Serving People Through Research and Education
Read more about the variety and impact of LSU AgCenter programs in AgCenter Leads.
The value of agricultural research and extension to U.S. economic development and to the well-being of the American people has been recognized since the founding of this country. George Washington was the first to make a formal proposal for establishing a federal agency devoted to agriculture.
Based on these ideals, Congress established a national system of land-grant universities, in which the LSU Agricultural Center plays a part. The land-grant universities grew from the Morrill Act of 1862 in which Congress donated public lands to support colleges that would stress agriculture and mechanical arts as well as the traditional scientific and classical studies.
In 1887, the Hatch Act addressed the need to strengthen research programs to support the agricultural colleges and the agricultural community. This act provided funds for the establishment of a system of experiment stations at the land-grant colleges.
Then, Congress addressed the need to teach results of experiment station research when the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 created the Cooperative Extension Service.
In 1971, a special committee of the LSU Board of Supervisors conducted a comprehensive management study of the LSU System and recommended its agricultural activities have an identity separate from any one of the existing campuses. As a result, in August 1972, the LSU Board of Supervisors established the Center for Agricultural Sciences and Rural Development. Ten years later, the board changed the name to the LSU Agricultural Center.
Mission
The Louisiana Board of Regents' Master Plan for Higher Education calls for the LSU Agricultural Center to play an integral role in supporting agricultural industries, sustaining rural areas and encouraging efficient use of resources through research and educational programs conducted by its experiment station and extension service.
Under that plan, the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station is responsible for research in agriculture and resource development, forestry, wildlife and fisheries, home economics, food science and related areas. It seeks to enhance the quality of life for people through basic and applied research that identifies and develops the best use of natural resources, conserves and protects the environment, permits further development of new and existing agricultural and related enterprises, and develops human and community resources in rural and urban areas.
The Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service is responsible for statewide, off-campus, informal teaching of agricultural and natural resource technology and management techniques as well as other programs focused on family and consumer sciences, youth development, overall improvement of the state's economy and efficient use of community and personal resources. The Extension Service helps the people of Louisiana - both rural and urban - improve their lives through an educational process that uses research-based knowledge focused on issues and needs.
The LSU AgCenter carries out the land-grant mission of the LSU System through research and extension programs. In addition to the research stations and parish extension offices, the LSU AgCenter is an integral part of 13 academic departments within LSU’s College of Agriculture. LSU AgCenter faculty conduct the majority of the research in these departments, guide the work of graduate students and do some of the classroom teaching. Departments include faculty will full-time extension appointments or joint appointments with research and teaching.
Address
LSU Agricultural Center
101 Efferson Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 25203
Baton Rouge, LA 70894
Telephone: (225) 578-4161
Fax: (225) 578-4143