VIDALIA — For the past 36 years, Concordia and Catahoula parish residents have turned to one man for their agricultural needs, LSU AgCenter Concordia Parish County Agent Glen Daniels.

But Daniels announced his retirement earlier in June and has been serving his last month alongside his replacement, new county agent Nan Huff.

Daniels has been showing Huff around both parishes as she prepares to take over the reigns when Daniels completes his last day of work July 1.

“(Daniels) has been showing me around taking me to different producers and different businesses in the parish,” Huff said. “He is trying to summarize a lot of things to me in a short period of time.”

Huff said she is excited about the new job in Concoridia, because she grew up near the area on a farm on Lake St. John in Tensas Parish.

“I like this area, and I am from this area,” she said. “It was a great opportunity for me to move. My husband and I have a home and Waterproof that we have maintained over the years, and we are staying there.”

Huff got her master’s in agriculture science at Colorado State University, and her doctorate in animal sciences from LSU, and was serving as the Equine Technician Supervisor at LSU Equine Center in Baton Rouge before she took the job in Concordia.

“I grew up in a farming community, and I know a lot about it because it has always been a part of my life,” she said. “Agriculture is a very important industry in the parishes. It’s not just the farmers that are affected, other companies and industries rely on agriculture. It is a very viable industry.”

Huff said she is excited to begin working as the sole county agent, and that her first three weeks on the job have gone extremely well.

“I did come in at a unique time with the record flood on one side of the levee and the drought on the other,” she said. “Things have calmed down though, and I have been learning a lot.”

Huff said filling the shoes of a 36-year veteran may be tough, but she is ready for the challenge.

“Everybody has a kind word to say about (Daniels,) and I know that is going to be difficult to follow behind someone like him,” she said. “But I am excited to start, and (Daniels) has done his best to make the transition smooth as possible.”

Huff said she is going to continue to learn as much about the area as she can before she starts her new position as county agent.