Agriculture

Small-scale vegetable growers in St. Landry Parish recently met face-to-face with major produce buyers in the area to discuss ways to market their produce.
Many times small farmers are left out of the equation when produce buyers go looking for products to buy, said LSU AgCenter extension associate Alessandro Holzapfel.
Holzapfel, along with Antonio Harris, director of sustainable agriculture and rural development with the Southern University Ag Center, coordinated the Meet the Buyer Day in Opelousas.
Harris said the goal of the meeting was two-fold.

The LSU AgCenter Agricultural Leadership Development Program aims to provide potential leaders involved with agriculture and agribusiness the tools they need to become effective advocates for agriculture.
For those interested in applying for the next class that starts in January 2020, the deadline is Aug. 30.
“It is a great opportunity to learn about the critical issues facing agriculture,” said program director Bobby Soileau.
Since its inception in 1988, more than 400 people have graduated from the program.

State and federal agency representatives attended a crops tour held by the LSU AgCenter on July 25 to give them idea of the agricultural diversity in central Louisiana.
The tour started near Bunkie at the James Deshotel sweet potato farm followed by a stop at the Todd Steele tree nursery. The tour then traveled to the Charlie Fontenot farm near Lebeau to hear about rice farming, stopped at the Lowrey cattle operation and ended near Melville at the Cannatella farm to get an overview of sugarcane farming.