April 2018 Articles

Archives by Months

Just Rambling April 2018

Just Rambling: On the night of March 15, the Union Cattlemen’s Association met for their first quarter meeting. It was a very special meeting because we honored Mr. and Mrs. L.J. Laster for their service to Union Cattleman’s Association and the Louisiana Cattleman Association. Mr. L.J. Laster has served on the Union Cattleman Board since it’s inception in 1980. Both Mr. L.J. and Mrs. Tommie have always worked to make our cattleman meetings a success and they... read more

Spiritual Corner:

Spiritual Corner: The Strength in Silence, Submission, and Service “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to... read more

“Union Parish 4-H’ers Excel during 78th Annual Northeast Louisiana District

“Union Parish 4-H’ers Excel during 78th Annual Northeast Louisiana District Livestock Show” March 12, 2018 – Seven Union Parish 4-H’ers recently participated in the annual Northeast District Livestock Show in Delhi February 1st thru 3rd. This show involves young people in 4-H and FFA from thirteen parishes in Northeast Louisiana. Our youth did an outstanding job of preparing and... read more

4-H summit encourages leadership among members

4-H summit encourages leadership among members Writer: Hannah Venerella at 225-578-6981 or hvenerella@agcenter.lsu.edu(03/08/18) RUSTON, La. — Approximately 300 students from 12 parishes gathered March 2 for the first 4-H Leadership Summit at the Davison Athletics Complex on the campus of Louisiana Tech University. The summit planning committee included 4-H high school students,... read more

Ouachita Parish Cattlemen’s Association

On the night of March 6th the Ouachita Parish Cattlemen’s Association held their first quarter meeting. My daughter, Velvet and I attended the meeting and thoroughly enjoyed it. After a good meal, Ouachita Parish Cattlemen’s President, Mr. Terry Boone, opened the business meeting introducing Mr. Steve Smith of Agri-Sales Associates as the first speaker. Mr. Smith spoke about True-test scales and Y-Tex identification and insecticide ear tags for cattle. Following Mr. Smith’s presentation,... read more

Culinary workshop pairs 4-H’ers with local celebrity chef

Culinary workshop pairs 4-H’ers with local celebrity chef Writer: Karol Osborne at 318-574-2465 or kosborne@agcenter.lsu.edu (03/21/2018) MONROE, La. — Northeast Louisiana 4-H members learned culinary tricks of the trade from Chef Cory Bahr at a culinary workshop held March 17 at Bahr’s catering kitchen in Monroe.... read more

A Special 2018 Ag Day Message from: Craig A. McCain, State Executive Director, L

A Special 2018 Ag Day Message from: Craig A. McCain, State Executive Director, Louisiana Farm Service Agency
National Agriculture Day Celebrates American Food and Fiber Production March 20 is National Agriculture Day – a day designated each year by the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) to celebrate the accomplishments of agriculture. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) joins the council in... read more

Is Preconditioned Marketing Right for Me?

Is Preconditioned Marketing Right for Me? Shane Gadberry, Professor - Ruminant Nutrition, U of A What Is a ‘High Risk Calf’? ■ Sold in single head or small group lots through livestock market auctions. These are high risk because these calves will be comingled with many unfamiliar calves in a new environment, adding stress to the calf. It’s like sending a child off to daycare or kindergarten. ■... read more

Minerals for Beef Cattle

Minerals for Beef Cattle— Minerals are an essential part of the diet of all animals and play a significant role in the well-being of a beef herd. Practically all metabolic functions of an animal require minerals. About 5 percent of the total body weight of an animal is comprised of minerals. Minerals are usually classified as 1) major and 2) minor or trace. The major or macro-minerals include calcium, phosphorous, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chorine and sulfur. These generally are required in relatively... read more

EPA administrators visit LSU AgCenter rice station

EPA administrators visit LSU AgCenter rice station Writer: Bruce Schultz at 337-788-8821 or bschultz@agcenter.lsu.edu(03/16/18) CROWLEY, La. — The administrator and deputy administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 visited the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station on March 15 to learn about the challenges facing farmers. Anne Idsal, appointed by the Trump administration in... read more

USDA Withdraws Organic Livestock and Poultry Rule, Garnering Praise From Farm B

USDA Withdraws Organic Livestock and Poultry Rule, Garnering Praise From Farm Bureau Source: www.fb.org USDA announced earlier this week it is scrapping the misguided Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Rule, which went well beyond the original intent of the Organic Production Act by allowing for animal welfare standards and metrics to become part of the organic label, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.... read more

Transportation Department Extends ELD Waiver for Ag Haulers

Transportation Department Extends ELD Waiver for Ag Haulers Source: www.fb.org Editor’s note: The recently passed 2018 omnibus spending bill includes a provision that prohibits the Department of Transportation from enforcing the electronic logging device mandate on haulers transporting livestock and insects through the end of fiscal 2018 (Sept. 30).... read more

