(Distributed 09/23/09) The LSU AgCenter will conduct an ornamental and turfgrass field day for nursery and landscape professionals Oct. 15 at its Burden Center in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 09/23/09) PONCHATOULA, La. – Construction will pause on a “high-performance” demonstration house on two separate dates to give the general public and housing professionals insider views of the innovative structure being built in the Pine Island subdivision.

(Distributed 09/23/09) BOSSIER CITY, La. – Food handling precautions can prevent illness from sidelining football fans who enjoy tailgating, according to LSU AgCenter experts.

(Distributed 09/22/09) The LSU AgCenter’s Youth Wetlands Education and Outreach Program has received an additional three years of funding for $1.5 million from the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration. The program will receive $500,000 each year beginning in January 2010 and ending December 2012, according to Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for extension.

(Distributed 09/22/09) CROWLEY, La. – An information session to help farmers take advantage of the potential of agritourism will be held Oct. 6 at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station.

(Distributed 09/22/09) HENRY, La. – Workers at Vermilion Gator Farm are busy curing the skins of some of 80,000 alligators the farm raises. But next year the skinning and curing sheds will sit mostly empty. The Sagrera family has operated the farm for more than 25 years, but they’ve never seen a year this bad. In June, they didn’t collect any alligator eggs and won’t raise a crop of alligators in 2010.

(Distributed 09/21/09) RAYVILLE, La. – “It’s up. It’s live. It’s running.” With those words, the Rayville mayor’s office became the first governmental entity to be connected to wireless Internet service through the Louisiana Delta Initiative’s Bricks to Clicks for Local Governments program, said Dr. James Barnes, director of the LSU AgCenter's Delta Rural Development Center.

(Distributed 09/18/09) To help celebrate National 4-H Week, which is Oct. 4-10, Louisiana 4-H members will join millions of other 4-H’ers across the nation in participating in a science and technology project. They will make ethanol, one of the most common biofuels in the country. “Every parish will receive at least one Biofuel Blast experimental kit,” said David Boldt, state 4-H science and technology coordinator.

(Distributed 09/18/09) The LSU AgCenter’s Wood Durability Laboratory recently received accreditation for additional test standards by the International Accreditation Services, according to the lab’s director.

(Distributed 09/18/09) Thanks in part to technology and the age of communication, our gardens these days are more often being looked at as extensions of our homes to live in and use, rather than just being pretty plantings to look at.