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INTRODUCTION

The state of Louisiana is a resource-rich region located in the southern U.S. on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a major source of U.S. petroleum and refined petroleum products, natural gas, petrochemicals, forest-products, agricultural crops, salt, sulphur and seafood. Louisiana is strategically located astride the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its location makes it the natural gateway into the heavily industrialized Mississippi River Valley, and it is also the logical point of export for much of the goods and produce of the American Midwest.

Historically, Louisiana’s economy has revolved around its wealth of natural resources, including oil and gas, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Our economy has been marked by periods of growth and decline largely tied to the price of oil and gas.

Louisiana has a population of 4.2 million (1990), making it the 21st most populous state in America. It ranks 31st in land area with 113,271 square kilometers of rich farm lands, rolling hills, dense forests, open prairies and the most extensive coastal marshlands in America.

Among Louisiana's best-known attractions are its Jazz music--invented and first played here--and its Cajun and Creole cuisines. Other Louisiana tourist attractions include outstanding hunting and freshwater and deepwater fishing, thousands of miles of rivers and bayous and hundreds of lakes for boating, water skiing and sailing; camping, hiking and canoeing and several dozen plantation homes, and historical sites. The state's largest city, New Orleans, is considered one of the most interesting in America and annually hosts more than six million visitors. Elsewhere in the state, more than a hundred festivals are held each year to celebrate crop harvests and forestry, the blessing of the fishing fleets and dozens of foods and ethnic groups.

Louisiana's five deepwater ports handle more than 457 million tons of U.S. waterborne commerce a year, including nearly half of all American grain exports. Four of the eleven largest U.S. ports (in foreign commerce tonnage) are located in Louisiana. In addition to grain, other cargo includes chemicals and coal. Some 100 steamship lines and barge companies serve the more than 4,500 seagoing vessels and 100,000 barges that ply the state's waterways each year. Trade is conducted with 191 countries around the world.

Louisiana is the second largest refiner of petroleum in the U.S. Nineteen refineries--including one of the largest and most diversified in the world--produce lubricants and fuels, including 16.9 billion gallons (64 billion liters) of gasoline a year. Louisiana's petrochemical industry manufactures one-quarter of America's petrochemicals, including basic chemicals, plastics and fertilizers. Annual production by the nearly 100 petrochemical facilities operating in the state is valued at more than $19.6 billion.

Louisiana's natural resources include 11 percent of U.S. petroleum reserves and 19 percent of the country's reserves of natural gas. It also is the largest producer of salt in America and a major producer of sulphur, lime and silica sands. The total value of all mineral production in the state is the second highest in the U.S.

Louisiana has 13.8 million acres of hardwood and softwood forests that support a large pulp and paper industry and the production of pine plywood and lumber for construction. The state is also a major manufacturer of linerboard, Kraft paper and fine papers. Louisiana's mild climate and abundant rainfall give it one of the fastest tree-growing cycles in North America.

Louisiana's general manufacturing sector includes maritime, military, barge and recreational vessel shipbuilding, light truck assembly, aerospace and aviation facilities, automobile equipment manufacturing, food processing and apparel manufacturing.

Louisiana's fishing industry is the second largest in America, accounting for 26 percent of all seafood landed in the country. Only Alaska's fishery is larger. The catch includes oysters, crab, shrimp, menhaden, redfish, shark and butterfish. Crawfish and catfish are harvested from specially-developed freshwater "farms". The state's sports fishing on both inland and deep-sea waters is considered some of the best and most prolific in the U.S.

Agriculture in Louisiana:

The impact of agriculture on the state of Louisiana is described at the Agricultural web site http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/wwwac/agsum/sum. Excerpts from the text for the current posting follow. There is detailed information on the number of producers and total acreage dedicated to different commodities provided at the web site. Only the summary information is provided for this document.

Louisiana is among the ten largest producers in the U.S. of cotton, sugar cane, yams, rice and pecans. It also raises important quantities of soybeans, beef cattle, maize, strawberries and truck crops. In 1999, Louisiana farmers, foresters, fishermen and ranchers produced more than $3.8 billion in agricultural commodities at the farm gate price. When those products were processed, the value added brought in another $4.9 billion, for a total contribution of $8.7 billion. These values do not include the government payments.

Agriculture in Louisiana is a big business and, in spite of depressed prices, it continues to be a major contributor to the state’s economy. Many areas of the state are highly dependent on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and wildlife for their livelihood. The heart of agronomic agriculture is found in northeastern and southwestern Louisiana. The forestry production is mostly in the hill parishes, and the fisheries production takes place mostly along the coast, although the aquaculture production of catfish is located mainly in the Delta.

Agriculture is more than a business to those who work in it day to day. It is truly a way of life. Families have lived on many of these farms for many generations, and farming is a way of life they prefer even though it means hard work, long hours and sometimes low incomes.

As in any other industry, agriculture has its highs and lows. During the 1999 season, commodity prices were considerably lower than they have been at any time during the past decade. Although weather was a factor in reducing some yields, in general yields were adequate, but commodity prices were dramatically lower. Consequently, the overall value of the farm products was lower than in the past.

