1. A Geocache Activity to Learn More about Louisiana Products Group Name _________________ Members:

2. Dairy Cache Global Address_________________ Important Fact _________________ ______________________________ Rice Cache Global Address_________________ Important Fact _________________ ______________________________ Sugar Cane Cache Global Address_________________ Important Fact _________________ ______________________________ Sweet Potato Cache Global Address_________________ Important Fact _________________ ______________________________ Strawberry Cache Global Address_________________ Important Fact _________________ ______________________________

5. Clue 1 This animal is a true opportunistic feeder. They will eat almost anything, including garbage! Clue 2 This animal is very elusive and is rarely seen by humans. In fact many Louisianans do not realize that they live in our state! Clue 3 This animal is classified as a carnivore due to the shape of its teeth. However, about 80% of its diet is plant matter. Clue 4 This animal eats with the seasons – greens in spring, fruit in summer, nuts in the fall. In the winter, it dens. Clue 5 In Louisiana, this mammal is a true distinct sub species that is known as Ursus americanus luteolus. Clue 6 About 300 members of this endangered sub species are known to live in Louisiana.

6. Group Name ____________ We used ___ clues. Our guess is _________________

7. Strawberry Facts There are about 200 seeds on a strawberry. Strawberries do not normally reproduce by seeds. Strawberry plants send out runners. Each runner grows on the ground and sends out roots into the soil. The roots then produce new plants. Strawberries are members of the Rose family. A strawberry is a good source of vitamin C and is often eaten fresh. The fruit seems to be strewn (scattered) among the leaves. This may be why the plant was first called strewberry. It later came to be called strawberry. Livingston Parish is one of the state’s primary strawberry growing areas. The first American species of strawberries were cultivated about 1835. The plant grows best in a cool, moist climate and does not do well in warm temperatures. In France strawberries were cultivated in the 13th Century for use as a medicinal herb. Today every state in the United States and every province in Canada grow the strawberry plant.

8. Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America African slaves in the South called the sweet potato “nyami”. The Senegalese word “nyami” was eventually shortened to the word “yam”. Yam” discovered in Africa also refers to sweet potatoes that are grown in Louisiana. The orange-fleshed, Puerto Rican variety was called “yams” to distinguish them from the white-fleshed sweet potatoes grown in other parts of the country. The yam reference became the trademark for Louisiana-grown sweet potatoes. Both Louis XV’s and Empress Josephine's fondness of the sweet potato encouraged two short periods of popularity for this veggie in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Native Americans already grew sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived on the northern continent in 1492. George Washington Carver came up with over 118 products made from sweet potatoes such as shoe polish, coffee substitute, and laundry starch. Vitamin A in sweet potatoes is necessary for strong tissues and is required to maintain a healthy immune system function and develop resistance to infection. The sweet potato is an important source of vitamin B6, iron, potassium and fiber. Sweet potatoes protect the body from cardiovascular disease and lower the risk of stroke. Sweet potatoes contain virtually no fat and are low in sodium. The Louisiana Yambilee Festival began in 1946 to celebrate the year’s harvest of yams, or sweet potatoes, and is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana (St. Landry Parish).

9.  Some dairy products are milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter, and cream.  Homogenization is the process of breaking milk fat globules down into tiny particles so that they are evenly dispersed throughout the milk.  Pasteurization is the process of heating milk very quickly to kill germs, and then rapidly cooling it.  The average amount of milk that a dairy cow produces each day is 100 glasses.  The dairy industry is concentrated in the southeast part of the state in what we call the Florida Parishes, which are Washington, Tangipahoa, St. Helena, Livingston and East Feliciana, which have about 400 dairy farms and also in Desoto Parish just below Shreveport.  Louisiana ranks 32nd in the nation on total milk production per year with just under 500 herds in the state.  Tangipahoa Parish is in the top 100 dairy counties in the nation on monthly milk production with Washington, Tangipahoa, St. Helena, and Desoto consistently ranking in the top 10 among counties in the Southeast Federal Milk Order.  The predominant breed of dairy cattle in the state is Holstein.  The amount of feed that one dairy cow eats in one day is 90 pounds.  The udder is the body part of the dairy cow that is milked.

10. Sugar cane contributes $140 million a month to Louisiana's economy. Louisiana's commercial sugar cane industry was founded in the heart of New Orleans - Sugarcane arrived in Louisiana with the Jesuit priests in 1751 who planted it near where their church now stands on Baronne Street in New Orleans. Sugar cane grows an inch or more a day during the summer. In 2002, sugarcane was being produced on over 450,000 acres of land in 25 Louisiana Parishes. Of the U.S. sugar producing areas, Louisiana is the oldest and most historic. Etienne deBore, first granulated sugar on a commercial scale in Audubon Park. Sugarcane is planted vegetatively, using whole stalks of cane rather than true seed. Sugarcane is a grass and more than one cutting can be harvested from each planting. Sown in late August or early September. every fourth year, one planting produces three crops. The field then sits idle the fourth year until the cycle repeats itself. The cane by product is bagasse which is used as a fuel to power the factories. Approximately 27,000 employees are involved in this production and processing of sugar in Louisiana alone.

11. LOUISIANA RICE  The Conrad Rice Mill is the oldest rice mill in America. It is also one of the leading tourist attractions in this area of the Bayou Teche.  In 1921, a group of farmers, dissatisfied with their marketing options, decided to work together to market their rice. They created a farmer-owned cooperative now known as Riceland Foods, Inc.  The Louisiana Rice Industry began to flourish around 1900. The introduction of irrigation systems allowed for expanding production in South Louisiana.  After the civil war the prospect of cheap, abundant land and a mild climate lured Midwestern wheat farmers and immigrants, mainly from Europe, to come to Louisiana's prairie.  Modern farm equipment, improved milling techniques and select seed breeding all combined to place Louisiana at the forefront of the American Rice Industry.  Rice, that ancient grass whose grains are so treasured by Louisianans, was grown as far back as the Ice Age in India.  Rice first came to Louisiana about the time New Orleans was founded, in 1718. When ships would arrive bearing African slaves, they would also bring barrels of rice seed so the slaves could grow their own food.  At the turn of the century there was a rice-milling district, “rice row,” along Decatur Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter, including the largest rice mill in the world. Louisiana's climate, landscape and location along the Mississippi River come together to create fertile fields that of sustain a wide variety of crops, including rice.

12. What is your favorite Louisiana rice dish? Your NameFavorite Dish ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

13. Have you ever planted a sweet potato? Your NameAnswer ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

14. Besides sugar, do you know any products made from sugar cane? Your NameAnswer ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

15. What is your favorite way to enjoy fresh Louisiana strawberries? Your NameAnswer ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

16. Have you ever milked a cow? Your NameAnswer ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________