LSU AgCenter

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LSU AgCenters Hurricane Katrina Disaster
Recovery, Education and Outreach Strategic Plan
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Agriculture and Forestry Damage Estimates
Forestry 610,821,639
Sugarcane 191,681,159
Cotton 10,400,000
Rice 483,900
Dairy 1,046,398
Vegetables 2,570,910
Wholesale Nurseries 19,018,350
Citrus 10,780,800
Cattle 11,199,906
Hunting Leases 3,829,657
Charter Fishing 20,391,750
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Fisheries Damage Estimates
Turtles 5,355,000.00
Alligators 3,797,090.51
Oysters 25,163,024.86
Menhaden 17,208,447.20
Shrimp 72,115,066.55
Commercial Finfish 12,552,495.85
Crabs 15,150,697.90

Total Fisheries 151,341,822
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Total Preliminary Estimates of Losses for
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

• 1,033,566,289

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How can Extension help?

• Prior Planning
• Immediate Disaster Response
• Long-Term Planning

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LSU AgCenter Priorities

• AgCenter programs back in place statewide
• We must go into affected areas as soon as we are
  allowed
• We must immediately begin education and outreach
  efforts to assist in recovery
• Parish Chairs to establish contact immediately
  with local government organizations such as
  police jury, school board, district attorney, and
  parish president
• Parish Chairs meet with parish president so
  agents can go back in early in affected areas
  when evacuees are moving back home
• 4-H agents should contact school superintendents
  immediately to alert them of AgCenter disaster
  recovery youth development programs
• AgCenter faculty from each parish should setup
  face to face meetings with local legislators to
  make them aware of AgCenter strategic plan
• Pair up agents in affected areas with mentor
  agents to assist in contacting local government
  and fulfilling recovery responsibilities, if
  needed
• Allow agents from other parishes to come in and
  relieve affected agents that have to take care of
  their own recovery
• Leadership training for agents willing to assist
  in AgCenter disaster recovery efforts

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LSU AgCenter Immediate Steps

• Disaster Recovery Frankie Gould
• Family Financial Management Jeanette Tucker
• LaHouse and Rebuild Stronger, Safer, Smarter
  Initiative Claudette Reichel
• Youth Development - Mark Tassin
• Farm Financial Management Kurt Guidry
• Veterinary Response Program Christine Navarre
• Dairy Recovery Gary Hay
• Forestry Recovery Rich Vlosky
• Fisheries Recovery Mike Liffman

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Disaster Recovery

• A series of 20 radio PSAs have been developed and
  distributed to radio stations across Louisiana
  and posted to the web
• A series of faculty have been identified to
  conduct radio interviews that range from finances
  and stress to mold and rebuilding homes with the
  displaced New Orleans radio stations such as WWL
• A new section was added to the news web site
  called storm and flood news. There are currently
  27 news stories related to disaster recovery and
  new stories are added daily. These news stories
  will also be repurposed into a disaster recovery
  inserts to be distributed to the major newspapers
  in the state.
• 100,000 copies of Disaster Recovery Series and
  Cleaning Flood-damaged Homes will be printed and
  distributed to shelter volunteers, agents, and
  affected citizens.
• An AgCenter Disaster Recovery toll free hotline
  is being developed to address disaster recovery
  issues and concerns

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Disaster Recovery Series

• The Disaster recovery series combines 25 fact
• sheets into one publication that has six
  chapters. They are
• Be Safe Stay Healthy after a Disaster
• Surviving and Recovering from a Power Outage
• Restoring Storm-damaged Buildings
• Salvaging Water-damaged Belongings
• Lawn and Garden Losses
• Financial Recovery and Risk Management

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Disaster Recovery

• A disaster recovery Web portal is in place.

http//www.lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/hazards_
and_threats/recovery_assistance
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Family Financial Management

• To assist affected residents in rebuilding
  their lives, the AgCenter is delivering programs
  to educate and empower citizens to identify and
  manage available financial, community and
  personal resources.
• Workshops are being conducted to educate
  citizens to
• Create and follow budgets
• Use credit and financial institutions/products
  wisely
• Make wise decisions
• Set goals
• Protect their identity
• Improve employment skills
• Initial delivery will be targeted to residents
  of shelters, particularly limited resource
  families and those who receive public assistance.
  
• The secondary audience will include the working
  poor and families who are now receiving public
  assistance as a result of the impact of Hurricane
  Katrina.

