The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced key presidential appointments to the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area. These appointees will lead efforts to advance President Trump’s America First agenda and ensure that farmers, ranchers, and producers have the support they need to keep feeding, fueling, and clothing America.
Read MoreHowdy folks. Meteorologist Nick Mikulas here to discuss some Louisiana weather. We had our first Red Flag Warning of the year for the southern half of the state on Thursday, and I don’t like seeing things like that so early in the season. It looks like we have some rain that will help that situation from late Sunday into early Monday. Unfortunately, with that, comes a chance for severe weather.
Read MoreSince 2006, the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture has been on a mission to build awareness and understanding of agriculture through education. Now we are taking these efforts to the next level to ensure that U.S. agriculture remains a leader in innovation, sustainability and global food security. Our goal is to see agriculture applied in STEM classrooms around the country.
Read MoreThese hot, dry conditions have kept firefighters busy across the Caddo Parish.
Just after 4pm on Wednesday, Shreveport Firefighters responded to a woods fire near Linwood and Bert Kouns. Calls came in about heavy black smoke coming from a wooded area behind Brookshire’s.
Read MoreWith avian flu wiping out chicken populations and driving up egg prices, people have been struggling for solutions. US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr has suggested that instead of culling birds that are affected, farmers should consider letting the disease run through the flock to identify and preserve birds that are immune to it.
Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain emphasizes the terrible impact that would have on the industry thusly: “There might be two chickens left when it’s over.”
Read MoreGrowing zones, also referred to as hardiness zones, are geographical areas categorized based on average annual minimum winter temperatures in order to determine which plants are likely to thrive in a specific region.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a Plant Hardiness Zone Map that divides the U.S. into 13 different zones, which helps gardeners choose plants that can survive in their respective climate.
Read MoreLouisiana 5th District Congresswoman Julia Letlow sent a letter this week to the Acting Administrator of the Farm Service Agency in an effort to expedite approval of USDA guaranteed crop loans as farmers begin planting.
Read MoreRice planting got off to a delayed start this year in Texas and southwest Louisiana because of wet and cool conditions early, but it is pedal to the metal this week as growers work to get seeds in the ground.
In Texas, planting progress west of Houston is all over the board with some farmers finished (L.G. Raun in El Campo, and Allen Anderson in East Bernard) to some who have not yet started. A common theme is lack of ground moisture, with several farmers saying they delayed planting because of lack of soil moisture, but with no rain in the forecast, they will plant dry and plan to flush fields for seed germination.
Read MoreThe 2025 Feeding the Economy report continues to show that the U.S. food and agriculture sector is a foundational pillar of American culture and commerce. These industries directly support over 24 million jobs (15% of U.S. employment) and are responsible for more than $9.5 trillion of the country’s economic activity – about one-fifth of total U.S. output.
Read MoreClick below for the market report from the latest Kinder Livestock Auction.
Read MoreClick below for the market report from the latest Red River Livestock Auction.
Read MoreAccording to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Louisiana, there were 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending Sunday, March 16, 2025. Topsoil moisture supplies were 0 percent very short, 4 percent short, 63 percent adequate, and 33 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies were 0 percent very short, 3 percent short, 72 percent adequate, and 25 percent surplus.
Read MoreLess than a year after USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced it was nixing a major cattle inventory report, the agency now says it’s reinstating the July Cattle Inventory report.
Read MoreCommunity organizers in several of the rural towns and villages that dot Franklin Parish have banded together to improve quality of life in their communities.
New festivals, farmers markets and town events fill the parish calendar. Park improvements draw families to once neglected areas. Grant-funded programs are making the areas more pedestrian-friendly.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced the expediting of $10 billion in economic assistance payments to certain agricultural producers to mitigate increased economic headwinds faced in 2024. This funding, which provides a one-time payment to farmers of qualifying commodities facing economic hardship, was made available by year-end passage of the FARM Act sponsored by Reps. Trent Kelly (R-MS) and Julia Letlow (R-LA).
Read More
