As we approach the 2025 regular session of the Louisiana legislature, beginning April 14th and ending June 12th, many people wonder when is the best time to connect with their legislator to educate them regarding issues important to agriculture. The answer is all year long. You should be talking to your legislators in their office in your district, in your churches, grocery stores, and your festival grounds any chance you get.

Louisiana farmers, along with their counterparts across the nation, are urging Congress to pass a new farm bill this year, expressing concerns that the current safety net is inadequate to address rising costs. The urgency was palpable at the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio, where attendees packed a session on the upcoming farm bill.

Today is the Last Day to Apply for the Linda and Wayne Zaunbrecher Legacy Scholarship.

Linda and Wayne Zaunbrecher’s legacies have continued to empower the future of Louisiana agriculture.

At the outset of the 119th Congress, Congresswoman Julia Letlow has filed two pieces of legislation aimed at strengthening disaster assistance for livestock and crawfish producers and providing increased flexibility for farmers with soybean crops covered by federal crop insurance.

We are now about 5 days out from a potentially impactful winter storm that could affect the entire state. Here’s what we know so far.

First and foremost, it will get cold. Very cold. We could easily see lows in the teens in the northern third of Louisiana, with a hard freeze possible to the coast. There will be at least 3 nights where we see conditions like that, and it’s possible we could see even colder conditions if we end up seeing significant snow and ice.

Congress recently passed a bill with very strong bipartisan support that includes a three-month continuing resolution funding the government to this March, plus a one-year farm bill extension, natural disaster aid, and agricultural economic assistance. Thank you to House Speaker Mike Johnson, who represents my district here in Louisiana, for avoiding a government shutdown and looking out for the interests of farmers nationwide. 

Speaker Johnson’s staffers visited my farm last year, and it meant a lot that they heard what I had to say.

Farm Bureau farmer and rancher members play an important role in our communities and our organization by serving on governing boards and committees at local, state and national levels. Several newly appointed volunteers will provide leadership beginning in 2025 as members of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Promotion & Education and Young Farmers & Ranchers committees.

Duvall announced the appointment of the following members to the YF&R Committee for the 2025-2027 term beginning in March: Cleveland Jackson, Georgia, (beef cattle); Scot Schwieterman, Kansas (alfalfa hay, row crops, cereal grains); Rachel Duncan, Louisiana (soybeans, beef cattle, cut flowers); Cora Okkema, Michigan (dairy cattle); Dustin and Katie Wiese, Minnesota (beef cattle, hay, corn, sorghum, oats); Tommy Salisbury, Oklahoma (soybeans, milo, wheat, beef cattle); and Jonathan Quigley, Washington (tree fruit).

As you may have heard, Congress was finally successful late into Friday night in passing a Continuing Resolution that included many priorities we worked very hard to achieve. The House passed the measure 366-34-1 with all Louisiana members voting in favor. The Senate passed the resolution 85-11, Cassidy supporting and Kennedy opposing. 

Congress appears to have failed to reach a consensus Wednesday on a Continuing Resolution. 

We're grateful to you, our grassroots members, for taking the time let your representatives in Washington, D.C. know Louisiana agriculture cannot be ignored. 

This year, you can host a Thanksgiving feast for ten for relatively little money.

“In Louisiana, that’s going to cost you on average $45.84, which is still $3 lower than it was last year,” says Avery Davidson with the Louisiana Farm Bureau.

Furthermore, that’s considerably less than the national average.

In Baton Rouge on November 22, 2024, the Louisiana Legislature wrapped up a special session focused on tax reform, culminating in the approval of a substantial tax package. This legislative action is set to reshape the state’s tax landscape with significant reductions in some areas, increases in others, and the establishment of a permanent stipend for teachers.

However, the implementation of these changes is contingent upon voter approval of a crucial constitutional amendment in the upcoming election.

Although grocery prices remain high historically nationwide, they have dropped for a second year in a row.   

Louisiana consumers will spend even less this Thanksgiving. According to a statewide sample of prices for the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation Thanksgiving Dinner Price Survey, Louisiana residents should expect to spend $12.24 less than the national average for a classic Thanksgiving dinner for ten people.  

