3rd Quarterly Highlight July - September 2023

Family & Consumer Sciences

4-H Youth Development

The summer was a busy one for West Feliciana 4-H. At the end of May, thirty-two youth, three adults and four junior counselors attended Camp Grant Walker. The youth had so much fun that week making new friends, learning new things, and enjoying the new experiences that camp has to offer. In June, nine 8th through 12th graders attended 4-H University at LSU’s campus where they competed in competitions such as Sports Broadcasting, Next 4-H Food Star, Zero Turn Mower, and Fashion. Valarie Patin placed 5th in Fashion and Elaina Singleton and Caden Gates placed 6th in Next 4-H Food Star. Also, during 4-H University two 4-H’ers participated in Clover College where they learned about majors offered at LSU and different career paths. Emma Bush and Valerie Patin were selected to the State 4-H Wetland Ambassador Board.

June rounded out with the Southeast District Horse Show where six exhibitors showed eight horses. All our 4-H’ers competed at the State Horse Show which was held at Lamar Dixon from July 11-15th and did very well! Those 4-H’ers competing at state qualified for Southern Regionals in Perry, GA. West Feliciana Parish 4-H also had youth attend Marsh Maneuvers, the Wetlands Camp conducted by the state office. After a busy summer, West Feliciana 4-H began its new year.

August and September brought the start of school and the start of our 4-H Club and Project Club Meetings. We are excited to offer eight project clubs- Junior Leaders, Horse Club, Mission Nutrition (Cooking Club), Shooting Sports – Archery and Shotgun, Rabbit Club, Sewing Club and Livestock Club. This year, our 4-H’ers will be participating in two lesson studies- Lego Robotics and Art/Artists during the club meetings. 4-H’ers are currently selling sweet potatoes and pecans for our commodity sale. The 4-H’ers are looking forward to our fall events including a Wetlands Day, Officer Training, Pumpkin Workshops, and our Fall Culinary Arts Contest. Fall is sure to be a great time for our 4-H’ers.

Horticulture/Ag & Natural Resources

The extreme drought and heat have taken a toll on the plants in West Feliciana Parish. Yields are down in row crops and landscape plants can be seen struggling across the parish. We have received numerous phone calls about plants over the last three months.

In July, 28 people attended a Blueberry Pruning Demonstration held at the Idlewild Research Station.

The St. Francisville Farmers Market was awarded an LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities Grant to purchase new signage for the market. Our FCS Agent spearheaded these efforts, and the new signs and flags should be visible soon. Our Horticulture Agent is researching and meeting with local food specialists about getting the Farmers Market set up to accept SNAP dollars. This is still a work in progress.

The Feliciana Master Gardeners are busy supporting school gardens by growing vegetable transplants, purchasing soil, fertilizer, and seeds for two school gardens in West Feliciana Parish. Our Horticulture Agent collaborated with our 4-H Agent, FCS Agent, and the Master Gardeners to host a School Gardens Teacher Training in September. The Master Gardeners also met with the West Feliciana Parish Library to discuss sprucing up one of their garden areas.

A pasture walk was hosted by the Louisiana Grazing Land Conservation Initiative and Southern University at the Barthe Cattle Farm on July 25th. Over 60 livestock producers from surrounding parishes attended the event where they heard information on water systems, summer grazing, rotational grazing, and improving soil health.

Fall is a great time to soil sample pastures and apply phosphorus, potash, or lime (if needed). The LSU AgCenter and USDA NRCS recommend soil sampling every three years, or with major changes in production. Soil sample boxes with bags, instructions, and sampling information are available at the LSU AgCenter Extension Service office in St. Francisville. If you need assistance with sampling or have questions regarding analysis, please call our office at your convenience and we will be glad to help!

Upcoming ANR Educational Events:

October 21 – Acadiana Cattle Producers Fall Field Day, Iberia Research Station, Jeanerette, LA from 8:30am-1:00pm

More information about livestock activities and resources can be found at the LSU AgCenter website https://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/livestock/beef_cattle or https://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/our_offices/parishes/west%20feliciana/features/agriculture/livestock for information from West Feliciana Parish.

At the end of June, our Family & Consumer Sciences Agent (FCS) worked with the AgCenter Communication and State FCS Team to film two cooking videos for our Build a Healthy Meal Series. Check out this Lower-Sodium Ramen Stir Fry with Cucumber Salad Recipes. https://youtu.be/g0NbS0hbVZ0

This summer, the FCS Agent worked with the West Feliciana Parish Parks & Rec Summer Camp. She conducted four nutrition sessions for 6-11 year olds on Fight BAC(teria)! Understanding the Nutrition Facts Label, Grains Food Group, and Rethink Your Drink. During the Fight BAC! Session, youth practiced washing their hands and used a special blacklight to “see” pretend germs. They also learned about keeping food safe to eat. The FCS Agent introduced the campers to the nutrition facts label during the second nutrition session. They used a nutrition label from a pack of chocolate sandwich cookies and worked together to answer questions such as serving size, calories, fat, sugars, etc. The FCS Agent spoke about whole gains and refined grains and why they should make half their grains whole grains during the third session. To demonstrate fiber and how fiber helps us, two teams of campers were asked to feed a plastic “intestine” tube. This fiber relay demonstrated the value of fiber and the role it plays. For the Rethink Your Drink session, the campers worked together reading labels to rank beverages from worst beverage option to best beverage option. The FCS Agent challenged the campers to make good beverage decisions that are healthy choices like water, milk, and 100% juice. After each session, youth prepared and sampled different recipes highlighting the topic covered in the sessions. She also provided resources for the families on the topics covered at the camp.

In August, the FCS Agent conducted Stay Independent for adults age 60+.Stay Independent provides older adults with research-based nutrition and wellness information to help them reduce their nutritional risk and sarcopenia risk. Topics covered include: Three Meals a Day, Feast on Fruits & Vegetables, Power Up with Protein, Cooking for One or Two, Brain Health, and Exercise You Independence.

The FCS Agent is currently conducting Dining with Diabetes. This five-week series is a program that helps adults at risk or with Type 2 diabetes learn how to manage their condition through meal planning, label reading and portion control. Participants receive tools to help successfully manage their condition and are given the opportunity to sample tasty, healthful diabetic-friendly dishes.

Also in September, the FCS Agent began the Mission Nutrition Club (formerly known as the 4-H Cooking Club). She is serving as the Project Club Leader for the 4-H Program. This year, the 4-H Office will showcase the Louisiana Harvest of the Month by highlighting one Louisiana agricultural product. The 4-H Mission Nutrition Club will offer taste tests to 4-H’ers and provide educational activities that promote healthy eating. Our hopes are that the 4-H’ers increase their consumption and enjoyment of local agricultural products in Louisiana by not only learning about the product but also preparing and tasting new foods.During the September Meeting, the 4-H’ers learned about cucumbers and made and sampled two cucumber recipes.

Our office is excited to report that the FCS Agent collaborated with the West Feliciana Parish Library and applied for a healthy communities grant through the LSU AgCenter. We were awarded the grant with the grant going to fund the Library of Things with a health expansion and create a Seed Library. We are currently in the process of purchasing items such as a pasta maker, outdoor games like tennis rackets and croquet sets, ravioli maker, food scale, tool kit, sensory games, blood pressure monitors, etc. for the residents of West Feliciana to check out.

11/27/2023 3:25:35 PM
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