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Sweet potato extension, research programs lure industry to Louisiana
LSU AgCenter scientists played a key role in helping entice ConAgra Foods to locate a new sweet potato processing plant to northeast Louisiana. The state-of-the-art plant to be built in Delhi is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010 and initially employ 275 people at an average salary of about $35,000 per year. Company officials said they chose the location to be in close collaboration with the researchers and extension specialists at the nearby Sweet Potato Research Station in Chase, which is the only facility of its kind in the United States. Read more about this success story.
Make your own biodiesel
More than 800 people across the state have learned to make their biodiesel from used vegetable oil at LSU AgCenter workshops in 2008 and 2009. Extension environmental educator Bill Carney has taught these workshops to farmers, owners of small businesses and individuals who want to save money and help the environment. Carney teaches participants what kind of equipment to buy and the chemistry of creating their own biodiesel. LSU supplies Carney with used vegetable oil from its student cafeterias, which he uses to make biodiesel at the LSU AgCenter’s W.A. Callegari Environmental Center. He creates 50 to 100 gallons per week to help fuel the diesel vehicles at the AgCenter and at LSU.
Louisiana youth learn the importance of wetlands
Thirty percent of all coastal marshes in the United States are in Louisiana, and every 2.7 miles of wetland absorbs 1 foot of storm surge during hurricanes. These are just two facts about Louisiana’s wetlands that students across the state learn during Youth Wetlands Week April 20-24. This will be the third year LSU AgCenter 4-H has sponsored this activity, with funding from the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Nearly 50,000 students in 54 parishes are registered this year. More than 77,000 participated the first two years. Read more about Youth Wetlands Week.
‘Body Walk’ fights obesity among children
The LSU AgCenter is trying to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity with a traveling exhibit called Body Walk. This gymnasium-sized brightly decorated series of plastic classrooms features nine parts of the body. School children walk through the mouth, stomach, intestines, etc. and learn how eating affects their health. Since 2005, more than 250 elementary schools in Louisiana have used the exhibit, and more than 125,000 children have been through it. To meet demand this school year, the AgCenter has purchased a second exhibit. Learn more about the Louisiana Body Walk.
Louisiana Master Farmers lead the nation
Louisiana has stepped out ahead of all other states in the nation in helping farmers learn to voluntarily comply with stricter environmental standards governing water quality. This has happened because of the LSU AgCenter’s Master Farmer Program. Ninety-two farmers in Louisiana have achieved the status of Master Farmer – a title that means they have not only learned the latest in conservation practices, but they are implementing them on their farms. Learn more about Louisiana’s Master Farmers.
Louisiana Master Gardeners add wealth, beauty to environment
Creating sustainable gardens and more community and school gardens are some of the trends in the LSU AgCenter’s Master Gardener program, which began in Louisiana in 1994. So far, more than 3,000 individuals have been certified as Master Gardeners. Each has had to commit to at least 40 hours of community service as payment for their comprehensive training. In 2008, that amounted to 52,000 volunteer service hours spent sharing their knowledge with others and helping to enrich their communities through gardening and landscaping projects. Learn more about Louisiana’s Master Gardeners.
LaHouse serves as model for living strong in Louisiana
It survived the hurricane-force winds of Gustav virtually unscathed, swarming termites in the spring and Louisiana’s long, hot, dry summer. It’s not an underground shelter, but a family-type home designed to showcase innovations in home construction for Louisiana’s sub-tropical climate. LaHouse – located on a 7-acre site near the LSU Golf Course off the Nicholson Drive/Gourrier Ave./Burbank Ave. intersection – provides a model for the public to learn about technological advances in housing. The goal of the LSU AgCenter’s LaHouse is to educate homeowners, home builders and architects in ways to make homes more resource-friendly.
Youth learn life skills at 4-H summer camp
Children learn responsibility, teamwork, independence and many life-enhancing skills during the summer camp experience offered through the LSU AgCenter’s 4-H program. 4-H alumni invariably point to summer camp, which is held at Camp Grant Walker near Pollock, La., as a highlight of their life. The educational tracks emphasize science, health, the environment and outdoor skills. Louisiana 4-H has been in the summer camp business since 1922. About 4,000 youngsters attend the camp each summer, including about 300 teenagers who learn leadership as camp counselors. Learn more about 4-H camp.
4-H reaches more than 240,000 youth
The Louisiana 4-H program’s emphasis on head, heart, hands and health is as relevant to youth today as it was back in 1908, when the program first started in the state. In a broad range of projects including coastal restoration, speech-making, raising livestock and computer technology, young people learn responsibility, character and citizenship. More than 240,000 young people across the state were involved in the LSU AgCenter's 4-H and youth development activities in 2008. Learn more about 4-H.