To receive a notification through the Remind text messaging system when a Tangi-Washington Grower Update is posted, please contact Mary Helen Ferguson. Click here for links to previous Tangi-Washington Grower Updates.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays! As the year comes to an end, I remain thankful for the opportunity do a job that I enjoy, working with people like you.

Please see information below about upcoming opportunities.

2026 Watermelon Grower Education Meeting – January 27 (Franklinton)

This year's meeting will take place at 6 PM on Tuesday, January 27, at the LSU AgCenter’s Washington Parish office. We’ll address using cover crops, becoming a certified agritourism operation, getting set up to take payments through the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and updates on watermelon production recommendations. Click here for more information.

Sweet Potato Seed Orders Due January 16

The Sweet Potato Research Station is taking orders for sweet potato “seed” from the AgCenter’s Foundation Seed Program through an online form. Orders submitted online are due by Friday, January 16, 2026. If you are in Tangipahoa or Washington Parish and want to submit your order through me, please contact me by Monday, January 12.

The variety Beauregard is available for $25 per 40-pound box or $16 per 20-pound box. Avoyelles, Bayou Belle, Evangeline, and Orleans roots can be purchased in a 40-pound box for $30 or a 20-pound box for $16. Bonita, Bellevue, Murasaki-29, O’Henry, and Sakura are available at $16 per 20-pound box.

A licensing fee of $500 for up to 250 acres of production is charged for the patented varieties Avoyelles, Bayou Belle, Bellevue, Burgundy, Murasaki, and Orleans, but those who will be growing less than one acre of sweet potatoes are exempt from this fee.

Variety descriptions are available here. Sakura is not included on that page, but a description of it can be found in the sweet potato section of this list. This page has information about Avoyelles, which is the LSU AgCenter sweet potato breeding program’s newest release.

All growers who raise sweet potatoes to sell are required to have a Sweet Potato Dealer’s Permit from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Here in Tangipahoa and Washington Parishes, we are in the “pink tag” area, since we are within the area quarantined for the sweetpotato weevil.

Some additional information is available here.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Contact Mary Helen Ferguson, Ph.D.

The LSU AgCenter and LSU provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.