(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.

(Distributed 09/29/09) HAMMOND, La. – Landscape industry professionals attending the landscape horticulture field day at the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station this past summer chose Jade Princess, a new ornamental grass, as their favorite in a vote comparing 340 assorted warm-season plants.

(Distributed 09/25/09) CAMERON, La. – Officials held groundbreaking ceremonies on Sept. 24 for a new LSU AgCenter Cameron Parish extension office, to be rebuilt on the site of the previous facility, which had been destroyed by Hurricane Rita in 2005.

(Distributed 09/24/09) Here’s some more depressing news about losing weight – the older you get, the less you can eat. Heli Roy, LSU AgCenter nutritionist, says one reason people aren’t successful with weight-loss programs is as they age, they have to gear down the quantity and richness of the foods they eat. So even though they may be eating less calorie-dense food – and less food – their bodies need fewer and fewer calories.

(Distributed 09/24/09) SHREVEPORT, La. – Enter the World of Wonder and follow a path through a forest as you listen to birds chirping and water trickling in the wetlands. Feel the soft fur of different types of animals, and count the years of growth on a large tree “cookie.”

(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 09/17/09) A new invasive insect is threatening to move into Louisiana, according to experts with the LSU AgCenter. Rasberry crazy ants are lurking in Texas counties adjacent to Louisiana and are poised to invade the state, according to LSU AgCenter entomologist Linda Hooper- Bùi.

(Distributed 09/17/09) BATON ROUGE – The LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center and the LSU Rural Life Museum will host Harvest Days, an event for the whole family, on Sept. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

(Distributed 09/16/09) You can now scream for ice cream at LSU football games both inside and outside Tiger Stadium as well as at the LSU AgCenter Dairy Store on South Stadium Drive, which is open on game days from 10 a.m. until right before kickoff. The School of Animal Sciences, which operates the store, has opened two other venues for ice cream this football season.

(Distributed 09/14/09) More than 70 Louisiana and Mississippi cattle producers heard about interseeding summer annuals into Bahia grass sod at a forage tour Sept. 1 in Folsom.

(Distributed 09/14/09) The 2009 Fall Garden Show in New Orleans will be held at the City Park Botanical Garden Oct. 17-18 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.

(Distributed 09/11/09) Representatives of Louisiana’s most-active small municipal separate storm sewer systems –called MS4s – have met and agreed to form a self-help coalition to assist participating organizations comply with permit requirements by sharing information, ideas and techniques.

(Distributed 09/09/09) The diaprepes root weevil comes in multiple colors, and it can cause problems for multiple plants according to LSU AgCenter entomologist Dr. Natalie Hummel.

(Distributed 09/02/09) The Pass A Loutre Wildlife Management Area, also known as the Bird’s Foot Delta because of its shape, lies at the end of the Mississippi River and protrudes about 40 miles farther into the Gulf of Mexico than the rest of Louisiana. Despite the location, freshwater vegetation prevails because of massive freshwater inflows from the Mississippi River. Saline waters intrude only during tropical storms and extreme low flow of the river.