(Distributed 12/16/11) The third annual Arbor Day at Burden Center has been scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to celebrate Arbor Day in Baton Rouge. Visitors will be invited to plant a tree in the Burden woods and participate in a 5-K Fun Hike through the Trees and Trails system.

(Distributed 12/15/11) Whether you’re Christmas shopping for organic foods or you have fall vegetables to sell, the LSU AgCenter’s MarketMaker website is the place for you.

(Distributed 12/15/11) Gary Hay has been named the new director of the LSU AgCenter School of Animal Sciences effective Jan. 1, 2012. He had been serving as interim director since May 1, 2009, when he replaced Paul Humes, who retired on April 30, 2009 after 41 years with the AgCenter.

(Distributed 12/15/11) AUSTIN, Texas – LSU AgCenter entomologist Natalie Hummel was accepted for the USA Rice Leadership Program. Nobel Guedon of Natchez, Miss., who farms in Louisiana, also was accepted into the program.

(Distributed 12/15/11) AUSTIN, Texas – The LSU AgCenter announced the release of two new rice varieties on Dec. 8 during the USA Rice Federation Outlook Conference.

(Distributed 12/14/11) WEST MONROE, La. – The LSU AgCenter will host an exhibit called Ag Alley to help people learn about agriculture as part of the 30th annual Ag Expo at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center on Jan. 20-21 and two days before, Jan. 18-19, for first- and fourth-grade students in the area.

(Distributed 12/13/11) In years past, December was not the month to say a lot about strawberries in Louisiana, but with growers planting newer varieties that produce earlier, it’s becoming the norm.

(Distributed 12/13/11) The LSU AgCenter hosted a ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 13, for a new Animal and Food Sciences Laboratory Building on the Baton Rouge campus. The new two-story, 48,000-square-foot building will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the AgCenter’s School of Animal Sciences and Departments of Veterinary Science and Food Science.

(Distributed 12/12/11) FRANKLINTON, La. – Participants at the LSU AgCenter Southeast Research Station Field Day on Dec. 8 heard about the latest studies on pasture-based dairying being conducted at the facility.

(Distributed 12/09/11) B. Rogers Leonard, an award-winning entomologist, has been named the new associate vice chancellor for research in the LSU AgCenter effective Jan. 1, 2012. He will also have the title of associate director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station.