Louisiana Community Forests

05/30/2026

Grant alert for the Agro-forestry enthusiasts!

🚨 $1.625 billion is available to specialty crop farmers through USDA's Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers program. These payments provide financial support to allow producers to pay for production and marketing inputs in the face of significant market disruptions and elevated input costs during the 2025 growing season. The deadline to apply is Aug. 7, 2026.

On June 1, producers with a http://Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application at fsa.usda.gov/ascf, and beginning June 8, producers can request their pre-filled application from their USDA Farm Service Agency county office. Payments will be issued as applications are submitted and approved, beginning as early as the first week of signup.

🔗 https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/05/29/usda-announces-enrollment-period-and-payment-rates-specialty-crop-farmers

05/26/2026

Don’t let a good investment go to waste!

Trees are one of the best ways to invest in your community for your community! For every $1 invested, $2-5 is returned to the region through Eco-Benefits, improved property values, and safer neighborhoods!

Sadly, many of these initial investments don’t pay off because of poor planting and maintenance practices - by both home gardeners and landscape professionals alike.

These magnolias, for instance, could have been major assets to this sidewalk and its surrounding homes and businesses, but unfortunately they were planted too deeply. Instead of thriving, they will continue to slowly decline over the next several years. The addition of “Volcano Mulching” has further added insult to injury. Losses such as this can diminish trust and limit planting opportunities in the future.

Some quick tips to not let your investments go to waste:
-When removing your tree from its container, cut major roots circling or “girdling” the rootball
-Expose the “trunk flare” / tops of roots as they enter the soil
-Plant 2-4” above the grade of the surrounding soil
-Dig a shallow hole that’s 2-3x the width of the rootball
-MULCH (in a donut shape), MONITOR, WATER, repeat
-Remove/readjust stakes 9-12 months post planting

Please share our planting guide with your friends, neighbors, and even your contractors BEFORE work has begun. If you spend extra time during planting and monitoring in the first 1-3 years your investment can really pay off both for you AND your community!

05/26/2026

When planting/investing in trees, don't forget that healthy trees need healthy soils - organic compounds like compost, biochar, or maintained mulch can be easy steps to create a successful planting

05/26/2026

Trees are vital infrastructure to healthy cities!

What happens if you cut down all of a city's trees? - Stefan Al

Explore what makes trees a vital part of cities, and how urban spaces throughout history have embraced the importance of trees.

By 2050, it’s estimated that over 65% of the world will be living in cities. We may think of nature as being unconnected to our urban spaces, but trees have always been an essential part of successful cities. Humanity has been uncovering these arboreal benefits since the creation of our first cities thousands of years ago. So what makes trees so important to a city’s survival? Stefan Al explains.

https://youtu.be/zarll9bx6FI?si=Ye4g2onctAhjzdrs

05/22/2026

We hope all Louisiana (Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry) Arborists, Horticulturists, and home gardeners alike will take advantage of this FREE opportunity to better understand pruning!

🌳 Want to keep your trees healthy, safe, and looking their best?
Join us on May 28, 2026, from 2–3 p.m. for an informative webinar on essential tree pruning techniques!

Register here: https://auburn.zoom.us/meeting/register/kfU6WeMZRfqtcOwjPnNCbA

Learn:
✔️ When and how to prune different tree species
✔️ Proper tool selection and safety practices
✔️ Common pruning mistakes to avoid
✔️ How pruning supports long-term tree health and sustainability

Through practical demonstrations and expert guidance, you’ll gain valuable knowledge to help maintain trees in residential and commercial landscapes alike. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow your tree care skills! 🌿

05/21/2026

Ornamental Horticulture Field Day for the nursery, landscape and garden center industries. Thursday June 18th. LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station. See this flyer for additional information.

05/21/2026

A tree is basically a living pipeline wrapped in armor.

This diagram shows the layers inside a trunk—outer bark for protection, phloem for moving nutrients, cambium for growth, and xylem carrying water upward from the roots. Every ring and layer has a job, and understanding them helps explain why some wood is stronger, wetter, or more resistant than others.

Good loggers don’t just cut trees—they understand how trees work from the inside out.

05/21/2026

: the ecosystem beneath our feet
Soil found in native habitats is a complex ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, earthworms, ants, salamanders, toads, insect larvae, moles, and more, all living in a substrate of minerals and humus. The minerals are a mixture of rocks, sand, silt, and/or clay. The humus or organic matter consists of fully or partially digested plant and animal parts. As humus is broken down into simple compounds, it provides a living for the decomposers, and eventually yields nutrients for plants.
Read, "Soil: We Need to Stop Treating it Like Dirt" https://greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2026/05/soil-we-need-to-stop-treating-it-like.html