Community Coffee Partners with World Coffee Research to Drive Agriculture Innovation

Community Coffee, the #1 family-owned premium retail coffee brand in America, is celebrating its partnership with World Coffee Research (WCR), a research-driven organization that focuses on improving coffee’s productivity, quality, and climate resilience while supporting farmer livelihoods. As a founding member of the organization, Community Coffee teams up with WCR to shape long-term sustainability in the coffee industry.

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Avery Davidson
Louisiana to Start Enforcing New Imported Seafood Labeling Law

Louisiana’s new law that requires that imported seafood be clearly labeled on packaging and menus will start to be enforced by the Louisiana Department of Health.

Act 372 mandates that if a retailer, restaurant, or supplier is selling imported shrimp, crawfish or other seafood it must clearly be labeled. The state Department of Agriculture will begin looking for such labels during their regular weights and measures checks.

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Aquaculture, LDAFAvery Davidson
Needed FMMO Reform Undermined by Make Allowance Giveaway

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.

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Center of Excellence at the Southern Ag Center Partners On $500,000 USDA Grant To Improve Food Safety Training

The Center of Excellence for Nutrition, Health, Wellness, and Quality of Life (COE) at the Southern University Ag Center is part of a collaborative effort recently awarded nearly $500,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (USDA-NIFA) Food Safety Outreach Program (FSOP). The Southern University Ag Center received $70,000 of this funding to play a key role in outreach and training delivery.

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SU Ag Centerdon molino
The Farmer's Forecast: Snow and Ice?

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.

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USDA Publishes Interim Rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the publication of an interim rule on Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks. The interim rule establishes guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops grown in the United States. These guidelines will facilitate the recognition of climate-smart agriculture within clean transportation fuel programs, creating new market opportunities for biofuel feedstock producers while enhancing climate benefits.

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USDAAvery Davidson
Master Farmers Awarded Certifications, Honors

At a luncheon Jan. 9, one farmer was awarded a new Master Farmer certification and five others were recertified as Master Farmers during the 2025 meeting of the Louisiana Association of Conservation Districts.

The Outstanding Master Farmer Award also was presented to Wesley and Kevin Volentine, of Volentine Partnership Farm in Caddo Parish.

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LSU AgCenterAvery Davidson
Pest Management Enterprises Acquired by SynTech Research Group

Local contract research organization, Pest Management Enterprises (PME), has been acquired by the SynTech Research Group, becoming its primary Louisiana contract research organization (CRO) site. The acquisition promises growth and expanded resources for the local research facility.

According to a letter released by PME, the current research staff will remain in place, with plans for expansion in the coming years.

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Avery Davidson
Wrapping Up The 2024 Cotton Crop

Demand for U.S. cotton has appeared weak for several years. The weak demand was balanced out by short U.S. cotton crops in 2022 (drought) and 2023 (drought, too wet, and then too hot). 2024 started off promising but ended with a mix of wet/hot/dry in places around the Cotton Belt. Some folks had decent production, but most everybody was sunk by the market, which fell from the mid-80s to under 70 cents between early planting season and harvest.

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Cottondon molino