AgCenter Hosts FFA Members For Soil Health Field Tour
GABRIELLE BELLELO
ST. JOSEPH, LOUISIANA
The LSU AgCenter recently welcomed approximately 70 students from five high schools across the state and Louisiana Tech University for a FFA field tour at the Northeast Research Station, where the participants enjoyed cool fall weather as they learned about research aimed at helping farmers become better stewards of the land.
Supported by a grant from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, the Oct. 16 event focused on best management practices on farms and soil health. These two topics are key elements of research that AgCenter scientists are performing through the grant.
Dennis Burns, an AgCenter agent and research coordinator at the station, opened the event with a welcome speech. Melissa Cater, associate director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service and director of the AgCenter Northeast Region, encouraged students to consider careers in agriculture as they prepare for the future.
James Hendrix, an AgCenter agent, and Donna Gentry, coordinator of the Louisiana Master Farmer Program, were co-organizers of this event and are a vital part of Taylor grant projects.
Hendrix discussed the importance of warm- and cool-season cover crops in soil health while Gentry outlined the benefits of the Louisiana Master Farmer Program.
Everyone gathered around as AgCenter engineer Randy Price demonstrated a drone that can be used to spray fields. Drones have an advantage over bulkier machinery by being able to navigate smaller areas. One of the drones Price showed can hold up to 18 gallons of liquid and fly for about 10 minutes.
“Drones are continuously getting bigger and better as technology advances,” Price said. “Some regions with smaller field sizes like parts of Brazil only use drones for spraying their crops.”
Price sent 10 students into a field to place target markers in random spots. Then, the audience watched as the drone flew to each spot.
Rachel Stout, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, showed erosion differences in various field management systems with a rainfall simulator.
“The more land manipulation, the more soil erosion and loss are likely to occur,” Stout explained. “The bottom line is to save soil, save fertilizer and save money.”
Steve Nipper, also with the NRCS, guided students through a pit in the field to show how deep plant roots can grow into the soil profile. He told them about the importance of water penetration and the detrimental effects of soil compaction.
"Think about the soil we are looking at here like stacked paper plates,” he said. “When rainfall hits, the water slides off, leading to runoff.”
Nipper explained that compaction happens when soil becomes too tightly packed for plant roots to penetrate, a situation that worsens with conventional plowing and tillage. Adopting a low- or no-till system with cover crops can help reduce these problems.
Visiting scholars Leonardo Rezende and Maria Salvador Santos, who have spent the past few months at the Northeast Research Station, talked about soil respiration and showed how to use water infiltration rings, a tool that shows how much and how long water may be able to infiltrate a given area after rainfall.
“When soil takes too long to infiltrate, that might mean there is compaction present,” Rezende said.
The scholars then demonstrated how to collect soil samples using field tools and encouraged the students to try it themselves.
AgCenter agents Kylie Miller and Bruce Garner discussed soil moisture sensors, which help farmers irrigate more efficiently and save money.
Brenda Tubaña, AgCenter soil scientist, and some of her graduate students gave a presentation on how Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) technology and drones can be used in nitrogen management.
NDVI uses light reflection and absorption to measure vegetation health and density. Among the many things NDVI can examine, a major one is nitrogen deficiency. Tubaña said nitrogen is an essential nutrient for growing almost all the foods people eat, and it is also one of the costliest inputs for crop production.
“If a nitrogen deficiency is detected early, there is more time to correct the nutrient imbalance and prevent yield reduction,” Tubaña said.
Donnie Miller, AgCenter weed scientist, and Ashley Barfield, AgCenter research associate, discussed weed identification and control. Miller started by asking the audience, "What is a weed?" The answer surprised some: A weed is any plant that grows in an unwanted location.
“The biggest issue facing herbicide usage today is crop resistance, and there will be even more pesticide resistance going forward,” Miller said. He emphasized that avoiding pesticide use entirely is impractical and that proper pesticide usage is crucial.
Shelly Kerns, AgCenter corn and cotton specialist, and Theresa Arnold, AgCenter research associate, talked about the importance of identifying the various insects or pests that may be present in a field or on a certain crop. Kerns demonstrated how to use a sweep net in the field to catch insects before giving the students nets to try and having them analyze what they caught.
Students then heard from Nate Jennings and Tyler Garza, two AgCenter agents, about careers with the AgCenter.
Tiffany Hendrix and Rachel Lee, both with the USDA, spoke about career opportunities with their agency.
Breck Vincent, FFA state vice president, and Owen Kelly, FFA area president, shared insights into the FFA program.
Events like these are how the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation grant team spreads awareness of soil health practices that can aid new and seasoned farmers alike. It is vital for the new generation of farmers and agriculture workers to learn about the latest developments in sustainable and environmentally responsible farming practices for soil health. ∆
GABRIELLE BELLELO: LSU AgCenter