Good news: Louisiana is one of 18 states chosen to participate in the 2015 Specialty Crop Multi-State Program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This competitive grant program offers about $3 million to states to help develop solutions to problems affecting the specialty crop industry, and is designed to support food safety and research, focus on plant pests and diseases, and grow marketing opportunities for specialty crops like fruits and tree nuts.
Bad news: Oil prices are likely to remain low over the next five years because of plentiful supply and falling demand in developed countries, the International Energy Agency said today in its annual forecast. The Associated Press reports the Paris organization, which advises developed countries on energy policy, says it expects oil prices to return to $80 per barrel in 2020, with further increases after that. Oil prices are down more than 50% since the middle of last year. On Tuesday, the U.S. crude oil contract was trading at $43.95 a barrel.
Award-winner: LSU alumnus James Burnett was honored Monday with the prestigious 2015 ASLA Firm Award by the American Society of Landscape Architects at the association’s annual meeting in Chicago. Burnett, class of ’83, owns The Office of James Burnett, a landscape design and urban planning firm he founded in Houston in 1989. “I credit our extraordinary team and their passion for creating thoughtful and beautiful landscape compositions that challenge the status quo,” Burnett says.
