(Distributed 03/31/10) MERRYVILLE, La. – A tree from Down Under could help provide rural Louisiana landowners with additional cash by putting idle property to work. LSU AgCenter scientists are involved in a joint research project with Texas A&M University to find the best growing methods for eucalyptus on land normally used for cutover pine forests and on idle pasture and farmland.

(Distributed 03/30/10) On April 1, the National 4-H Council will kick off the 4-H Give2Vote Challenge, a fundraising campaign that will involve texting on mobile phones as a way to contribute to state 4-H programs, including Louisiana’s, according to Eric Eskew, executive director of the Louisiana 4-H Foundation.

(Distributed 03/30/10) The annual state conference for the Louisiana Master Gardeners will be held in West Monroe from April 29 to May 1 at the West Monroe Convention Center.

(Distributed 03/30/10) LSU AgCenter scientists have produced calves from Angus bull semen that has been frozen for more than 40 years. Some of the calves were sired by semen collected and frozen from bulls in the late 1960s, said Robert Godke, a professor of reproductive physiology at the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/26/10) BELLE ROSE, La. – First-grade students at Belle Rose Primary School in Assumption Parish are learning why it’s important to eat more fruits and vegetables through a hands-on project at their school.

(Distributed 03/25/10) ST. JOSEPH, La. – Tensas Parish study circles will be turning talk into action following the results of a project focused on turning the tide on poverty, which was presented to the Tensas Revitalization Alliance March 23.

(Distributed 03/24/10) BOSSIER CITY, La. – If you can grow vegetables, you can grow cut flowers, an LSU AgCenter horticulture agent said at the monthly Lunch and Ag Discovery program at the LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station March 23.

(Distributed 03/23/10) BATON ROUGE, La. – Foods that are marketed with claims of health benefits in addition to nutritional value need proof of efficacy, a human nutrition expert told the Louisiana Food Processors Conference March 18.

(Distributed 03/23/10) ROSEPINE, La. – Cattle producers will be able to pick up new ideas on feeding their herds at the LSU AgCenter beef and forage field day May 6 at the Rosepine Research Station.

(Distributed 03/23/10) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU University Laboratory School and the LSU AgCenter have formed a partnership to establish a model school garden to promote the educational, social and health benefits of gardening.

(Distributed 03/23/10) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter’s W. A. Callegari Environmental Center will host a one-day comprehensive workshop on how to make your own biodiesel fuel from used vegetable oil April 28.

(Distributed 03/23/10) The LSU AgCenter’s AgMagic, an event focused on teaching young people about the role of agriculture in their daily lives, will be presented April 19-25 at Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge. AgMagic provides an opportunity for children and adults to understand that food, clothing, lumber and other products all are part of the complex agricultural system. It also shows them the important connections among agriculture, the environment and their lives.

(Distributed 03/22/10) With the median age of the nation’s farmers becoming older each year, the LSU AgCenter has implemented a program to get younger people involved in the agricultural industry.

(Distributed 03/22/10) Participants in Louisiana Master Farmer Program may have financial assistance available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement conservation practices on their land.

(Distributed 03/19/10) The LSU AgCenter and Southern University Ag Center will present two workshops to help livestock producers harvest and market their meat in April.

(Distributed 03/15/10) The LSU AgCenter has announced a conference on wood-based biofuels, biomass and bioenergy for utilities, investors, entrepreneurs, forest land managers and owners, pulp and paper industry professionals and policymakers April 22-23 in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 03/15/10) Louisiana agriculture contributed $8.3 billion to the state’s economy in 2009, which was the lowest contribution since 2002 and down from $9.5 billion in 2008, according to the latest figures compiled by the LSU AgCenter in its annual Ag Summary, which was released on March 15.

(Distributed 03/15/10) The New Orleans 2010 Spring Garden Show will be at the City Park Botanical Garden April 10-11 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.

(Distributed 03/12/10) SHREVEPORT, La. – Persist for the long run and remain aware of what is happening in the short run to be productive in the end LSU AgCenter forester Ricky Kilpatrick told forest landowners at the 26th annual Ark-La-Tex Forestry Forum here March 11.

(Distributed 03/12/10) A new college scholarship is available for north and central Louisiana 4-H’ers through a $20,000 donation from Hilda D. Williams and her children, Rosy Williams Bromell, Vickie Williams Phelps and Donald Vardaman Williams.

(Distributed 3/11/10) Tractor Supply stores in Louisiana have joined with the LSU AgCenter as part of a national fundraising campaign to support local 4-H programs.

(Distributed 03/10/10) TALLULAH, La. – More north Louisiana farmers are switching to rice instead of corn, soybeans and cotton. Garrett Marsh of Tallulah grew his first rice crop last year. “I was here to get a refresher,” he said of a rice growing clinic here on March 4 sponsored by the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/08/10) SHREVEPORT, La. – A panel of small business managers at the LSU AgCenter’s Market Gardening Seminar on March 6 said their customers like to buy locally grown produce and flowers and would welcome more local suppliers.

(Distributed 03/08/10)This year’s Southwest Louisiana Garden Festival will be March 27-28 in the Burton Coliseum on the corner of Gauthier Road and Gulf Hwy. in Lake Charles.

(Distributed 03/05/10)The Eighth Annual Baton Rouge Spring Garden Show will be March 27-28 at Parker Coliseum on Highland Road on the LSU campus from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.

(Distributed 03/04/10) The LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Master Gardeners of St. Tammany Parish are in final preparation mode for the two-day spring garden show that will be held March 20-21 at the St. Tammany Parish Fairgrounds in Covington.

(Distributed 03/03/10) CROWLEY, La. – Controlling insects that prey on rice crops was the focus of an LSU AgCenter workshop Monday (March 1).

(Distributed 03/03/10) After extended periods of low temperatures this year, many Louisianians are concerned freezes may have killed the palm trees in their landscapes. But they’ll have to wait a while to know for sure, according to an LSU AgCenter horticulturist.

(Distributed 03/03/10) BOSSIER CITY, La. – Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse requires attention to detail, said Dr. H.Y. Hanna, a researcher in charge of the greenhouse tomato project at the LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station. A record crowd of 94 attended Hanna’s 14th annual four-hour Greenhouse Tomato Seminar on Feb. 26.

(Distributed 03/03/10) A quick way to test for salmonella in vegetable fields may be in the offing if research by an LSU AgCenter scientist proves its worth.

(Distributed 03/01/10) BOSSIER CITY, La. – Making decisions and managing conflict before your death is the best gift you can give to your family – and it makes sure your wishes are carried out, said LSU AgCenter agent Terry Foster.

(News Release Distributed 03/01/10) With the grip of winter temperatures beginning to moderate, this year’s Hammond Spring Garden Day event on March 13 will give gardeners a chance to get out and enjoy a day in the garden.

(Distributed 03/01/10) CROWLEY, La. – Crawfish farmers and consumers can get a weekly snapshot of what is happening in the crawfish market with a Web log produced by the LSU AgCenter.

(Distributed 03/01/10) William Stutts put his first crop in the ground when he was a junior in high school. The year was 1977, and that crop comprised some 100 acres. Now, 33 years later, Stutts farms more than 1,300 acres in West Carroll Parish, and he does it exceptionally well. So well, he was named the 2010 Louisiana Farmer of the Year.