Tuesday, November 19, Donny Moon from the LSU AgCenter spoke to Kiwanis. He has been in Winn Parish for 32 years and said he may be getting close to the end of his job here. He said he has the “Papa Bear Syndrome” in that he is very protective of all the kids when they go to their various projects and contests.
The LSU AgCenter has a great set of leaders and volunteers. Enrollment in 4-H across the parish accounts for 40% of our school system’s populations. There are 4-H clubs in every school including Magnolia Bend.
There was a good Parish Fair this year and they just finished up with the State Fair. During this year’s fair they held an Ag Awareness that involved the Forest Service and the FFA. It got kids involved from neighboring parishes, Grant and Jackson. They are getting ready to put up a rabbit shed at the fairgrounds. There was an increase in the number of livestock showed. Jackson and Grant parish had exhibitors in the fair. They want to add new classes to the fair for next year.
Three students from Calvin and one from Winnfield are going to a National Forestry competition in Weston, West Virginia, because they won at the state level. The contest is in the summer.
At the request of Dr. Gaddis, Moon talked about problems people have with their yards, lawns, flowers, and more. The main thing that Moon encourages people to do is take a soil sample. The pH for Winn Parish soil is usually around 5.7 which is an acidic soil. If you do not lime and fertilize, you will not get the growth you want. St. Augustine grass is a needy grass and Centipede grass grows well. MSM turf, Atrazine and a surfactant are good products for your lawn, he said.
He mentioned 2 kinds of ants – fire ants and town ants. In Texas they are working on something to use to get rid of feral hogs. Two plants that are mistreated are roses and crepe myrtles. Most people prune them incorrectly just chopping them all off to the same height. Moon calls this “crepe murder.” In crepe myrtles this kind of treatment leads to a powdery mildew. You should just thin out roses and crepe myrtles.
Donnie Moon said he is here for the people. Just call him and he will come and help you. He really appreciates the support that he and the LSU AgCenter receive from the community.