Last spring, the McNeese State University Biology Department began exploring the idea of establishing a native Cajun prairie somewhere on campus. Firestone Polymers offered to collaborate on the project.
Cajun prairie is part of the Western Gulf Coast Prairie ecosystem which historically spanned the entire shoreline in Louisiana and Texas. Less than 1% of this ecosystem currently remains and exists in small, isolated patches throughout the region.
DeRidder corn and wheat farmer David Smith said he wanted to try out something new this year on his farm. He started tinkering with the idea of adding cover crops over small acreages but wanted to expand it to hundreds of acres.
"It is not a money-making thing. In fact, you spend money. You just want to improve your soil," Smith said.
This week Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced USDA is releasing more previously obligated funding that was paused during the early days of the Trump administration. But the announcement comes with a catch. Rollins says impacted recipients now have 30 days to review and voluntarily revise their project plans to align with a Trump executive order.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for April 2025, which are effective April 1, 2025. USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.
Louisiana corn producers intend to plant 530,000 acres, up 13 percent from the 470,000 acres planted in 2024. Upland cotton acreage intentions are at 110,000 acres, down 29 percent from the 155,000 acres planted last year. All hay acres expected to be harvested in Louisiana are estimated at 380,000 acres, up 10,000 acres from 2024.
Minnesota sugarbeet farmer Neil Rockstad recalled a kitchen table conversation with his wife while speaking at the 101st annual Agricultural Outlook Forum.
Both Neil and Louisiana sugarcane grower Travis Medine presented as part of the sugar panel at the forum. They observed that labor and machinery were among the highest costs in their farm budgets.
In an attempt to bolster economic growth and job creation in North Louisiana, Congresswoman Julia Letlow is advocating for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to help provide a crucial economic development designation for the Ouachita River.
When hurricanes, wildfires, ice storms, or pest outbreaks hit, the financial impact on forest landowners can be devastating. Timber, the most valuable asset in most family-owned forests, can be wiped out in an instant. Yet under current law, timber is excluded from the Federal Crop Insurance Program and casualty tax deductions are limited. With limited assistance from the government and no widely available private insurance options, forest landowners are exposed to decades of risk without financial protection.
The last day to submit photos for the LSU AgCenter’s 2026 Get It Growing calendar is coming up in the next few weeks.
The deadline to submit an entry is April 30.
Producers surveyed across the United States intend to plant 95.3 million acres of corn in 2025, up 5% from last year, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Planted acreage intentions for corn are up or unchanged in 40 of the 48 estimating states.
The Women in the Woods program, developed by Louisiana Tech University professors Dr. Heidi Adams and Dr. Nan Nan, is designed to encourage young women to explore careers in forestry through mentorship, community outreach, and hands-on learning. The initiative, supported by the USDA NIFA Women and Minorities in STEM Fields Program, has recently received a $200,000 grant.
The Southern University Ag Center will provide free virtual counseling services to Louisiana residents living in rural communities through its Rural Connections for Rural Resilience program.
The program, which is open to adults, aims to combat alarming mental health trends by providing free teletherapy services to underserved rural communities where access to mental health services is often limited due to geographical barriers.
The United States Department of Agriculture is following through on its promise to get funds into farmers’ hands quickly through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP), according to Louisiana Farm Bureau President Richard Fontenot. He expressed those sentiments in a letter he sent to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.
Monday, the USDA released the 2025 Prospective Plantings report. In the report, the agency said U.S. farmers will plant nearly 5 million more corn acres in 2025 compared with last year.
On Tuesday the calendar will flip over to April in Lafayette, Henderson, Jennings, and Abbeville, and while the official time document, the calendar, may say spring. Those in Louisiana know that the first week of April is when the heart of the crawfish season hits.
In the heart of Tensas Parish, Melanie Netterville Beavers has made her mark on the agriculture industry alongside her husband Kody, working to maintain their family farm.
Melanie didn’t begin her college journey with her sights set on production agriculture. Initially, she wanted to pursue a career in media for agriculture. However, her direction changed as she realized her passion for hands-on, outdoor work.
The AG Career Field Day has been going for three years.
Eleventh and twelfth grade students from seven parishes came to Ferriday to learn about the different careers agriculture offers on Friday, March 28.
Over 175 students were given the opportunity to learn about everything from wildlife to welding.
Crawfish To Geaux, a crawfish food truck located on Nicholson Drive, opened this month and is getting attention for being owned and operated by LSU students.
Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2025 crop year have until April 15, 2025, to revise elections and sign contracts.
Cotton growers across the globe are improving in efficiency year-over-year. It’s a win for farm technology, but creates a tough marketplace for the former number one worldwide cotton exporter – the U.S.
On March 11, 22 students took part in the first class of the Grow Louisiana Beginning Farmer Training Program at the Hill Farm Teaching Facility on the LSU campus. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Transition to Organic Partnership Program, as it focuses on teaching new farmers how to grow a sustainable and profitable organic farm.
Now that the Mardi Gras beads are mostly cleared from the utility lines and we are firmly in the Lenten season, Louisiana has shifted into a different kind of celebration—one built around backyard boils, spicy steam rising from giant pots, and tables covered in newspaper and crawfish shells.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently cut over $1 billion from two programs that helped food banks and school meal programs purchase local food.
Co-owner of Muse 3 Farms Chris Muse feeds his local community in St. Helena Parish and beyond, but he says the recent USDA cuts could affect his earnings.
USDA’s latest export sales report, out Thursday morning and covering the week through March 20, didn’t have a lot of bullish data for traders to digest. Corn volume bested other grains, but sales were down 31% week-over-week and only made it to the middle of trade guesses. Soybean sales were lackluster, meantime, and wheat sales were largely disappointing.
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