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LaHouse and Rebuild Stronger, Safer, Smarter
Initiative

• 1.  Home Restoration information dissemination
• via CMS (family and home), media outreach and
  publications
• Storm Recovery Guide for Homeowners -- newly
  updated, combines Natural Hazard Series into one
  comprehensive publication
• Cleaning Flood Damage Homes - brief
• 2.  Rebuild Stronger, Safer, Smarter Initiative 
  -- to create more hazard-resistant and energy
  efficient homes that will help Katrina victims
  take control of their future by the quality of
  housing they return to.
• Facilitate and participate in interagency
  rebuilding task force
• Collaborate with top building scientists in
  nation to develop guidance and training curricula
  
• Conduct consumer educational campaign with
  LaHouse
• Work with national and regional organizations to
  provide training for home builders, designers,
  inspectors and affordable housing developers
• Establish LaHouse as regional educational
  attraction, training center and information
  clearinghouse

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Youth Development

• The 4-H program can offer an opportunity for
  youth to reconnect to family and a new community
  in these settings. The program will be
  implemented based on a needs assessment from
  shelter managers.
• Programs will be delivered in shelters in group
  settings in a hands-on experiential format.
  Evacuees in the schools will be included in the
  regular delivery of 4-H in school clubs, school
  enrichment, and after-school programming.
• 4-H activities, lessons, games, and events to
  include focus on
• Character education (conflict resolution)
• Team building
• Leadership development
• Healthy lifestyles (stress management and
  fitness/nutrition)
• Homework and tutoring assistance.

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Youth Development

• The programs will be made available to children
  kindergarten through 12th grade, youth enrolled
  in new schools, youth in shelters, shelter
  volunteers, 4-H volunteers, volunteer agency
  personnel, 4-H teen leaders and 4-H agents.
• Our faculty have been in contact with shelters to
  determine the number of evacuees in shelter
  locations and the anticipated stay of evacuees.
• Parish staff will contact parish shelter
  organizations to determine numbers of pre-K to
  12th grade youth and identify their needs.
• 4-H agents will be instructed to contact the
  school superintendents to alert schools of the
  AgCenters youth development programs.

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Farm Financial Management

• The areas affected the greatest by Hurricane
  Katrina represent a large portion of Louisianas
  fisheries, dairy, sugarcane, forestry, wildlife,
  vegetable, nursery, and citrus industries.
• Shortly after the storm, the LSU AgCenter began
  to develop assessments of the potential damage
  caused to the agricultural, fisheries, and
  forestry industries in the state.
• The AgCenter will be offering farm financial
  workshops to assist agricultural producers in
  gathering information on government assistance
  programs, recovery of operations, marketing,
  stress management and other topics.
• These workshops will include discussions from the
  LSU AgCenter, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA
  Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm
  Bureau and other agencies.
• Producers will have the opportunity to identify
  concerns and ask questions on issues specific to
  their situations.

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Veterinary Response Program

• Animal disposal and disease will be major
  challenges in the immediate term for agriculture
  producers.
• Immediate steps that will be taken by the
  Extension Veterinary Program include
• Continuing communications with State
  Veterinarians Office, College of Veterinary
  Medicine, Louisiana Veterinary Medical
  Association, and private practitioners and
  respond to needs as appropriate.
• Placing information on AgCenter website about
  potential disease problems following wind and
  flood damage.
• Sending information veterinarians about potential
  disease problems following wind and flood damage.
• Assisting with plans for proper animal carcass
  disposal.
• In the intermediate term the Extension Veterinary
  Program plans to
• Respond to developing animal disease problems in
  affected areas.
• Continue to inform the veterinarians and the
  public of developing animal diseases due to the
  hurricane.

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Dairy Recovery

• The AgCenter estimates over 1 million in income
  losses in the Louisiana dairy industry.
• Much of this loss is the result of the loss of
  milk that producers were forced to dump week
  because they were without enough electric power
  to operate their coolers.
• The immediate concern is for the infrastructure
  physical damage to facilities and no electricity
  for milking the cows and cooling milk.
• AgCenter specialists and agents formed the Dairy
  Recovery Team and have been working diligently to
  look for power supplies for dairy operations.
• Information on animal health and waste management
  will be available to affected producers.
• Financial workshops will also be conducted to
  assist dairy producers in gathering information
  on government assistance programs, recovery of
  operations, marketing, stress management and
  other topics.

