2025-26 MSA--Program Assistant

Commodities

Practices

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, feed/forage, genetics, grazing management, grazing - multispecies, grazing - rotational, meat processing facilities, pasture renovation, pasture fertility, preventive practices, range improvement, rangeland/pasture management, watering systems
• Crop Production: agroforestry, biological inoculants, conservation tillage, cover crops, crop improvement and selection, cropping systems, crop rotation, drainage systems, drought tolerance, fertilizers, foliar feeding, food processing facilities/community kitchens, food product quality/safety, forest/woodlot management, greenhouses, high tunnels or hoop houses, irrigation, no-till, nutrient management, organic fertilizers, plant breeding and genetics, pollination, postharvest treatment, row covers (for season extension), season extension, seed saving, water management, water storage
• Education and Training: decision support system, extension, farmer to farmer, mentoring, networking, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance, workshop
• Energy: byproduct utilization, energy conservation/efficiency, renewable energy, solar energy
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, agritourism, apprentice/intern training, budgets/cost and returns, business planning, community-supported agriculture, e-commerce, farm-to-institution, farm-to-restaurant, farmers' markets/farm stands, farm succession, financial management, grant making, labor/employment, land access, market study, marketing management, new enterprise development, risk management, value added, whole farm planning
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, drift/runoff buffers, habitat enhancement, riverbank protection, soil stabilization, wetlands, wildlife
• Pest Management: allelopathy, biological control, botanical pesticides, cultivation, cultural control, disease vectors, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, mulches - general, prevention, row covers (for pests), soil solarization, trap crops
• Production Systems: hydroponics, integrated crop and livestock systems, organic agriculture, organic certification, transitioning to organic
• Soil Management: composting, organic matter, soil analysis, soil chemistry, soil microbiology, soil physics, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, community development, employment opportunities, ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, food access and security, infrastructure analysis, leadership development, local and regional food systems, new business opportunities, partnerships

The Louisiana State University AgCenter (LSUAC) in collaboration with the Southern University Agricultural Land-Grant Campus (SUAREC) will implement programs that enhance the capabilities of Louisiana's agricultural professionals in the area of sustainable agriculture. Themes for 2025-2026 include: beginning and advanced organic farming, fall garden workshop (XXXXXXYYYYZZZZ), spring garden workshop (XXXXXXXYYYYYYZZZZZ), as well as regional sustainable agriculture related conferences and workshops. The target audience for trainings will be extension, non-profit representative, and mentor farmers who will share information and skills gained with local audiences. LSUAC and SUAREC extension personnel will be strongly encouraged to attend the training sessions. Information delivery systems to be utilized include virtual trainings, workshops, conferences, networking sessions, farm tours, field days, hands-on demonstrations, handouts, resource manuals, SARE publications and informational bulletins. The Louisiana Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board will meet twice annually for programmatic planning and evaluation. The program assistant (half-time), funded by this project, will be responsible for maintaining the state SARE website (http://www.southernsare.org/SARE-in-Your-State/Louisiana) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LouisianaSARE/) and a quarterly sustainable agriculture newsletter. The other duties for this position include coordination of state workshops and field days, travel awards and arrangements, promotion of SARE resources and grant opportunities, promotion of related sustainable agriculture resources, events, and opportunities across the state, management and reporting of the PDP organization of advisory board, and collaboration with advisory board members' programs when applicable. 

Outreach Objectives:

• Conduct workshops on sustainable agriculture for extension and agriculture professionals.

• Maintain the state SARE website with sustainable agriculture materials and resources, and links to related state organizations.

• Conduct bi-annual state advisory board meetings with the purpose of revising and modifying the strategic plan. 

• Identify annual training objectives with the input from the Louisiana Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board. 

• Encourage extension and agricultural professionals to continue to attend sustainable agriculture meetings such as the Georgia Organics Annual Conference. 

• Continue participation in workshops, meetings, and field days that highlight sustainable agriculture practices.  

• Promote the SARE program results, resources, and grant opportunities in Louisiana. 

The MSP for Louisiana will allow for enhanced programming effort beyond the state plans of work for the separate institutions (SUAREC, LSUAC). The MSP has allowed for an increased number of training sessions per year. The MSP has allowed the Louisiana SARE PDP to have greater resources available for training activities, using the Southern SARE Louisiana webpage for sustainable agriculture resources, as well as increased coordination and networking. The hiring of a program assistant through the SARE PDP allowed for a unified sustainable agriculture programming effort for the state.  

The Louisiana Sustainable Agriculture Advisory Board meets biannually and reviews the past year's activities and strategic plan as well as the next year's activities and plan. The 2025-2026 strategic plan and cycle is proposed to focus on themes different than the previous year. The successive years build upon the past workshops and trainings and the needs of the Louisiana SARE PDP stakeholders and feedback from the participants.  

Proposed Trainings:

• Travel to SOWTH Conference 2026
• Advanced Organic Farming Fall 2025--collaborative event with Grow Louisiana Beginning Farmer Training Program.
• Beginning Organic Farming Spring 2026--collaborative event with Grow Louisiana Beginning Farmer Training Program.