(Distributed 10/03/12) WINNSBORO, La. – A poorly maintained football field could be as dangerous as a 300-pound defensive tackle. Having healthy turf on a high school field helps the athletes play stronger and safer.

(Distributed 11/02/12) FRANKLINTON, La. – While many agricultural producers have experienced improved conditions over the past few years, dairy farmers still are trying to recover from the hard years, especially 2009, according to LSU AgCenter researcher Mike McCormick, resident coordinator at the Southeast Research Station.

(Distributed 10/31/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter is working with residents in certain rural areas of Louisiana who are still experiencing difficulty receiving broadband Internet services.

(Distributed 10/31/12) GRAND LAKE, La. – Cattle owners and ranch managers in Cameron Parish learned the basics of smoke management in prescribed burns used to control coastal marsh vegetation. Niels De Hoop, LSU AgCenter forestry specialist, said prescribed burning is a tool used by foresters, sugarcane farmers, and in marshland for cattle at a meeting here on Oct. 30.

(Distributed 10/31/12) CROWLEY, La. – The Louisiana Rice Research Board met Oct. 29 to decide how funds from checkoff money should be spent on research projects to benefit fellow farmers. The board approved $1.3 million in funding for 17 projects, after hearing several hours of presentations from LSU AgCenter scientists.

(Distributed 10/16/12) NEW ORLEANS – Orleans Parish 4-H club members at Success Preparatory Academy in New Orleans took time away from regular school activities on Oct. 10 to build robots as part of the National Youth Science Day Ecobot Challenge.

(Distributed 10/30/12) ARCHIBALD, La. – Michael Blazier is familiar with growing trees. As an LSU AgCenter forestry researcher, he has been involved in many timber-related projects that have helped determine the most efficient methods for producing quality lumber. Now, he is working on growing switchgrass, a fast-growing native plant that shows promise as a biofuel feedstock.

(Distributed 10/26/12) POLLOCK, La. – A donation by AT&T will help fund the first phase of construction of a multipurpose center at the LSU AgCenter 4-H Camp Grant Walker. Sonia Perez, AT&T president for Louisiana operations, presented a $25,000 check to Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for extension, on Oct. 25.

(Distributed 10/25/12) HAMMOND, LA. – The ideal planting time for cool-season bedding plants in Louisiana runs from late September through early December. Some of our common cool-season flowers prefer the earlier planting dates and some prefer the later planting dates.

(Distributed 10/23/12) BATON ROUGE, La. — Scientists at the LSU AgCenter Aquaculture Research Station have been known for genetic research on farm-raised fish, but that research is evolving into genetics in the biomedical arena.

(Distributed 10/25/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter is helping individuals get comfortable using the Internet while also teaching them about nutrition guidelines.

(Distributed 10/25/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – Students at Glasgow Middle School streamed out of their gymnasium with hands full of fruit, vegetables, seeds and sandwiches. The sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders were participating in the school’s Food Day program.

(Distributed 10/19/12) Each fall, trial gardens, such as those located at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station, compile results from entries and name the best-performing of the new plants for the next year.

(Distibuted 10/17/19/12) BATON ROUGE, La. — The LSU AgCenter held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Model School and Children’s Garden at Burden on Oct. 16.

(Distributed 10/17/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – Several Louisiana organizations concerned with food production and distribution have planned a Food Access Summit Nov. 7 at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. The purpose is to promote communication among these various groups.

(Distributed 10/17/12) HAMMOND, La. – Plants, shrubs, diseases and plant growth regulators were among the topics presented at the landscape field day held at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station on Oct. 11.

(Distributed 10/16/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter LaHouse Resource Center will offer two training courses for housing professionals seeking a Mold Remediation Contractor license, lead renovator certification by EPA and Louisiana Residential Contractors continuing education units and who are interested in unbiased, building science-based information and insights.

(Distributed 10/15/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – If you have questions about sick plants or garden pests and can’t find the answer, then come ask the LSU AgCenter “plant doctor” for a free diagnosis at the Lowe’s Garden Center at Siegen Marketplace in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Oct. 27.

(Distributed 10/12/12) HAMMOND, La. – A few cool fronts have already moved across the state, and we soon will have cooler temperatures that will favor the establishment and growth of cool-season flowers.

(Distributed 10/12/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU AgCenter entomologist Tim Schowalter has been selected to be among the first group of Fellows named by the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest professional organization for ecologists and environmental scientists.

(Distributed 10/04/12) GRAMERCY, La – Over 500 students from kindergarten through second grade attended the St. James Parish Ag Day on Oct. 3 to learn where their favorite t food comes from, according to LSU AgCenter county agent Kenneth Guidry.

(Distributed 10/11/12) BATON ROUGE, La. – A Louisiana man will be posthumously inducted in the National 4-H Hall of Fame on Oct. 12 in Chevy Chase, Md. Leroy Robbins, from East Baton Rouge Parish, is one of 16 inductees.

(Distributed 10/11/12) RAYNE, La. – Classes for the first phase of the Louisiana Master Farmer Program will be held this fall.

(Distributed 10/10/12) HOMER, La. – LSU AgCenter scientists gave advice on how to make more money to forest land owners, cattle producers and poultry producers gathered for the Hill Farm Research Station field day Oct. 9.

(Distributed 10/10/12) LSU AgCenter researchers are looking at eight key racial and ethnic groups in the Gulf of Mexico region to document their ties to the oil and gas industry and to examine the experiences of each group.

(Distributed 10/10/12) The LSU AgCenter will conduct a one-day comprehensive workshop on how to make your own biodiesel fuel from used vegetable oil on Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the W.A. Callegari Environmental Center in Baton Rouge.

(Distributed 10/05/12) The most popular and widely sold variety of Robin Hill azalea in Louisiana is Conversation Piece. It has been named our first LSU AgCenter Louisiana Super Plant for this fall.

(Distributed 10/03/12) SCHRIEVER, La. – New crops for new uses was the focus of a field day at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service Sugarcane Research Unit on Oct. 2.

(Distributed 10/03/12) FOLSOM, La. – Heavy rains prevented play of the polo match at the second annual Clover Cup on Sept. 30, which was a fundraiser for LSU AgCenter equine programs. But the festivities continued with a party, hat contest and a presentation on the sport.

(Distributed 10/02/12) HOUMA, La. – Dearl Sanders calls himself a bug chauffeur. The LSU AgCenter scientist is trying to move as many salvinia weevils as he can to combat the invasive aquatic plant giant salvinia, which is clogging waterways across Louisiana.

(Distributed 10/02/12) The LSU AgCenter’s 4-H Youth Development department recently joined nine other states in a partnership with UnitedHealthcare to help fight childhood obesity.