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e Directions September 2, 2009 e-Directions September 2, 2009 Please continue to use this method of communication to keep up with Extension Service-related policies and programs. Due to the length of this e-Directions, it has been divided into sections. Click on the section you would like to read. Census of Agriculture Data Available by ZIP Code New CoP USDA Proposes Biobased Product Consumer Label Rule Senate Passes Agriculture Appropriations Bill Sea Grant Extension Leader Announced Louisiana 4-H Makes National News 4-H Night in Tiger Stadium Learn to manage termites and get 2009 LSU football schedule LCES Positions Granted Exemptions Two have new responsibilities for LSU AgCenter Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Appointments to the Broadband Advisory Council Sweet potatoes on the side Vlosky, Shupe and Dunn win Forestry Awards Turf Extension Responsibilities Parish and General Area Web Pages Census of Agriculture Data Available by ZIP Code The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) expanded the amount of information available from the 2007 Census of Agriculture by providing select data at the ZIP code level. The ZIP code-level data can be accessed online through NASS’s census statistics database, Quick Stats. To conduct the 2007 Census of Agriculture, NASS mailed a Census form to all known and potential farm operators in the United States. In most cases, producers’ mailing addresses were the same as the location of their operation. Therefore, the vast majority of farms were tabulated in the ZIP codes where they are located. In some instances, however, the operator's farm was located outside the mailed ZIP code. Consequently, these farms are not counted in the ZIP codes of their physical location. The information published is limited to farm counts for select items only, and ZIP codes with no reported farms in the 2007 Census are not included. For more information about the census or to access the QuickStats application, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov. Source: www.agcensus.usda.gov (Top) New CoP A new Community of Practice (CoP) – Families, Food and Fitness (FFF): Preventing Obesity – launches this month as one of the newest Web communities within eXtension (www.eXtension.org). eXtension connects knowledge consumers with knowledge providers – experts who know their subject matter inside out. The Families, Food and Fitness section of eXtension at http://www.extension.org/families_food_fitness provides education and skills to help families make informed decisions about healthy eating and physical activity by providing them with research-based information and interactive learning opportunities. This virtual educational environment is targeted at families with young children. The Families, Food and Fitness (FFF) CoP is organized around three goals: (1) improve diets, (2) increase physical activity and (3) maintain body weight in a healthy range and avoid excess weight gain. Interactive content and learning materials support these three goals in addition to focusing on the six key behaviors identified through the literature to be associated with achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight: (1) move more every day, (2) tame the tube, (3) right size your portions, (4) enjoy more fruits and vegetables, (5) prepare and eat more meals at home and (6) re-think your drink. Source: www.extension.org (Top) USDA Proposes Biobased Product Consumer Label Rule Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is making it easier for consumers to identify biobased products through the release of its proposed BioPreferred labeling rule. USDA's BioPreferred labeling program, published in the Federal Register, intends to create a product label that would appear on qualifying BioPreferred biobased products. When final, this regulation will allow biobased-product manufacturers to participate in a voluntary labeling program to identify biobased products on retail store shelves. "Increasing the purchase and use of biobased products is a priority of the Obama Administration because it helps increase our nation's energy security and independence by using American agricultural products, while spurring economic development in rural areas," said Vilsack. "Consumers want to make more informed product choice decisions, and BioPreferred will help them. This label will help consumers, businesses and Federal government purchasers easily identify biobased products." For full details, click here. Source: USDA (Top) Senate Passes Agriculture Appropriations Bill On August 4, the Senate passed the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriation by a vote of 80 to 17. The Senate bill provides $1,321,680,000 for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which is the same amount as the Senate Appropriations Committee recommendation. (Included in the total is an estimate for the Native American Endowment Fund Interest.) Full details can be found here. Both Senate and House mark-ups include increases in formula and competitive funding for research and extension. It is anticipated that a conference committee will take up the bill when Congress returns from its August recess in September. Additional information on Congressional action on the FY 2010 agricultural appropriation will be provided as it becomes available. You also may wish to track Congressional action on the appropriation bills by going to the Library of Congress Web site http://www.thomas.gov/ Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations (Top) Sea Grant Extension Leader Announced Dr. Glenn Thomas has been named the director of Marine Extension for the Louisiana Sea Grant College Pro­gram and the LSU AgCenter. Thomas has been with Louisiana Sea Grant since 2004, initially serving as an extension agent for St. Martin, St. Mary, Iberia and Iberville parishes and most recently as statewide fisheries specialist. “Glenn has excelled while at Sea Grant, and he has proven his leadership ability. I have no doubt he will do an exceptional job as director of Marine Extension,” said Dr. Charles Wilson, Louisiana Sea Grant executive