(Distributed 06/29/10) Twenty-one 4-H students from across Louisiana spent two days in June learning to prepare and present shrimp dishes as practice for national competition at the Great American Seafood Cook-off in New Orleans in August. The youth were part of a new educational track during 4-H University on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, June 22-25, called the Next 4-H Food Star.

(Distributed 06/01/10) Fourteen young people from around Louisiana have been selected for the LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Young Ag Producers Program, according to program coordinator Bradley Leger.

(Distributed 06/18/10) BOSSIER CITY, La. – Variety evaluations, insect pest management and plant breeding on cotton, soybeans and corn was highlighted at a field day June 16 at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station.

(Distributed 06/16/10) Louisiana farmers who are tempted to get into the business of producing freshwater shrimp in ponds need to get all the facts and proceed with caution, according to Greg Lutz, an aquaculture specialist with the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 06/09/10) During the week of June 22-24, more than 1,500 4-H’ers from across the state will descend upon the LSU campus in Baton Rouge to compete for awards, scholarships, U.S. savings bonds and educational trips. It’s called 4-H University, and it’s the culmination of another year in the LSU AgCenter 4-H program, according to Mark Tassin, state leader.

(Distributed 06/08/10) PORT SULPHER, La. – Up river from where oil is washing ashore in Plaquemines Parish, LSU AgCenter research associates are planting ponds with smooth cordgrass. This grass is the predominant plant species in Louisiana’s intertidal marshes.

(Distributed 06/21/10) Louisiana seafood is safe, and consumers don’t need to worry about the safety of eating Louisiana seafood following the oil spill, according to experts with the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 06/04/10) POLLOCK, La. – High flying excitement with a knockout message awaits fourth- through sixth-graders at the LSU AgCenter’s 4-H Camp Grant Walker this summer.

(Distributed 06/21/10) RAYVILLE, La. – Northeast Louisiana farmers can learn about improving their rice and soybean crops at an upcoming LSU AgCenter rice and soybean field day July 14.

(Distributed 06/01/10) BATON ROUGE, La. – Two new people have joined the management team and one new person has been added to the Board of Directors of TransGenRx Inc., a bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing company started through technology developed at the Louisiana State University AgCenter.

(Distributed 06/18/10) The LSU AgCenter’s Burden Center will host a tour of fruit and vegetable research and variety trials Saturday, July 3.

(Distributed 06/17/10) CROWLEY, La. – With rainfall becoming more frequent, rice farmers should be alert for diseases on their crop, according to an LSU AgCenter expert who spoke at the Acadia Parish Rice Tour held Wednesday (June 16).

(Distributed 06/15/10) SHREVEPORT, La. – “I could just say this and finish. Pull ‘em,” LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dan Gill, said about weeds during a recent tour of community gardens here.

(Distributed 06/23/10) Fourteen members of the LSU AgCenter’s Communications and Information Technology units were recipients of national awards at the 2010 Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences conference in St Louis, Mo., on July 15-17.

(Distributed 06/30/10) Two new LSU AgCenter blogs related to rice farming have made debuts this season on the Web. Natalie Hummel, entomologist, documents her work with rice insects, and Johnny Saichuk, rice specialist, has turned his Field Notes newsletter into a blog.

(Distributed 06/25/10) NEW ORLEANS – The LSU AgCenter has launched a new online service to help agriculture businesses market their products. Called Market Maker, the service is offered via a website so anyone in the world 24 hours a day can find items they want to purchase from Louisiana businesses.

(Distributed 06/11/10) Nearly 600 youth from across Louisiana will compete in the 41st annual Louisiana 4-H and FFA State Horse Show July 6-10 in West Monroe.

(Distributed 06/18/10) CREOLE, La. – Fishermen worried about the effects of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill met with several state and federal agencies to get answers Tuesday, June 15.

(Distributed 06/24/10) GUEYDAN, La. – Vermilion Parish farmers will have the chance July 6 to learn about the latest in rice water weevil control, see how new soybean varieties perform in south Louisiana growing conditions and get a update on the rice market. The tour starts at 3 p.m. at the Alden Horton farm on the corner of Louisiana highways 711 and 14.

(Distributed 06/15/10) Farmers have finished planting much of Louisiana’s sweet potato crop. And its success is crucial to many farmers who are struggling financially after two bad years.

(Distributed 06/14/10) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter experts shared their knowledge for growing vegetables and landscaping plants with gardening enthusiasts June 11 at a field day held on the LSU campus.

(Distributed 06/14/10) Hot, dry spells during summer could put homes and forests at risk of wildfires, and rural homes surrounded by forests are at the highest risks. “It is important for people to be aware of rural fire safety,” said LSU AgCenter forestry agent Keith Hawkins.

(Distributed 06/16/10) POLLOCK, La – Scholarships from Chesapeake Energy are assisting 60 young people from underprivileged households with attending 4-H summer camp at the LSU AgCenter’s Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center, said Eric Eskew, executive director of the Louisiana 4-H Foundation.

(Distributed 06/29/10) CROWLEY, La. – A facility aimed at helping farmers export rough rice to Mexico by rail is progressing and could be in operation by next year, the Louisiana Rice Growers Association Board of Directors learned at a recent meeting. Jim Watkins of Welsh reported to fellow board members that the rail facility to load rice at Lacassine is closer to being built.

(Distributed 06/28/10) BATON ROUGE, La. – Hundreds of Louisiana youth took home honors as state contest winners and alternates during the 96th annual 4-H University June 22-25 on the LSU campus. All together nearly 1,550 4-H’ers participated in the event, which is the culmination of a year of activities in the LSU AgCenter’s 4-H youth development program.

(Distributed 06/21/10) Ways to enhance tourism resources and create new ones in rural areas in Louisiana and Mississippi is the focus of the 2010 Miss-Lou Regional Tourism Summit Aug. 10-12 at Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis, Miss., said Cynthia Pilcher, community economic development agent for the LSU AgCenter and one of the summit coordinators.

(Distributed 06/01/10) BOSSIER CITY, La. – The LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station field day will be held Wednesday, June 16.

(Distributed 06/09/10) An LSU AgCenter soil scientist has been working on a project to help detect oil and other hydrocarbons in soil, and it could be used with the Gulf of Mexico disaster. “We started this project two years ago,” said David Weindorf, assistant professor in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences.

(Distributed 06/10/10) NEW ORLEANS – Isle Derniere, at an elevation 5 feet, was a barrier island off the coast of Louisiana between Caillou Bay and Terrebonne Bay when what is believed to be a category 3 hurricane ripped into it in 1856. Half the island’s population perished, and what was once a resort community was destroyed and never rebuilt.

(Distributed 06/08/10) ST. JOSEPH, La. – The LSU AgCenter Northeast Research Station Pest Management and Crop Production Field Day has been rescheduled for July 20 after cancellation of the original date, which was in June.

(Distributed 06/10/10) CROWLEY, La. – Scientists and rice industry representatives from across the nation and the world are expected to attend the 101st LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station Field Day on July 1. “The presentations at the field day will cover the entire spectrum of growing a rice crop,” said Steve Linscombe, the station’s director.

(Distributed 06/10/10) A device that can “harvest” an oil spill in open seas or in a marsh – much like a combine harvests wheat and eliminates the chaff – sits as a working concept model at the LSU AgCenter in Baton Rouge.