(Distributed 07/22/10) Louisiana shrimp and catfish producers may be eligible to participate in the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The two commodities recently were certified as part of the program, according to LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry.

(Distributed 07/30/10) JEANERETTE, La. – Farmers who assume the soil in their fields is uniform could be shortchanging their crop with too much or not enough nitrogen. “It’s not as uniform as you think,” advised LSU AgCenter agronomist Sonny Viator at the Sugarcane Field Day held here July 28 for farmers in Iberia, St. Mary and Vermilion parishes.

(Distributed 07/09/10) Oil from the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is causing concern among cattle owners who graze their herds on coastal marshes. The fear is that severe weather or high tides could push the oil inland.

(Distributed 07/30/10) Kody Beavers knows his way around a cotton farm. The high school student from Franklin Parish helps out with his family’s farm. But Beavers wants to learn more about the cotton industry, so he is participating in the LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Young Ag Producer Program.

(Distributed 07/07/10) MANSURA, La. – A dozen honorees will be inducted into the Louisiana 4-H Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Aug. 14 at the Louisiana 4-H Museum in a facility that also houses the Avoyelles Parish LSU AgCenter extension office.

(Distributed 07/19/10) RAYVILLE, La. – The fungal disease panicle blight is affecting Louisiana rice as farmers in the southern end of the state are gearing up for harvest, according to Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.

(Distributed 07/07/10) Remembering the proper fork to use and knowing when to begin eating at a formal dinner were just a few of the lessons learned by 4-H members who attended the LSU AgCenter’s 4-H University educational program recently on the LSU Baton Rouge campus.

(Distributed 07/07/10) The LSU AgCenter’s 28th Annual Sugarcane Field Day will be held July 21 at the Sugar Research Station near St. Gabriel.

(Distributed 07/30/10) INTRACOASTAL CITY, La. – Students attending this year’s LSU AgCenter Marsh Maneuvers received a rare, behind-the-scenes view of what is involved in the fight against the BP oil spill at the Vermilion Parish Command Center.

(Distributed 07/19/10) RAYVILLE, La. – The fungal disease panicle blight is affecting Louisiana rice as farmers in the southern end of the state are gearing up for harvest, according to Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.

(Distributed 07/19/10) A team of researchers soon will be surveying south Louisiana and Texas rice fields to determine how much food is available from farming and natural plants for migrating waterfowl along the coastal prairie.

(Distributed 07/19/10) School gardens are fast becoming a core element of Louisiana children’s school education. In some schools, gardens are being integrated into the curriculum to teach children about plants, nature and the outdoors. Gardens also can be used to teach children about history, economics, poetry, math, science and social studies.

(Distributed 07/01/10) Qualifying farmers will be paid to flood their fields, providing alternative habitat for waterfowl that would normally migrate to marshland threatened by the BP oil disaster, according to Kevin Norton, state conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The program was approved to encourage farmers and ranchers to flood as much as 150,000 acres in an eight-state area as habitat for birds that ordinarily fly to the coastal marshes.

(Distributed 07/14/10) WEST MONROE, La. – Results from the 41st annual Louisiana 4-H and FFA State Horse Show held July 6-10 have been released.

(Distributed 07/20/10) A statewide LSU AgCenter 4-H program to heighten students’ awareness of Louisiana’s wetland loss is entering its fifth year.

(Distributed 07/13/10) ALEXANDRIA, La. -- Improving the outlook for the Louisiana beef industry and encouraging young people to enter agriculture were topics of discussion at the Louisiana Agribusiness Summit Forum held recently in Alexandria.

(Distributed 07/26/10) A proposal to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is offering grants of up to $45 million for biofuels research, is in preparation as part of a new initiative in the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 07/19/10) GUEYDAN, La. – A representative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service at the LSU AgCenter’s Vermilion Parish rice field day on July 13 told farmers about a new program that could compensate them for agricultural practices that provide habitat to wildlife.

(Distributed 07/16/10) The LSU AgCenter has been named as a recipient of one of 22 U.S. Department of Agriculture grants supporting agricultural market research and demonstration projects.

