Harvest has begun in Louisiana for one of our most popular crops – the sweet potato. Louisiana farmers produce about 5 million bushels a year. The total value to the Louisiana economy in 2007 was more than $110 million. Louisiana boasts the only sweet potato research station in the country – a 307-acre facility in Chase. The Sweet Potato Research Station will host a field day Aug. 14.

The traditional focus of the Iberia Research Station has been animal husbandry research, but the scope of research has been diversified in recent years to include agronomic crops of economic importance to the area.

Sugarcane has been an integral part of the Louisiana economy and culture for more than 210 years. When the Jesuit priests first brought sugarcane to Louisiana in 1751, little did they know that they were laying the foundation for an industry that now contributes $2 billion to the Louisiana economy. The industry could not be sustained, however, without LSU AgCenter research.

Nearly all of the rice grown in Louisiana was developed at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station in Crowley. The world’s first herbicide-resistant rice, which helps Louisiana producers fight the weeds that historically have plagued their rice, was discovered at the station.

Asian soybean rust, a globe-trotting disease that ravages soybeans, found its way to North America in 2004 and has changed farming in Louisiana ever since.

The aim of the LSU AgCenter’s Master Cattle Producers program is to put quality beef on the table, not just hundredweight on the hoof. The program, a spinoff to the LSU AgCenter’s Master Farmer Program, is designed to help producers improve the efficiency and management of their cattle operations – and make more money.

Whether you like them fried, boiled or in a stew, crawfish are a Louisiana favorite. And for the next six months, crawfish can be found on dinner tables and in backyard boils across the state. For consumers, the news is that crawfish production looks good right now in 2008.

Developments in molecular biology, immunology and genetic engineering have given new dimensions to research on farm animal production. The LSU AgCenter’s Reproductive Biology Center is recognized worldwide as a leader in assisted reproductive technologies for use in livestock improvement, biomedical applications, and propagation of exotic and endangered animal species.