana Farm Bureau dinner March 18, defended the LSU AgCenter as it faces a possible $13.3 million budget cut for the upcoming fiscal year. “They provide such an important service to the farming community. It scares me to hear the cuts,” Montoucet said.

(Distributed 03/19/09) Obesity is a growing problem for the state of Louisiana, and coordinated efforts in the fight against it are important to potential success in stemming the obesity epidemic. That was the message echoed by experts at a gathering this week hosted by the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/19/09) WINNSBORO, La. – The LSU AgCenter’s wheat and oat field day will be held at the Macon Ridge Research Station April 15.

(Distributed 03/18/09) SHREVEPORT, La. – The 25th annual Ark-La-Tex Forestry Forum held here March 12 offered suggestions for forest owners to make progress in hard economic times and included a safety lesson for when they are in the woods.

(Distributed 03/19/09) The LSU AgCenter’s Southeast Research Station in Franklinton will host a meeting for Louisiana and Mississippi dairy producers March 31.

(Distributed 03/19/09) ALEXANDRIA, La. – About 100 minority farmers and other small-farm operators heard about marketing, estate planning, financial planning and other legal issues at an informational meeting on March 12 at the LSU AgCenter’s Charles Dewitt Center here.

(Distributed 03/19/09) BATON ROUGE – Changing demographics and the economic recession are changing the ways Americans buy and prepare foods, a food industry consultant told the Louisiana Food Processors Conference here Wednesday (March 18).

(Distributed 03/03/09) The LSU AgCenter’s AgMagic, an event focused on helping young people have fun while also learning about the role of agriculture in their daily lives, will be presented April 20-26 at Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 03/18/09) Fire ants can be an aggravation around the house, but they can be a costly pest on the farm, too. Dale Pollet, LSU AgCenter entomologist, met with homeowners and farmers in Evangeline Parish March 17 to tell them how to control fire ants. He said the best months to start a control program are April and October.

(Distributed 03/18/09) LAKE CHARLES, La. – LSU AgCenter 4-H leaders thanked state school superintendents for supporting 4-H Clubs. The appreciation breakfast was part of the recent Louisiana School Board Association convention here. The get-together was organized and sponsored by the Louisiana Association of Extension 4-H Agents. “We are trying to develop the total child,” said Mark Tassin, 4-H director. “You can do that within the school system, but I bet you need our help.”

(Distributed 03/18/09) Creating sustainable gardens and more community and school gardens are some of the trends in the LSU AgCenter’s 15-year-old Master Gardener program, but educational activities and volunteer service still serve as the group’s focus.

(Distributed 03/16/09) Rising costs to retailers and heavy worldwide demand pushed up the cost of milk for U.S. consumers, but recent events have put dairy farmers in a bind, according to an agricultural economist with the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/17/09) March is National Nutrition Month, and childhood obesity is a statewide problem in Louisiana. To address this problem, 4-H Club members, volunteers and LSU AgCenter 4-H agents throughout the state are using a variety of programs to get children to think about making healthy food choices.

(Distributed 03/16/09) After relatively low rainfall amounts in recent weeks, Louisiana farmers are benefitting from the results of the past weekend rains, according to LSU AgCenter experts.

(Distributed 03/16/09) An orientation program for volunteers at the LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center will be offered on Sat., March 28, from 9 a.m. to noon. The Burden Center is located off of Essen Lane near the intersection of Interstate 10.

(Distributed 03/13/09) The 2009 New Orleans Spring Garden Show and an accompanying Green Fair will be held at the City Park Botanical Garden on April 4-5 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day.

(Distributed 03/12/09) Louisiana’s wetlands face a crisis, and the youth of the state need to understand this so they can do something about it. That’s the philosophy behind the third annual Youth Wetlands Week, April 20-24, sponsored by the LSU AgCenter, with funding help from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

(Distributed 03/11/09) LAKE CHARLES, La. – The 10th Annual Southwest Louisiana Garden Festival will be held in Lake Charles March 28-29 at Burton Coliseum, 7001 Gulf Highway. The event will include guest speakers on a variety of garden topics and a plant health clinic where LSU AgCenter experts and Master Gardeners will answer gardening questions.

(Distributed 03/03/09) Right after Hurricane Gustav, a service club at a Bunkie school decided to help provide activities for the school children of families evacuated to the Louisiana Emergency Shelter located at the LSU AgCenter’s Dean Lee Research and Extension Station in Alexandria.

(Distributed 03/04/09) A record crowd of 86 people attended the 13th annual Greenhouse Tomato Seminar Feb. 27 at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station in Bossier City. H.Y. Hanna, an LSU AgCenter researcher at the station, who is in charge of the greenhouse tomato project, taught the four-hour seminar, which covered grafting tomatoes, new varieties, growing media, successful cultural practices and pollinating techniques.

(Distributed 03/03/09) The LSU AgCenter invites you to its annual “Azalea Stroll” at the historic Windrush Gardens in its Burden Center in Baton Rouge March 15. The hundreds of azaleas coming into bloom are part of a massive garden planted throughout the 20th century by Steele Burden, the youngest of three siblings who were the last Burden descendants to live at Windrush.

(Distributed 03/06/09) NEW ORLEANS – The Metropolitan Human Services District has approved a $26,000 grant to the Orleans Parish 4-H Foundation to help pay various expenses of low-income 4-H members in the parish.

(Distributed 03/06/09) The LSU AgCenter’s seventh annual Baton Rouge Spring Garden Show is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 21-22, at the John M. Parker Coliseum on Highland Road in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 03/09/090) BATON ROUGE – Fred Bolding has spent nearly his entire adult life farming the fertile bottomlands and ridges in West Carroll Parish. And he does it quite well. So well, in fact, he was named the 2009 Louisiana Farmer of the Year.

(Distributed 03/09/09) A mobile classroom will be in Farmerville March 16-17 to help displaced workers and poultry growers affected by the upcoming closure of the Pilgrim’s Pride facilities in northern Louisiana.