Rice Field Day Showcases Conservation Techniques Studied In AgCenter Grant Project

GABRIELLE BELLELO

 KAPLAN, LOUISIANA

 Farmers, conservation partners and LSU AgCenter researchers gathered for a field day focused on soil health, nitrogen management and watershed protection in rice‑growing areas of southwest Louisiana.

The event was hosted by rice grower Christian Richard, whose Kaplan farm is one of the AgCenter’s model farms in a project funded by a Patrick F. Taylor Foundation grant. Richard has worked with the AgCenter for years and said the collaboration has been a positive one.

“We have really enjoyed dealing with the LSU AgCenter,” he said. “It has been a good cooperative agreement and arrangement.”

Brenda Tubaña, AgCenter soil fertility specialist and lead scientist on the project, opened the program by explaining how the model farms connect growers and researchers.

“We have a lot of graduate students,” she said. “We are training the future workforce but at the same time we connect with the growers like the Richards through the model farms, where we can gather ideas on the collective impact of multiple conservation practices on the fertility and productivity of the soil.”

She noted that although the grant is ending this year, the project — which includes weather stations, water monitoring equipment and field demonstration sites — will continue supporting conservation work. The grant was awarded in 2019.

“We will continue working with stakeholders, growers and researchers so that we can serve our ag communities,” she said.

The first field stop focused on cover crops in a rice-soybean rotation. Tubaña pointed out the side‑by‑side comparison between best management practices field and standard grower practices field, explaining how cover crops help protect soil during fallow periods.

“Many of you are well aware of the fertility value of the biomass that cover crops produce during the fallow period,” she said. “The protection it provides to the soil surface results in reduction in erosion and runoff.”

She shared an infographic showing how cover crop acreage in Louisiana has grown from about 50,000 acres in 2019 to more than 150,000 acres today. A diagram showed clear differences in nutrient turnover between fields with and without cover crops.

Tubaña said similar improvements have been seen across other model farms, including sugarcane, cotton and grain rotation systems.

Tubaña also discussed how remote sensing tools help estimate nitrogen needs in real time. She explained that sensors can detect crop health and convert that information into nitrogen recommendations.

“As shown in the next stop with Dr. Tri Setiyono, we are using remote sensing technology to collect information that tells us how healthy the rice is and when we have that information, we can instantly convert that into how much nitrogen fertilizer do we need to apply,” she said.

Nitrogen‑rich strips placed early in the season serve as reference points. If the crop is already performing well, mid‑season nitrogen rates can be reduced without hurting yield.

“The sensor-based recommendations were often lesser than the mid‑season application rate that Christian Richard put out, but we did not see a significant reduction in grain yield,” she said. “Sometimes it was even higher.”

Lower fertilizer use can translate into savings for growers, especially in years when nitrogen prices are high.

At the next stop, Setiyono, AgCenter precision agriculture specialist, demonstrated a fixed‑wing drone equipped with a multispectral sensor. The drone adjusts for ambient light conditions as it collects data, allowing for more consistent results.

“For this drone, you can put different sensors on it,” Setiyono said. “For example, this one we are using right now is the multispectral sensor that allows a light sensor to be put on the top of the drone.”

He explained how NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) helps determine crop health. Drones also make it easier to collect data in wet or hard‑to‑reach areas.

Donna Gentry, coordinator of the Louisiana Master Farmer Program, led a rainfall simulator demonstration to show how soil cover affects runoff.

“We have all seen that runoff in the ditches where the water is brown, and that is a lot of topsoil, organic matter and nutrients that are lost in that runoff,” Gentry said. “It is a pretty simplistic visualization, but I think it does a really good job of showing what the purpose of these best management practices are doing.”

One tray represented an area with minimal soil cover while the other featured living plants with active root systems. The demonstration showed how cover crops help reduce erosion and protect water quality.

James Hendrix, conservation agronomist at the AgCenter Northeast Research Station, followed with a discussion on updated cover crop seeding recommendations and residue management.

“The biggest thing in northeast Louisiana right now is weed control,” Hendrix said. “I can control 90% of it using cover crops with a good management system.”

He emphasized the importance of protecting groundwater and managing farmland in ways that support long term sustainability.

Mitzi Dohrman, of the Bayou Queue de Tortue 319 Program, described ongoing watershed improvement efforts in Vermilion Parish.

“We have been able to work with 15 different producers to implement best management practices in that area,” Dohrman said. She noted that the program is a partnership among multiple agencies and continues to accept producer and landowner applications.

Kody Meaux, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, shared cost‑share opportunities available to farmers and landowners.

“What we are after is to help people make investments in their operation and the local communities and to keep working lands and working hands,” Meaux said. “Preserving and protecting our land is priority No. 1.”

Raghav Goyal, LSU AgCenter economist, provided an economic overview of conservation tools and how they fit into farm decision‑making.

Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain closed the program by recognizing the state’s rice industry.

“We are one of the largest rice producers in the United States,” Strain said. “We grow a highly superior quality rice, and that has to do with our farmers. It has to do with our researchers. It has to do with Extension.”

For more information, visit www.LSUAgCenter.com/taylorgrant.   ∆

GABRIELLE BELLELO

LSU AGCENTER