Springtime disease losses in fishponds are common throughout the Southeast, especially in Louisiana, according to LSU AgCenter aquaculture specialist Greg Lutz. Many problems that become apparent in the spring begin in the fall, when hot weather can reduce oxygen levels in ponds and make fish susceptible to diseases.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with FarmRaise, today launched a new, online Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP) Decision Tool. The USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) tool is designed to assist agricultural producers who have been impacted by natural disasters access available program support. This ELAP Decision Tool, a component of a broader disaster assistance program educational module, further expands the library of online FSA disaster and farm loan program reference resources and decision aids currently available to agricultural producers on the FarmRaise FSA educational hub.
Read MoreAlthough the U.S. The Department of Agriculture approved emergency financial relief for struggling crawfish farmers, the 2023 drought’s impact could linger into next year and beyond, an LSU AgCenter professor surmises.
“Louisiana’s crawfish aquaculture industry will experience impacts from the 2023 drought for several seasons before an economic recovery is complete,” writes C. Greg Lutz, a professor in the LSU AgCenter’s Aquaculture Research Station, in his latest column, The Lutz Report, on TheFishSite.com.
Read MoreLSU alumni celebrated their Southern roots by boiling 750 pounds of crawfish in front of the Empire State Building.
The event, held at the LSU alum-owned Legends bar across from the iconic skyscraper, was organized by the local NYC chapter of the LSU Alumni Association.
Read MoreCongressman Clay Higgins (R-La) recently announced the United States Department of Agriculture will be assisting crawfish farmers throughout the state following the recent droughts impact on their season with help going to the farmers. Deep water crawfishers are left without any help after their seasons were negatively impacted as well.
Read More“We are turning 40, Come join us to celebrate!” declares the Mudbug Madness website. What began in 1984 as a two-day street festival in downtown Shreveport is now one of Louisiana's largest Cajun festivals. Lasting three days, it uses two stages to host 30 bands playing country, pop, blues, and zydeco music.
There are art vendors, a children’s area and of course the main attraction, that little red mudbug served with corn and potatoes.
Read MoreIn an effort to protect Louisiana’s struggling domestic seafood industry, state lawmakers on Wednesday passed sweeping changes to public health codes that will affect thousands of restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores and other food establishments across the state. They also include every state agency and school district that serves food.
Senate Bill 166, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, received final passage with overwhelming bipartisan support from both chambers.
Read MoreA plaintiff group, including Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association-West, Healthy Gulf, Sierra Club and its Delta Chapter, and Waterkeeper Alliance filed a lawsuit to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s (CPRA) East Grand Lake (EGL) project in the Atchafalaya Basin.
Read More“Crawfish aren’t just essential to my restaurant, they’re central to our culture here in south Louisiana,” explained Jason Seither, owner of Seither’s Seafood in Harahan, Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans. “And when crawfish prices get as high as they got this season, it threatens an entire way of life.”
On any given year, these two-clawed, ten-legged red crustaceans — reminiscent of a lobster but much smaller at only three to six inches long — dominate springtime social gatherings and the menus of casual restaurants across Louisiana and beyond.
Read MoreCongresswoman Letlow announced that crawfish will be covered under the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program and the USDA Farm Service Agency will begin delivering relief for crawfish production losses suffered in 2023 and moving forward.
Congresswoman Letlow began the push for crawfish assistance in September of 2023 with her Drought Assistance Improvement Act, following the severe drought disaster Louisiana experienced last summer.
Read MoreThis a huge win for Farm Bureau and should be a big relief to our crawfish farming members who are suffering one of their worst seasons in history.
The press release does a good job of explaining what is to come, but I’d like to share a few details from behind the scenes with you and to say some thank you’s and remind you of the effectiveness of your organization.
Read MoreCongressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted his request and included crawfish in the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP).
In January, Congressman Higgins sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting that drought be included as an eligible cause of loss for ELAP. This was a necessary action for Louisiana’s crawfish farmers to qualify and access emergency assistance in response to the severe drought in 2023.
Read MoreA proposed seafood bill in the state could create stricter regulations on imported fish.
One owner of a restaurant that’s been in the community for 80 years discusses why its important to keep seafood in Louisiana local.
Read MoreU.S. Congressmen Garret Graves (Louisiana) and Troy Carter (Louisiana) announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP) funding to crawfish producers in Louisiana affected by last year’s drought. Graves and Carter led a formal request in February 2024 to the USDA, laying out the authority that Congress had already granted through the ELAP statute; the bipartisan letter asked that the Secretary of Agriculture immediately provide relief to Louisiana farmers who suffered significant crop losses in 2023 due to adverse weather. USDA announced today that they were able to use that discretion to authorize policy flexibilities that will allow crawfish producers to recover losses from last year’s extreme heat.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture expanded emergency assistance to crawfish farmers who suffered from weather issues last summer.
USDA changed regulations of the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish, called ELAP, to include crawfish farmers in the federal grants for disasters.
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