direc­tor. “He certainly was a stellar candidate from a pool of outstanding candidates we had from across the coun­try,” Wilson added. “We are pleased to get such a qualified and experienced marine fisheries specialist in this important leadership position,” said Dr. Paul Coreil. “Glenn brings with him excellent experience and program vision that will be important as Louisiana Sea Grant addresses the challenges facing coastal community sustainability and commercial and recreational fisheries.” Click here for full details. Source: Roy Kron, rkron@lsu.edu (Top) Louisiana 4-H Makes National News In June, more than 1,600 4-H members and volunteer leaders from across Louisiana converged on the Louisiana State University campus to participate in competitions and learning experiences during 4-H University. “4-H University offers students the opportunity to learn and compete in an environment that is truly unique and lets them get a taste of what college has to offer,” said LCES director Dr. Paul Coreil. During 4-H University, students experienced for themselves how college students live by residing in campus dormitories, eating at campus dining halls and going through the rigors of scheduling classes. Attached is a link to the clover corner news from National 4-H Council that highlighted a 4-H University article http://4-h.org/news/?p=284. This article was taken from an article published in Houma Today. Source: http://4-h.org/ (Top) 4-H Night in Tiger Stadium The annual 4-H Day with the Tigers game will be November 14 against Louisiana Tech at 7:00 p.m. Since this is the LSU Homecoming game, there should be lots of excitement for the 4-H participants. All details are not finalized, but all 4-H’ers should be expecting an e-mail from Dr. Coreil with all of the final details in the near future. The tickets will be $25 this year. There will be 3,000 tickets available to 4-H students. Also, there will be a Tailgate program to enhance the 4-H and AgCenter experience. Full details will be provided in the near future. Source: Terril D. Faul (Top) Learn to Manage Termites and Get a 2009 LSU Football Schedule The 2009 LSU football schedule cards published by the Department of Entomology are now being distributed. If you would like more, please contact Jensen Young, assistant to Tim Schowalter, department head. On the card's reverse side is timely information about managing termites and contact information for Dennis Ring and Alan Morgan. Entomology has been doing these cards, with great success, since 2006. The original idea to distribute entomology educational information along with the LSU athletic schedules was Ring’s. He supplied the text and photos, Schowalter said. The department subsequently launched a fire ant/men’s basketball schedule card and a mosquito/women’s basketball card. Schowalter said the department also prepared a brown widow/baseball schedule card for spring 2007. For full story, click here. Source: Jensen Young (Top) LCES Positions Granted Exemptions Several positions were recently granted exemptions and are listed on the LSU AgCenter Web site. Current positions listed are Extension Equine Specialist, Assistant Professor Fisheries Management and Horticulture Agent in Orleans Parish. Other positions that will be advertised in the near future are East Baton Rouge 4-H Agent, Iberville 4-H Agent and Assistant Professor of Extension in SPESS. The Extension Beef Specialist position is currently in process and should be filled in the near future. Source: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/administration/about_us/Human_Resources/Job_Opportunities/ (Top) Two Have New Responsibilities for LSU AgCenter Joe Barrett joined the staff at the LSU AgCenter office in Natchitoches effective Aug. 1. Barrett has responsibilities in 4-H and agriculture and natural resources. He has been with the LSU AgCenter for 23 years, most recently as a 4-H and county agent in Bossier Parish. He also has been coordinating the regional shooting sports activities for the LSU AgCenter. Barrett has a B.S. in agribusiness and an M.S. in botany from Louisiana Tech University. He also has served the LSU AgCenter in Caldwell Parish as an assistant county agent and in Richland Parish as an associate agent. Barrett also worked as an agent in Georgia for four years. We appreciate Joe accepting the change in responsibilities. Dr. Charlie Graham, associate professor of fruit and nut crops at the LSU AgCenter Pecan Research-Extension Station, now has extension responsibilities statewide for pecans. He replaced Dr. John Pyzner, who retired July 31. Graham has been strictly research faculty, but now has a 25 percent appointment in extension with statewide responsibilities for pecans, said Dr. Patrick Colyer, LSU AgCenter Northwest Region director. Graham received his Ph.D. in plant physiology in 1994 from Clemson University, his M.S. in horticulture from Texas A&M University and his B.S. in Education from TAMU. Graham’s current project is breeding, cultural management and post-harvest physiology of pecans. He has been at the Pecan Station since 2000, and for five years prior was housed at the LSU AgCenter Calhoun Research Station. Contacts: Joe Barrett at (318) 357-2224 or Charlie Graham at (318) 797-8034 Source: Mary Ann Van Osdell at (318) 741-7430, ext. 1104 (Top) Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Appointments to the Broadband Advisory Council Governor Bobby Jindal recently announced appointments to the Broadband Advisory Council. This unit of the Office of Rural Development develops and implements plans to increase broadband access and usage throughout the state. According to statute, the council comprises 24 members, including the governor, the executive director of the governor’s Office of Rural Development, the superintendent of the Department of Education, the commissioner of higher education, the secretary of the Department of Economic Development or their designees and the chief information officer of the state. Additionally, the speaker of the House of Representatives must appoint one representative who represents a rural area of the state, and the president of the Senate must appoint one senator who represents