Partner Spotlight: LSU AgCenter Extension Agent Anna Timmerman
(As the LSU AgCenter extension agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, Timmerman is continually educating professional farmers, urban harvesters, and youth on agriculture. Photo: Anna Timmerman)
You’ve probably seen an article, a Facebook post, or a presentation by Anna Timmerman sharing expertise on all things agriculture. What you may know about her likely only scratches the surface of all she does.
Anna is the LSU AgCenter extension agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, where she engages with commercial farmers, landscapers, and home gardeners at all skill levels. The Meraux Foundation is proud to have had a role to play in bringing Anna to St. Bernard. After several years of being without an extension agent, the Foundation committed to paying the salary for one for a period of time.
“We are fortunate to have someone as intelligent, energetic, and committed as Anna to be a partner in our work in St. Bernard,” said Rita Gue, the president of the Meraux Foundation. “She is a relentlessly hard worker and an invaluable asset to our community.”
(Photo: Anna Timmerman)
Before Anna made her way to St. Bernard, she grew up on her family farm in Michigan, raising pastured poultry, lambs, hogs, rabbits, and vegetable crops at two local farmer’s markets. There, she cultivated a passion and appreciation for nature and its processes. Eventually, her passion blossomed, and taking with her fond memories of life on the farm and of her retired grandparents selling flowers and vegetables on the roadside, she headed to Illinois, where she earned a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. While back in Michigan, she met New Orleanians displaced after Hurricane Katrina, and their conversations planted a seed in Anna that took her on a journey hundreds of miles away to a place with fertile land and the best year-round growing conditions– southeastern Louisiana.
Once she got here, true to her nature, Anna immediately got to work. She started her own landscape horticulture company, helping restore historic gardens and promote farm-to-table concepts in various restaurants; she continued her education at Loyola, Tulane, and UNO; and she worked with a student farming program through Xavier University.
In 2016, Anna joined the LSU AgCenter and has been the extension agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes for the past two years. In this role, she is continually educating our professional farmers, urban harvesters, and youth on agriculture. She also leads a 10-week Master Gardener program, which provides an intensive horticulture course that covers topics from soil botany to advanced gardening techniques, offers guidance on home gardening through SPROUT NOLA and Healthy Community Services, and is an invaluable resource to those looking to learn more about all things agriculture. Not only does Anna do all of these things with grace, but she is also simultaneously getting her master’s at LSU's School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences, where she is conducting studies that have the potential to impact how we grow and harvest certain fruits across the Gulf South.
(Timmerman heads up the horticulture research that takes place at the screened citrus facility at the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm. Photo: Anna Timmerman)
Anna’s time and talents have helped elevate several projects that the Meraux Foundation partners with the LSU AgCenter on. She successfully experimented with unorthodox growing techniques at the Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research located at the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm, and showcased the versatility and growing demand for pawpaw trees at the Gulf South Pawpaw Symposium also hosted at Docville. A highlight of Anna’s partnership with the Meraux Foundation is through AgMagic on the River, an annual event that leads students and families on a journey through which they learn about the vital role of forests, soils, crops, seafood, and livestock in our communities. In addition to these, the Meraux Foundation supports the LSU AgCenter through a $150,000 endowment for it’s Livestock Show - the single largest donation in the 80-year history of the show.
As you would probably guess, beyond her work as an AgCenter agent, Anna is unrelenting in her passion for learning and sharing all things agriculture. She is an avid urban gardener, with her garden yielding a variety of produce–over 80 different crops in a typical year–creating a diverse kitchen garden. For the past four years, she has run a seed library out of her house, collaborating with over a dozen seed companies to give community members access to seeds from hundreds of different species. The seed bank is accessible 24/7, with an unspoken rule for people to take only what they can plant, leaving some for others. For the past three years, she has given out over 50,000 packets of seed each year. And every semester, during her free time after work, she mails seeds to individuals and prepares care packages for school and community gardens in the metro area.
(Timmerman runs a seed library out of her house, collaborating with over a dozen seed companies to give community members access to seeds from hundreds of different species. Photo: Anna Timmerman)
“Whether she’s putting on an event for her job or at home in her garden, Anna is always hard at work - work that continues to increase the quality of life in our community, likely more than we can even recognize,” said Gue. “We are profoundly grateful and immensely proud to have Anna as our AgCenter agent, our partner, and a member of our community.”
For those interested in the Master Gardener program, the application will be released in April. Scholarships are typically available, with the Meraux Foundation sponsoring three spots this year. Please email Anna to get on the contact list at atimmerman@agcenter.lsu.edu.
The next Cook-Off for the Coast on February 24, 2024 and AgMagic on the River will be on March 23, 2024. Both events will be hosted at Docville Farm.