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Forestry Recovery

• The AgCenter currently estimates 611 million in
  economic losses in the Louisiana forestry sector
  due to a loss in stumpage (1.4 billion board feet
  of pine and 1.1 billion board feet of hardwoods).
  Given an economic multiplier of 3.8 for this
  sector, total economic losses can well be over 2
  Billion.
• In the near-term, the AgCenter is deeply involved
  in forest recovery efforts through participation
  with the Louisiana Forest Restoration Task Force
  headed by the Louisiana Forestry Association and
  the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and
  Forestry.
• The mission of the task force is to facilitate
  salvage efforts to maximize the recovery of
  timber damaged by the hurricane and to begin the
  process of renewing the forest. Also represented
  on the Task Force are timber companies, loggers,
  LA Logging Council, DOTD, consulting foresters,
  USFS, NRCS, FSA, and MS State logging
  specialists.
• The AgCenter has representatives on the following
  committees logging, wood utilization,
  communications, forest health and regeneration,
  governmental affairs, and data collection and
  reporting. The AgCenter is represented on these
  committees.
• The AgCenter is setting up a Task Force Listserv
  to facilitate communication coordination.

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Forestry Recovery

• The AgCenter will also be offering workshops to
  assist forestry producers in gathering
  information on government assistance programs,
  recovery of operations, marketing, stress
  management, financial issues and other topics.
  These workshops will include discussions from the
  LSU AgCenter, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA
  Natural Resources Conservation Service, Louisiana
  Forestry Association, Farm Bureau and other
  agencies.

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Fisheries Recovery

• Estimates of losses in revenue stemming from
  production losses caused by Katrina exceed 150
  million.
• The most affected fisheries are shrimp, oysters,
  menhaden, crabs, and commercial finfish. 
• The AgCenter will develop post-event
  characterization of the commercial industry,
  post-event characterization of the commercial
  industry--displacements, relocations, impacts,
  outlook for the commercial industry, and event
  impact on recreational sector.
• The AgCenter will be offering fisheries financial
  workshops to assist commercial fisherman in
  gathering information on government assistance
  programs as they are made available, recovery of
  operations, marketing, stress management and
  other topics.
• These workshops will include discussions from the
  LSU AgCenter, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA
  Natural Resources Conservation Service, NOAA
  Fisheries, Farm Bureau and other agencies.
  Fisherman will have the opportunity to identify
  concerns and ask questions on issues specific to
  their situations.

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Mid-Term and Long-Term Strategy

• The AgCenter will continue with its traditional
  programs to provide mid-term long-term
  educational information to help affected
  citizens.
• These program areas include
• Community Development Deborah Tootle
• Family and Consumer Sciences Beth Gambel
• Callegari Center Bill Carney
• Horticulture Allan Morgan
• LaHouse Claudette Reichel
• The audience is all affected citizens including
• shelters
• families relocating
• families who stayed in the affected parishes
• temporary housing communities of evacuees

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Community Development

• Will include educational programming and
  assistance for rebuilding communities and
  businesses.
• AgCenter faculty will conduct programs on
  minimizing disaster stress at the community
  level, communicating with disaster victims,
  leadership, strategic planning,entrepreneurship,
  workplace development.

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Family and Consumer Sciences

• Goals are to
• improve the well being of family members within
  individual families
• improve the well being of groups of individuals
  living is the shelter community
• help shelter residents develop a sense of future
• The AgCenter has developed information dealing
  with home care and restoration, food safety,
  personal safety, financial management, stress
  reduction, and job preparedness which is included
  in Disaster Recovery Series

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Callegari Center

• Can provide analytical testing of drinking water
  for safety purposes along with identifying
  contaminates in runoff water.
• The Center's faculty is able to help identify
  proper clean up and disposal options of solid
  waste to include downed trees and other foliage,
  feces, dead animals, spoiled food, and sludge.

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Horticulture

• Developed materials to assist
• affected residents and homeowners
• businesses
• nurserymen
• general horticulture industry
• arborists
• golf course superintendents
• parish public works personnel
• Information will include
• landscape salvage, repair, renovation, and
  pruning
• tree trimming, repair and renewal
• insurance claims for lost trees
• turf grass and soil repair/renovation
• approaches to dealing with soil salinity and
  contaminated, water-logged soils
• Much of this information is included in the
  Disaster Recovery Series
• We plan to utilize AgCenter faculty and Master
  Gardener volunteers to conduct workshops.

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LaHouse

• LaHouse is here to spur the rebuilding of safer,
  stronger, smarter homes and communities for
  Katrina storm victims through educational
  outreach and training on locally appropriate,
  hazard-resistant and energy efficient building
  science and technologies.
• LaHouse will be used as an educational center to
  demonstrate appropriate technologies for
  rebuilding.
• The LaHouse will educate affected residents on
  how to have MORE comfort, durability, value,
  convenience, and better health with LESS energy,
  water, pollution, waste, and property damage.
• This Rebuild Initiative should specifically
  address that felt need and enable storm victims
  to take control of their future by the quality of
  housing they return to. See www.LouisianaHouse.org
  .