Agriculture

Emma Stelly

Emma Stelly

Rice station internship awarded to Vermilion Parish native

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, April 5, 2024
Emma Stelly, a McNeese State University freshman who grew up on a family farm in Vermilion Parish, has been selected to complete an internship at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station this summer.
Both Chinese and American fringe trees are stunning in the landscape and are great small-to-medium-sized trees that fit well in urban settings. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Both Chinese and American fringe trees are stunning in the landscape and are great small-to-medium-sized trees that fit well in urban settings. (Photo by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Fringe trees present a spring spectacle

Harlan Kirgan
Thursday, March 28, 2024
If you’ve caught sight of those stunning, petite, white-flowered trees this spring, you’re witnessing one of the most dazzling spectacles of the season: the fringe trees.
Citrus plants offer a crisp, refreshing top note, injecting a burst of energy into scents. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Citrus plants offer a crisp, refreshing top note, injecting a burst of energy into scents. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

The fragrance of nature

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, March 22, 2024
National Fragrance Day, celebrated March 21, might not be a widely recognized day on our calendars, but it’s hard to deny the integral role that fragrances play in our everyday lives.
Adam Gordon, of Oakdale, uses a drip torch during a prescribed burn training at the Louisiana Ecological Forestry Center near Florien on March 12. (Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter)

Adam Gordon, of Oakdale, uses a drip torch during a prescribed burn training at the Louisiana Ecological Forestry Center near Florien on March 12. (Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter)

Workshop teaches proper prescribed burning methods

Harlan Kirgan
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Rodney McKay knows a lot about starting fires. Between 15 and 25 times a year, McKay heads into the woods with a drip torch, rakes and an array of other tools used to light fires, monitor their spread and manage the smoke they produce.
Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) is a tropical perennial native to Asia that has a fast growth rate, grows well in containers and produces a wide range of colors and patterns. It blooms from early summer through late fall. (Photo by Claudia Husseneder)

Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) is a tropical perennial native to Asia that has a fast growth rate, grows well in containers and produces a wide range of colors and patterns. It blooms from early summer through late fall. (Photo by Claudia Husseneder)

Get It Growing calendar entry deadline nearing

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, March 8, 2024
The deadline for “budding” and experienced photographers to submit their best photos for the LSU AgCenter’s 2025 Get It Growing calendar is rapidly approaching. The deadline for entries is March 31.

Getting pickled out of your garden and refrigerator

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, March 8, 2024
With refrigerator pickling you can get creative in the kitchen and experiment with pickling a variety of out-of-the-ordinary fruits and vegetables. This small batch method of pickling is easy to do and is ready to eat in a day or two.
Rabbiteye blueberry is ideal for Louisiana landscapes, valued for both its fruit and ornamental qualities. (LSU AgCenter file photo)

Rabbiteye blueberry is ideal for Louisiana landscapes, valued for both its fruit and ornamental qualities. (LSU AgCenter file photo)

Fruitful beauty: Floweraing trees and shrubs for landscapes

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, March 8, 2024
It’s that time of year. The deciduous trees are putting on their leaves. The oaks and pines are producing copious amounts of pollen. Live oaks are shedding leaves to put on new growth.
The 38th annual Here’s the Beef Cook-off held Saturday at the Ag Arena in Opelousas

The 38th annual Here’s the Beef Cook-off held Saturday at the Ag Arena in Opelousas

Here’s The Beef Cook-off

Harlan Kirgan
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
The 38th annual Here’s the Beef Cook-off held Saturday at the Ag Arena in Opelousas. Sponsors are St. Landry Parish Cattlemen’s Association, Cattlewomen and the Louisiana Beef Industry Council For the first time the cook-off used the new stage at the arena. Some of the crowd is shown.
Front row, from left: Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, vice president of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development; Deidre Deculus Robert, director of state USDA Rural Development; Dr. Peng Solomon Yin, associate professor in Mechanical Engineering and principal investigator of the REAP grant; Chaston Price, coordinator of state USDA Rural Development Energy; Dr. Terry Chambers, director of the University’s EDA-funded Green Hydrogen Center of Excellence and its Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Center and co

Front row, from left: Dr. Ramesh Kolluru, vice president of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development; Deidre Deculus Robert, director of state USDA Rural Development; Dr. Peng Solomon Yin, associate professor in Mechanical Engineering and principal investigator of the REAP grant; Chaston Price, coordinator of state USDA Rural Development Energy; Dr. Terry Chambers, director of the University’s EDA-funded Green Hydrogen Center of Excellence and its Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Center and co

Researchers aim to help farmers, small businesses save energy, ‘go green’

Harlan Kirgan
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
A new initiative led by Dr. Peng Yin and Dr. Terrence Chambers at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is set to revolutionize energy efficiency and renewable energy adoption for agricultural producers and rural small businesses across the state.

It was a rice plan to save us from The Bomb

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, March 1, 2024
In the middle 1950s, when the Cold War was at its hottest and we were being drilled on how to survive when the Commies dropped The Bomb on us, an LSU scientist said he’d found just the thing to save us. Rice hulls. And there may have been something to it.