Home > Communications > News > LSU AgCenter Communications produces news releases for print, radio and television media. All are published on our Web site and listed chronologically. To view past releases, go to the news archive. The radio news releases are produced for daily use, Monday through Friday, and distributed to a select list via CD every other week. A video news release is produced for every week of the year – 52 all together – and distributed to a select list via DVD or tape also every other week. To be added to the list, please contact Craig Gautreaux or call (225) 578-2263. Print press releases are produced three ways – as headline news for stories with more immediacy, as news you can use for stories with a helpful angle, and as seasonal stories. We produce four seasonal packets: spring gardening, hurricane preparedness (storm and flood), back-to-school and holidays. In addition, we produce a special service called “Get It Growing” aimed at people who want to improve their landscapes, grow flowers and ornamentals or grow vegetables and fruit. This service includes a weekly newspaper column written by horticulturist Dan Gill, a daily (Monday through Friday) 60-second radio spot voiced by Gill, and a weekly 90-second television spot featuring Gill. The newspaper columns are sent via e-mail once a month to everybody on our print news distribution list. The radio and television spots are distributed with the audio and video new releases mentioned above. For more information on our news services, please contact Linda Benedict or call (225) 578-2263.                     Headline News Radio & TV  Get It Growing News You Can Use Gardening News  Holidays Back-to-School Storm & Flood News  News Archive LSU AgCenter forest landowner forum addresses recycling wood, feral hogs (Distributed 02/08/10) CALHOUN, La. – Louisiana forest landowners heard about ways to improve timber, wildlife and product value from their lands at an LSU AgCenter forum recently. Ag products, animals fascinate students at LSU AgCenter exhibit [Image: Howard Cormier with school chilcren] (Distributed 02/08/10) LAKE CHARLES, La. – More than 800 children learned about animals and the origins of their food recently (Feb. 3-4) at Ag Adventures held in conjunction with the LSU AgCenter’s Southwest Regional Livestock Show. Keep food safe on Mardi Gras (Distributed 02/05/10) Don’t let unsafe food masquerade at your Mardi Gras celebration. Food that hasn’t been prepared following recommended food safety guidelines usually appears safe because it looks smells and tastes fine, but eating it may lead to food-borne illness, says LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames. Flowering trees add spring color to landscapes (Distributed 02/05/10) Flowering trees add considerable color and beauty to our landscapes during the late winter and early spring months. Many of these trees that flower at this time of the year can be considered low maintenance compared to the amount of joy we get from them.  more articles... Get informed about proper fruit tree pruning (Audio 02/08/10) Louisiana gardeners grow a variety of fruit trees in their landscapes. February is a good time to prune these, but different fruit trees require different types of pruning. Hear more about how you can obtain information on pruning fruit trees. (Runtime: 60 seconds) Soil content affects hydrangea color (Audio 02/08/10) Many people know that hydrangeas can change color, but most do not understand what causes this color change. Different pH levels and the availability of aluminum ions in the soil cause the plant to produce different color blossoms. Discover which factors determine which hydrangea colors. (Runtime: 60 seconds) Plant bare-root roses before blooming season (Audio 02/08/10) Although bare-root plants are not typically found anymore, gardeners can still purchase bare-root roses. These must be planted before the end of February while they are still dormant to ensure the best quality roses. Listen to hear more conditions required for successfully growing bare-root roses. (Runtime: 60 seconds) February still ideal for planting trees (Audio 02/08/10) Louisiana celebrates Arbor Day in January, but February also is a great time to plant new trees in your landscape. Planting trees this time of the year allows the plant to settle into its environment before the heat of spring and summer. Here are some tips on how to properly plant a tree. (Runtime: 60 seconds) Add colorful shade-tolerant plants to winter landscape (Audio 02/08/10) Some gardeners are not aware that there are a number of beautiful cool-season bedding plants that can thrive in shady locations. Learn which bedding plants are the most shade-tolerant while surviving winter temperatures. (Runtime: 60 seconds) Climatologist predicts wet spring for La. farmers (Distributed 02/03/10) ALEXANDRIA, La. – El Niño is back, and Louisiana farmers – especially those in the southern part of the state – could be looking at a wet planting season, according to Jay Grymes, LSU AgCenter climatologist. LSU AgCenter plant pathologist receives Lifetime Achievement Award [Image: hollier presentation] (Distributed 02/03/10) Clayton Hollier, professor of plant pathology in the LSU AgCenter Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Friends of Southern IPM Thursday, Jan. 21, during the Ag Outlook conference at Alexandria. Give a healthy, edible Valentine treat (Distributed 02/03/10) You can show your Valentine how much you care by surprising her or him with a special treat – luscious red fruit, says LSU AgCenter nutritionist Dr. Beth Reames. Entomologist receives 2010 Achievement Award from National Sweet Potato Council [Image: Abner Hammond] (Distributed 02/02/10) Abner Hammond, professor of entomology at the LSU AgCenter, has been honored with the 2010 Distinguished Achievement Award from the National Sweet Potato Research Council. This award is given for long-term and distinguished service to the sweet potato industry. Hammond specializes in management of sweet potato insect pests, especially the sweet potato weevil. Be ready for late-winter and early-spring lawn care (For Release On Or After 02/26/10) Although our lawns are still dormant this month, you can begin now to plan your strategy to have an attractive, healthy lawn this summer. Since the grass is still dormant, most lawns look relatively bad, so don’t judge yours too harshly at this point. Click for more information...