In Louisiana, Extension helps industrial facilities, farms save water, cut costs - Land-Grant Impacts

Water quality training

In Louisiana, Extension helps industrial facilities, farms save water, cut costs

Environmental Stewardship, Story 2026, Economic Development, Extension, Louisiana, Louisiana State University, Southern, Waste Management, Water Resilience/Management, Workforce Development and Readiness

Water plays an essential role in many industrial settings. To help manufacturers, processors and agricultural operations adopt sustainable practices, the Louisiana State University AgCenter launched the Water Quality Extension Lab in 2023.

The lab helps small- to medium-sized industries by providing resources, facilitating workforce networking and promoting sustainability. Faculty and students with the lab make site visits to rural industrial sites to offer technical assistance such as determining project feasibility and potential savings as well as connecting stakeholders with federal funding opportunities. The lab’s work has led to an increase in sustainability projects in rural Louisiana.

More than 560 industrial workers have attended lab faculty’s presentations, and more than 120 have taken advantage of the lab’s technical assistance. Faculty and students have visited about 60 manufacturing facilities so far, where they’ve made more than 280 recommendations for conserving water and energy, minimizing waste, preventing pollution and increasing productivity. Their suggestions have had a 63% adoption rate, saving participating businesses a total of $2.8 million.

The lab also has trained more than 250 farmers market vendors and 200 farm workers, including Spanish speakers, on ways to reduce foodborne illness risks through preventative on-farm practices that are backed by science.

Students who work with the lab are gaining valuable firsthand experience as well as insight into persistent problems in rural industries. The lab also has enabled connections between academia and industry that hold potential for future collaborations.

View the full statement on the NIDB.

LSU Ag Center | Project supported by Smith-Lever (3b&c) capacity funds; state appropriations. Photo courtesy of M. P. Hayes/LSU AgCenter.

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