Louisiana Master Farmer Program participants can attend any of a series of field days throughout Louisiana this year to meet one of three requirements to be certified.

Certification as a Master Farmer requires attending an eight-hour environmental class, attending a program field day where conservation-related topics are discussed, and developing and implementing a comprehensive conservation plan on a farm, according to program administrators.

As of January, 115 agricultural producers throughout the state have become certified, and more than 2,600 producers have participated in the program, said Donna Morgan, an LSU AgCenter agent who works with the program.

"In nine years, the Master Farmer program has grown and developed into one of the most widely known and successful environmental stewardship programs in the southern states," said Paul Coreil, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor and director for extension. "Louisiana is the first and only state to offer this type of voluntary producer certification program, and the support is evident in the growing number of producers enrolled in it."

Several agencies and organizations have joined with the Master Farmer Program, including the Louisiana Farm Bureau, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Louisiana Cattlemen's Association and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

Upcoming events that would fulfill the field day requirement include:

– Row crop field day, June 23 at the Jay Hardick farm at Newellton.

– RiceTec field day, June 30 at the Michael Hundley farm at Mowata.

– Vermilion Parish rice tour, July 6 at the Lounsberry farm at Lake Arthur.

– Poultry and cattle field day, July 9 at the Angie and Scott Tyler farm near Dubach.

– Cattle and forage field day, July 20 at the Gary Hollier and Elliott Bizette farm near New Roads.

– Dean Lee Research Station field day, August 5 near Alexandria.

– Bio-fuels field day, Aug. 27 at Archibald.

– Forestry and wildlife field day, Sept. 30 near DeRidder.

– Forest and Grassland Council forage tour, Oct. 6, near Clinton.

For more information, contact Donna Morgan at (318) 613-9278, dsmorgan@agcenter.lsu.edu; James Hendrix at (318) 276-6710, jhendrix@agcenter.lsu.edu; or Ernest Girouard at (337) 852-3986, egirouard@agcenter.lsu.edu. To learn more about the Master Farmer Program, visit the website www.lsuagcenter.com/masterfarmer.

LSU Ag Center, 1010 Lafayette Street,, Lafayette Parish.
More Information: (318) 613-9278;(318) 276-6710;,

The Lafayette Wildcatters need your help in designing next season's Wildcatters' t-shirt.

Do you think you can make a better shirt then we have this year, do you know the type of shirt the fans want, if so submit a t-shirt design to the Wildcatters T-Shirt Design Contest.

Winner will receive a Family 4 Pack of Season tickets for the 2011 season.

Deadline is: November 30, 2010

See below for Rule and Regulation.

Rules and Regulations

1. All t-shirt design should be emailed to caleb@lafayettewildcatters.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (all files should be in jpg, jpeg, mpeg, gif, or bmp format)

2. T-shirt designs should not have any profane language.

3. T-shirt needs to have the Wildcatters team colors in the design.

4. No copyrighted or trademarked material should be used except those of the Lafayette Wildcatters.

5. After the deadline the Wildcatters staff will pick the top four designs and post them to our website and have a Wildcatters Poll for the fans to vote on their favorite.

6. The design with the most votes will win and have their design appear on an official Wildcatters T-shirt that will be sold during every home game.

7. All entrees wave all rights to their design and are then own solely by the Lafayette Wildcatters to use at their discretion when design is emailed to the Wildcatters.

The Cajundome, 444 Cajundome Boulevard, Lafayette Parish.
More Information: 337-265-2100, ,