(Distribured 07/21/10) ST. JOSEPH, La. – Growers learned the importance of identifying pests, diseases and weeds in crops at the 81st annual LSU AgCenter Northeast Research Station field day July 20

(Distributed 07/16/10) With the reopening of large areas in Louisiana waters for recreational fishing, more boats will be encountering oil on their hulls. Experts recommend removing the oil as soon as possible to prevent additional contamination and damage to the boats.

(Distributed 07/06/10) The Vermilion Parish Rice Field Day that was to be held July 6 has been rescheduled because of bad weather and will be July 13, according to Stuart Gauthier, LSU AgCenter county agent. “We hope for drier weather next week,” Gauthier said. “At this point we are planning to have the same speakers and itinerary for the event.”

(Distributed 07/07/10) KERRVILLE, Texas – The Louisiana team placed third in the National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational held here June 29-July 2.

(Distributed 07/02/10) CROWLEY, La. – The LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station Field Day held Thursday (July 1) gave the rice industry a chance to learn what researchers are doing to help farmers. But participants were told state budget cuts are looming that could adversely affect LSU AgCenter research projects.

(Distributed 07/16/10) RUSTON, La. – Don’t lose a dream by hanging out with the wrong friends, Coach Teresa Weatherspoon told a group of 26 sixth- through eighth-graders as part of the Celebrate Girls 4-H Club event July 14-16 here.

(Distributed 07/12/10) LSU AgCenter aquaculture specialist Greg Lutz believes an alternative crawfish species native to Louisiana and found in the Atchafalaya basin and other waterways may someday have crawfish pots boiling in the fall.

(Distributed 07/13/10) ALEXANDRIA, La. – The LSU AgCenter Dean Lee Field Day will be held Aug. 5 with field tours starting at 9 a.m. Experts will give overviews on their work with corn, cotton, soybeans and cattle.

(Distributed 07/22/10) LSU AgCenter researchers will showcase and discuss research and demonstration plots at the Sweet Potato Research Station field day Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the station in Chase.

(Distributed 07/13/10) CROWLEY, La. – Among the 400 who attended a recent LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station field day was a group of 13 undergraduate minority students from universities across the United States working this summer as researchers at Louisiana State University.

(Distributed 07/02/10) CROWLEY, La. – The company marketing Jazzman rice, developed by the LSU AgCenter, brought a group of Louisiana chefs to the July 1 field day at the Rice Research Station here.

(Distributed 07/15/10) Families and children enrolled in the LSU AgCenter’s Reading to the Heart literacy program in Alexandria and Tallulah have plenty to keep them busy during the summer break from school.

(Distributed 07/29/10) David J. Boethel, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for research and director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, has been elected as one of 10 Fellows of the Entomological Society of America for 2010. The election acknowledges outstanding contributions in research, teaching and administration.

(Distributed 07/19/10) RAYVILLE, La. – The fungal disease panicle blight is affecting Louisiana rice as farmers in the southern end of the state are gearing up for harvest, according to Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.

(Distributed 07/09/10) Louisiana horse owners are being urged to get their animals vaccinated for rabies by the LSU AgCenter extension veterinarian. A horse in Jefferson Davis Parish recently was diagnosed with rabies, said Dr. Christine Navarre.

(Distributed 07/15/10) A Natchitoches Parish family, including two 4-H’ers, is featured in a promotional video produced by Microsoft Corporation on how they integrated the new Office 2010 software into their farm and 4-H record-keeping systems.

(Distributed 07/23/10) ST. GABRIEL, La. – Growers who attended the 28th annual sugarcane field day at the LSU AgCenter’s Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel were given better news than they’ve received over the past few years about the current crop.

(Distributed 07/15/10) The Deepwater Horizon oil spill has not only tested the limits of human engineering, but also the scientists who study birds along the Gulf Coast. Avian scientists are finding there is little knowledge and direction as to what recommendations should be undertaken to remedy oil-soaked birds and the long-term effects of oil in their habitat.