President Trump Signs Omnibus

President Trump Signs Omnibus With President Donald Trump’s signature earlier today, the 2018 omnibus spending bill—and the several provisions that benefit farmers, ranchers and rural communities it includes—became law. The measure, which was a must-pass to avert a government shutdown, was approved in quick succession by the House and Senate on Thursday and the wee hours of Friday morning, respectively.... read more

NCBA Encouraged by "Positive Developments" in Omnibus Spending Bill

NCBA Encouraged by "Positive Developments" in Omnibus Spending Bill Source: www.beefusa.org WASHINGTON (March 21, 2018) - Today Colin Woodall, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), released the following statement:
“The omnibus spending bill includes a number of positive developments for cattlemen and women, including language that would prevent 200,000... read more

Louisiana Farm Tour 2018 May 9th-11th

Louisiana Farm Tour 2018 May 9th-11th Seven Farms—Live Animals—Crawfish Boil—Live Music
On May 9th-11th, 2018, the Louisiana Grazing Lands Coalition, in partnership with the Louisiana Natural Resources Conservation Service, are hosting a three day agritourism bus tour. The bus will travel to seven farms across Louisiana and Mississippi. You will see how farmers and ranchers raise, feed, breed and milk cows, manage their fields, and run their every day farming operations.... read more

LSU AgCenter releases new rice hybrid

LSU AgCenter releases new rice hybrid Writer: Bruce Schultz at 337-788-8821 or bschultz@agcenter.lsu.edu (03/21/18) CROWLEY, La. — A new hybrid rice with high quality and competitive yield potential is being released by the LSU AgCenter. The long-grain hybrid, LAH169,... read more

Planning the summer flower garden

Planning the summer flower garden Editor: Rick Bogren at 225-578-5839 or rbogren@agcenter.lsu.edu By Dan Gill LSU AgCenter Horticulturist As we move into April, we can enjoy the peak blooming season of our cool-season annuals. But it’s not too early to begin to plan our summer gardens. If you have empty flower beds, you may even begin to plant... read more

LSU AgCenter schedules 8 produce, seafood marketing workshops across state

LSU AgCenter schedules 8 produce, seafood marketing workshops across state Writer: Rick Bogren at 225-578-5839 or rbogren@agcenter.lsu.edu (03/27/18) BATON ROUGE, La. — The LSU AgCenter will conduct eight MarketReady producer training workshops for Louisiana farmers and fishers during spring and summer 2018.... read more

AgCenter wheat, oat field day set for April 18 in Winnsboro

AgCenter wheat, oat field day set for April 18 in Winnsboro Writer: Karol Osborne at 318-574-2465 or kosborne@agcenter.lsu.edu (03/29/2018) WINNSBORO, La. — LSU AgCenter experts will discuss variety trials and weed, insect and disease management at a wheat and oat field day on April 18 at the Tom H. Scott Research, Extension and Education Center in... read more

Chick Placements Down 9 Percent from Last Year

Chick Placements Down 9 Percent from Last Year Broiler-type chicks placed for meat production in Louisiana were 2.97 million during the week ending March 24, 2018. Placements were down 9 percent from the comparable week in 2017 but up 7 percent from the previous week. Louisiana hatcheries set 3.50 million broiler-type eggs... read more

USDA Designates 25 Parishes in Louisiana as Primary Natural Disaster Areas with

USDA Designates 25 Parishes in Louisiana as Primary Natural Disaster Areas with Assistance to Producers in Surrounding States WASHINGTON, March 14, 2018 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 25 parishes in Louisiana as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought. Those parishes are:  Farmers and ranchers in the contiguous parishes in Avoyelles, Concordia, Rapides and Vernon in Louisiana also qualify for natural disaster... read more

Prescribed burn workshop for foresters set for May 8-10 in Woodworth

Prescribed burn workshop for foresters set for May 8-10 in Woodworth Writer: Bruce Schultz at 337-788-8821 or bschultz@agcenter.lsu.edu(03/22/18) WOODWORTH, La. — A prescribed burn workshop for foresters will be held May 8-10 at the Woodworth Outdoor Education Center. The workshop will involve classroom instruction and field exercises, and successful participants will be eligible for prescribed burner certification.... read more

Cake Mix Cookies

Cake Mix Cookies

1 pkg cake mix (use any flavor) 2 eggs 1/2 cup veg oil 1/2 pkg chocolate chips (11 oz)
Preheat Oven to 350°. Mix cake mix, eggs and veg oil together, then fold in chocolate chips . Drop onto a greased cookie sheet and cook for 7 to 9 minutes.
I have tried the strawberry, yellow and chocolate cake mixes and turned out well. I added a 1/4... read more