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the Senate vote to confirm Brooke Rollins as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

“Farm Bureau congratulates Brooke Rollins on her confirmation to be Secretary of Agriculture. We look forward to her leadership as she takes over USDA at a critical time for America’s farmers and ranchers.”

Louisiana farmers, along with their counterparts across the nation, are urging Congress to pass a new farm bill this year, expressing concerns that the current safety net is inadequate to address rising costs. The urgency was palpable at the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio, where attendees packed a session on the upcoming farm bill.

Largely driven by a surge in disaster and economic government assistance, USDA’s latest farm income forecast projects a significant but misleading rebound in net farm income for 2025, rising to $180.1 billion — a $41 billion (29.5%) increase over 2024 and following two years of sharp declines. USDA also adjusted its 2024 estimate downward in this update, now projecting net farm income at $139.1 billion, reflecting an $8.2 billion (5.6%) decline from 2023. This is lower than the $140.7 billion (a $6 billion, or 4.1%, decline) forecast in December 2024, showing that farm sector profitability in 2024 was weaker than previously estimated.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urging swift confirmation of Brooke Rollins as the next Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) after the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously advanced her nomination.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the 30-day tariff extension agreement reached between the United States and Mexico.

“Farm Bureau is encouraged that the United States and Mexico have agreed to delay the use of tariffs for the next month. Tariffs and tariff retaliation often hit farmers and ranchers hard, which make it more difficult for them pay their bills and grow the food America’s families rely on.

American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall expressed alarm about potential harm to farmers resulting from the order signed by President Trump imposing stiff tariffs on the United States’ top three agricultural markets by value. An economic emergency was declared to put duties of 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada, with limited exceptions, as well as 10% on all imports from China. Canada and Mexico both announced they would impose retaliatory measures.

As farmers and ag industry types flocked to the American Farm Bureau Federation convention, a man nowhere in sight was getting lots of attention. President Donald Trump’s presence was felt throughout San Antonio’s Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. From the main stage to the exits, and seemingly everywhere in between, there was no escaping the newly re-inaugurated president.

USDA recently announced that a final Federal Milk Marketing Order decision was approved by dairy farmers and cooperatives across all 11 orders through separate referenda conducted within each order. AFBF has called for changes to the Federal Milk Marketing Orders dating back to 2019.

“We’re grateful that USDA listened to not only our calls but also calls from the broader dairy industry to switch back to the ‘higher of’ Class I milk formula, increase Class I differentials, improve cheese price discovery and update milk composition factors,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall.

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land, which includes timberland, remains a widely debated and often controversial topic, fueled by concerns about the implications of foreign investments — especially those from nations viewed as adversarial to the U.S. Since our previous analysis, Foreign Investment in U.S. Ag Land – The Latest Numbers, two additional years of data — 2022 and 2023 — have become available.

This article updates the trends in foreign ownership, revealing a 1.58-million-acre increase in foreign-held agricultural land between 2022 and 2023, driven primarily by investments linked to renewable energy projects.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the final USDA poultry tournament rule under the Packers & Stockyards Act.

“Farm Bureau appreciates USDA’s commitment to bringing greater fairness to farmers who raise poultry under the tournament system.”

In 2022, 39% of agricultural land was rented – a proportion that has remained relatively stable for over 50 years. When deciding how to acquire land, rising farm real estate values can be a valuable asset or an extra hit to growing production expenses. Farmers and ranchers who operate a mix of owned and rented land make up over half of agricultural land in production and are affected by both sides of land value spikes.

The new year always feels like a fresh start, a time to plan for the months ahead and think about what needs to get done. For farmers, it’s a chance to think about our upcoming planting season, what we want our herds to look like or even what projects around the farm we plan to take on. It’s also a chance to look beyond our farms and look toward what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for American agriculture in 2025.

One looming challenge for agriculture this year is our projected trade deficit. According to the USDA’s latest outlook, we are expecting a $45.5 billion agricultural trade deficit for 2025.