a rural area of the state. The remaining 16 members are gubernatorial appointments and include the following: One member from the Public Service Commission One member selected from nominations submitted by the Louisiana Municipal Association One member selected from nominations submitted by the Louisiana Police Jury Association One member from the private sector selected from nominations submitted by electric utility companies doing business within the state Three members from the private sector representing local telephone exchange carriers, of whom one must be from a predominant incumbent local exchange carrier, one must represent the Louisiana Telecommunications Association and one must represent a competitive local exchange carrier Two members from the private sector representing satellite or wireless communications companies Two members from the private sector representing cable communications companies One member from the private sector representing a carrier whose predominant business is intrastate and/or interstate interexchange telecommunications services One member from the private sector representing an Internet service provider Three members from the private sector representing businesses located in rural areas that utilize advanced telecommunication and information services or need such services to further develop their businesses. James Barnes of Oak Grove is an assistant professor and the State Director of Community Rural Development at the LSU AgCenter. Barnes will represent businesses located in rural areas that utilize advanced telecommunication and information services, as required by statute. Jimmy Field of Baton Rouge is the Louisiana Public Service Commissioner for District 2. Field will serve as a member from the Public Service Commission, as required by statute. Ashley Phillips of Gonzales is the director of network engineering and operations at EATEL and is on the board of directors for the Ascension Credit Union as treasurer. Phillips will serve as a member from the private sector representing a competitive local telephone exchange carrier, as required by statute. Source: Melissa Sellers, Kyle Plotkin (Top) Sweet Potatoes on the Side To celebrate the new ConAgra Foods Lamb Weston processing facility, Sen. Francis Thompson of Delhi borrowed a line from the late comedian Jackie Gleason: "How sweet it is!" How sweet, indeed, that Delhi would land the world's first large-scale processing facility dedicated to high-quality, frozen sweet potato products. The $210-million facility, the first phase of which will be opened within a year, will create a minimum of 500 jobs at an average salary of $35,000 per year plus benefits. Economists predict another 1,400 indirect jobs will be created by the facility's operations. It will become the largest private-sector employer in Richland Parish, one of the top 10 in the region and one of the state's top companies. Both Governor Jindal and Lamb Weston executives made it clear that a significant factor in making the decision to locate in Northeast Louisiana was the research and extension capacity provided by the LSU AgCenter’s sweet potato station. This decision and economic impact clearly provide positive evidence of the importance of the AgCenter and agriculture in job creation. Click here for full article. Source: www.thenewsstar.com (Top) Vlosky, Shupe and Dunn win Forestry Awards Richard Vlosky, extension specialist and director of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center; Todd Shupe, professor and extension specialist in the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center; and Michael Dunn, associate professor and extension specialist, Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness, were recent recipients of Southern Regional Extension Forestry awards. Vlosky received a silver award for building and maintaining the “United Nations' Current Issues in Forestry and Forest Products Markets" Web site; Vlosky and Dunn received a silver award for their paper “A Regional View of Extension Employee Perceptions of Scholarship in the Workplace" published in the Journal of Extension. Shupe received a bronze award for his paper “Evaluating Landfill Disposal of Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-Treated Wood and Potential Effects on Groundwater: Evidence in Florida” published in the Journal Chemosphere, and a bronze award for “Causes and Control of Wood Decay, Degradation and Stain” on the AgCenter's Web site. View the publication. Source: Linda Benedict (Top) Turf Extension Responsibilities Effective immediately, Dr. Ron Strahan, an assistant professor in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, has assumed programmatic responsibilities for turfgrass extension. This is a broad area that encompasses home lawns, sports fields, golf courses and sod farms. Dr. Strahan will retain key aspects of ornamental weed control work.  Source: Don Labonte (Top) Parish and General Area Web Pages With an increased interest in Web-based content, we have been monitoring the number of page visits and views of parish Web sites as well as other general areas. You can see in the tables below a summary from July 25 to August. It will continue to be critical to have current and relevant information on all Web pages. Rapides and Terrebonne have been the top two consistently. Horticulture and Family Development are the top two areas. Table 1. Top Parish Web Sites. Visits Parishes Visits Page views 1. Rapides 3099 3404 2. Terrebonne 2055 2285 3. St. Helena 1662 1828 4. St. Tammany 1636 1752 5. Iberia 1431 1622 6. East Baton Rouge 1316 1376 7. St. Martin 1289 1487 8. Lafayette 1159 1331 9. St. Landry 1139 1276 10. St. Charles 1101 1204 11. Livingston 1100 1180 Table 2. General Areas of Web Directory and Pages Visits Page views parish_lmg_programs/LMG 2,223 2,454 beef_cattle/Animals 4,474 5,047 community_dev/Community 1,871 2,077 rice/Crops 9,499 10,672 insects/Entomology 8,867 9,732 #2home/Family Development 22,801 25,197 forest_products/Forestry 1,610 1,747 #1home_gardening/Horticulture 36,358 39,730 education_resources/Nutrition and Food 5,526 6,310 about_4h/4-H 17517 21218 (Top)

Last Updated: 9/3/2009 9:17:46 AM