(01/15/25) BATON ROUGE, La. — At a luncheon Jan. 9, one farmer was awarded a new Master Farmer certification and five others were recertified as Master Farmers during the 2025 meeting of the Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts.

The Outstanding Master Farmer Award also was presented to Wesley and Kevin Volentine, of Volentine Partnership Farm in Caddo Parish.

To receive the Master Farmer certification, participants are required to take part in educational sessions, attend a field day and create plans for the development and implementation of conservation practices on their entire operation. To retain the designation, farmers must be recertified every five years.

The Louisiana Master Farmer Program was created more than 20 years ago to encourage conservation and environmental stewardship and teach producers ways to improve their soil health, water quality and sustainability. The program is led by the LSU AgCenter, which partners with federal and state agencies to teach the sessions.

“We're all pulling in the same direction, and the goal is the environmental sustainability of a $13 billion industry across the state of Louisiana,” said Tara Smith, AgCenter executive associate vice president and director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service.

The winners of the Outstanding Farmer Award, the Volentine brothers, have spent years farming cotton, corn, cattle and hay in Caddo Parish. They are active in their community and have raised more than $8,000 for local 4-H clubs.

Volentine Farms has implemented practices like reduced tillage, crop rotation, tile drains and prescribed grazing. The Volentine’s recently expanded their cover crops. As part of the award, which has been sponsored by the Louisiana Land Bank and the Gowan Company for many years, they were each given a plaque and $1,000.

Denise Richard was the only newly certified Master Farmer of 2024. Richard produces more than 50 head of cattle at her farm in Livingston Parish.

Recertifications were awarded to Gene Foster, Lincoln Parish; Jeff Foster, Lincoln Parish; Ronald Hebert Jr., Iberia Parish; Kevin R. Landry, Vermilion Parish; and Anthony Rozas, Evangeline Parish.

“Every one of you are to be commended for this achievement,” said Donna Gentry, coordinator of the Louisiana Master Farmer Program. “Certification is a rigorous process, taking time, financial commitment and a long-term goal of sustainability.”

Agricultural producers who have participated in the Louisiana Master Farmer Program were honored at a luncheon Jan. 9. Pictured from left are Richard Fontenot, president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation; Tara Smith, AgCenter executive associate vice president and director of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service; Mike Salassi, AgCenter executive associate vice president and director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station; Wesley Volentine, Outstanding Master Farmer award recipient; Denise Richard, newly certified Master Farmer; Kevin Volentine, Outstanding Master Farmer award recipient; Mike Strain, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry commissioner; Kelli McClelland, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, acting state conservationist; Reggie Skains, chair of the D’Arbonne Soil and Water Conservation District. Photo by Anthony Bailey/LSU AgCenter