Agriculture is an essential element of mankind. Without the high productivity of agriculture, the six billion people in the world would not have enough food. Even with modern technology, many do not receive enough food to maintain their existence. It is estimated that almost one-third of the world’s population still does not receive an adequate food supply.  Agriculture continues to be highly sophisticated segment of the national and world economy and becomes increasingly more sophisticated each year. That is the reason the LSU Agricultural Center must continue to support agriculture with all of the information that is available from researchers in the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, USDA and other land-grant institutions as well as research generated by private industries.

The statistical information in the 1999 summary of commodity values was compiled from estimates made by agents of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service after consulting with agricultural agency representatives, agricultural and agribusiness leaders and others and after study of various reports and resource materials.  Although this material is reasonably accurate and can be used for planning and other general information purposes, this is not the official document of agricultural data for the state. 

A gross value has been computed for each commodity, which in some cases includes a value from natural resources and, consequently, does not represent income to farmers. The gross value is an indicator of the commodity’s contribution to economic activity, but is not a indicator of farm profits. Production costs cut heavily into profit for many commodities. Even where there might have been an increase in gross income over previous years, there might have been a corresponding increase in the cost of production.

In the state summaries, the value added in marketing, processing and transportation is estimated in order to indicate the total contribution of agriculture and natural resources to the state’s economy. The state summary is not an exact summation of all parish reports. Some adjustments have been made, considering changes in average prices received, reports from statewide agricultural agencies and organizations and information from other sources.

Louisiana State Agricultural & Mechanical College was established by an act of the legislature, approved April 7, 1874, to carry out the United States Morrill Act of 1862, granting lands for this purpose. It temporarily opened in New Orleans, June 1, 1874, where it remained until it merged with Louisiana State University in 1877.  Since 1860, LSU has served the people of Louisiana, the region, the nation, and the world through extensive, multipurpose programs encompassing instruction, research, and public service.

Located on more than 2,000 acres in the southern part of Baton Rouge, LSU is bordered on the west by the Mississippi river. The University's more than 250 principal buildings are grouped on a 650-acre plateau that constitutes the main part of the campus.

The University has as its primary mission excellence in the areas of instruction, research, and public service. LSU has been designated by the Louisiana Board of Regents as the state's only comprehensive university. This comprehensiveness is recognized nationally by LSU's classification as a Research University I (in the Carnegie Commission taxonomy) and by its unusual status as one of only 25 universities in the country designated as both a land-grant and sea-grant institution.

More than 200 joint faculty appointments, funding, and research opportunities are provided by the LSU Agricultural Center. In addition to the degree programs offered on its own campus, LSU maintains resident centers at System campuses in Alexandria and Eunice.

LSU's Middleton Library ranks 43rd in the nation with 2.2 million volumes, 2.3 million microforms, more than 5 million manuscripts, and an annual expenditure of more than $8 million. It is the only research library in the state. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College is accredited by the commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's master's, doctoral, and professional degrees.

The mission of LSU is the generation, preservation, dissemination, and application of knowledge and cultivation of the arts for the benefit of the people of the state, the nation, and the global community.

Research at LSU is conducted by faculty in academic departments and through institutes, offices, centers for advanced studies, and other special units. At any given time, more than 2,000 sponsored research projects are under way at the University. In addition, faculty members pursue numerous research projects that are not sponsored by outside agencies, as do many graduate students. Other research and instructional programs are undertaken through the LSU Agricultural Center's Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station.

LSU conducts two semesters, a summer term consisting of one or more sessions, and a three-week intersession each year, offering a great number and variety of courses of study. Curricula leading to bachelor's degrees are offered in 71 major fields, master's degrees are offered in 75 major fields, and doctoral degrees are offered in 54 major fields. The D.V.M. is offered by the School of Veterinary Medicine, and the J.D., LL.M., and M.C.L. degrees are offered by the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, a unit of the LSU System located in Baton Rouge.

Enrollment peaks in the fall semester at more than 31,000 students and drops by about 8 percent in the spring. Summer term enrollment totals about 11,500.

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.

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 Extension Service is responsible for statewide off-campus, informal teaching of agricultural and natural resource technology and management techniques, as well as other off-campus programs focused on home economics, youth development, overall improvement of the state's economy and efficient use of community and personal resources. In short, 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 International Programs office assists in the development and implementation of agricultural research and educational programs through institutional and human resource development and the exchange of information with other nations.

The semitropical environment of Louisiana provides entomologists with a wealth of arthropod-related questions to address. The LSU Ag Center has faculty located in Baton Rouge in the Department of Entomology, the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service as well as 3 Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station research stations (Northeast, Red River, and Pecan) in other parts of the state. There also are USDA research scientists (most with adjunct faculty status in the Entomology Department) with entomology projects at four USDA, ARS laboratories in Louisiana. The combined efforts of all of the above personnel allow us to address the entomological problems of the citizens of Louisiana on a broad front. Problem solving for the citizens of Louisiana also benefits the citizens of other states and countries, particularly those in tropical and semitropical environments.