Perrin Awarded Dwayne A. Zaunbrecher Memorial Scholarship, Linda & Wayne Zaunbrecher Scholarship

Lily Perrin is the 2026 recipient of the Dwayne A. Zaunbrecher/Vermilion Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer and Rancher Memorial Scholarship and the Linda and Wayne Zaunbrecher Scholarship.

Dwayne Zaunbrecher was a life-long member of Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau and his goal was to establish an educational scholarship to help young people interested in agriculture.

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Food Bank of NELA Receives Beef Donation

The Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana received a beef donation. Last month, the Louisiana Tech University School of Agriculture, Sciences, and Forestry hosted its annual farm production sale.

During the sale, Louisiana Land Bank and Century Next Bank purchased cattle to be donated that were processed into beef products.

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St. Martin Parish President Addresses Concerns with Sugarcane Bagasse Pile

Residents in St. Martin Parish have raised concerns about odors, dust and potential health impacts they say are linked to a large sugarcane bagasse storage site owned by the Louisiana Sugar Cane Cooperative.

The site, located off La. 31, has drawn scrutiny from local officials after residents reported issues with bagasse becoming airborne and creating nuisances in the surrounding area.

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Foreign Labor Digest: Spring 2026

The H-2A program allows agricultural employers to hire temporary foreign workers when there are not enough available U.S. workers to fill seasonal farm jobs.

Widely used across Louisiana agriculture, the program helps support industries such as sugarcane, crawfish, forestry, nurseries, and vegetable production during peak planting and harvest seasons.

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LaborAvery Davidson
Ag Groups Urge USDA To Beef Up Its Staff

More than 120 agricultural and conservation organizations are urging Congress to address staffing shortages at local USDA offices, warning that reduced personnel levels are making it harder for farmers and ranchers to access critical programs and services. In a letter to Senate agriculture appropriations leaders, 123 groups called for adequate fiscal year 2027 funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency.

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USDAdon molino
Was Screwworm Eradicated From the US In 1966? Likely Answer Is ‘No’


When people talk about New World screwworms in the United States, one date gets repeated over and over: 1966.

That is the year the U.S. Department of Agriculture now says the U.S. was declared free of indigenous, or self-sustaining, screwworm populations. It is also the date appearing in many modern explainers — from media outlets to scientific journals to animal health giant Zoetis — as screwworms again threaten livestock and livestock.

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kristen oaks
Farmer Finds Fears Over Carbon Capture Unwarranted

I’ve spent my life working the land in rural Louisiana, and I’ve seen what happens when farms struggle and communities begin to slip away. 

As a farmer, landowner, chairman of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority, and someone who has served for more than a decade as a commissioner while advocating for agriculture and rural communities at both the state and federal levels, I don’t have the luxury of looking at these issues from a distance. 

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kristen oaks