The Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction is accepting nominations for its annual induction ceremony, which will be held March 26, 2020, in Baton Rouge. The nomination form can be obtained online at www.louisianaagriculturehallofdistinction.com or through any parish Louisiana State University AgCenter Extension office. The deadline for receiving nominations is Nov. 22. The Hall of Distinction is a program of the ... Read More »
The Louisiana State University AgCenter will host five crawfish meetings in south Louisiana to help producers get ready for the upcoming season. “Pond management, including water and vegetation management, are among the topics that will be addressed,” said Mark Shirley, LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant crawfish specialist. Shirley and Greg Lutz, also an LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant ... Read More »
• By Bruce Schultz • Farmers probably would like to forget the 2019 rice crop, which has been plagued by low yields. Bad weather from the start of the growing season through harvest is being blamed. “Growing conditions have been less than ideal,” said Louisiana State University AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell. “We didn’t have good conditions at any one ... Read More »
Michael Salassi has been named Louisiana State University AgCenter associate vice president and program leader of animal and plant sciences. For the past four years, Salassi has served as head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness where he is the A. Wilbert’s Sons Endowed Professor of Agricultural and Natural Resources. Prior to that time, he was on the ... Read More »
• By Bruce Schultz • An LSU AgCenter research project at the Mer Rouge farm of Jason Waller was the setting for the northeast Louisiana row rice field day on July 18. The practice of row rice is gaining new converts because of its potential water savings and flexibility. The project being conducted by AgCenter agent Keith Collins includes conventional ... Read More »
• By Bruce Schultz • Hurricane Barry had a minimal effect on Louisiana croplands, but its aftermath left a narrow strip of flooding rain that will cause damage. Some soybeans were flooded, and rice was submerged in areas that received heavy rain. There were reports of lodged sugarcane and some damage to corn. “For the most part, rice in the ... Read More »
• By Karol Osborne • More than 50 agricultural producers and industry representatives interested in furrow-irrigated rice, also called row rice or upland rice, attended the LSU AgCenter Northeast Research Station row rice and soybean field tour on July 9 in St. Joseph. “We are set up for cotton, corn and beans, and if there is an opportunity to diversify ... Read More »
Infestations point out need for Provisia system to clean up fields. • By Vicky Boyd, Editor • 2019 could very well be dubbed the “year of weedy rice” — at least in Southwest Louisiana. Even growers who have been diligent about rogueing Clearfield rice fields or rotating to soybeans have seen more weedy rice than usual. The jury is still ... Read More »
• By Bruce Schultz • The Louisiana Rice Research Board provided an additional $500,000 earmarked for research during the recent annual LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station field day at Crowley. Those funds bring the total to $1.5 million set aside from Colombian Free Trade Agreement money that must be designated for rice research in Louisiana. Interest generated ... Read More »
• By Vicky Boyd, Editor • The Louisiana State University AgCenter breeding program continues on a roll with the potential release of a new Clearfield long-grain variety as well as a conventional long-grain in time for the 2020 season. If that comes to fruition, they would be grown for seed next season and be available commercially in 2021. Also in ... Read More »
Rice Farming A One Grower Publication