This week, the House Agriculture Committee passed its portion of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, including more than $94 billion in new spending related to agriculture.
For Louisiana, there is a glaring hole in that spending plan as it is lacking supplemental disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers after Hurricane Ida ravaged the state last month.
Read MoreAs cleanup from Hurricane Ida begins, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., is reminding residents to hire only professional-licensed arborists to perform work on storm-damaged trees.
Read MoreGov. John Bel Edwards, Hunt Forest Products co-owner James D. Hunt and Tolko President and CEO Brad Thorlakson announced that the companies will develop a new $240 million sawmill in Bienville Parish. Resulting from the collaboration of these two companies, the joint venture company will create 130 direct new jobs, with an average salary of $57,400, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the new sawmill will result in 387 indirect jobs for a total of more than 500 new jobs in Louisiana’s Northwest Region.
Read MoreTony Fee, 49, and James Carroll, 35, both of Pitkin, Louisiana, have been sentenced by United States District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. to three (3) years of probation, with mandatory and special conditions, for unlawfully removing and damaging archeological resources at Kisatchie National Forest, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. A special condition imposed by Judge Cain prohibited Fee and Carroll from entering or using the Kisatchie National Forest during their term of probation. The defendants were also ordered to pay $5,676.56 in restitution to the United States Department of Agriculture Forestry Service.
Read MoreThe Forest Landowners Association (FLA) applauds the introduction of bipartisan HR 4120, the “Disaster Reforestation Act,” sponsored by Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Buddy Carter (R-GA), which allows family and private timber growers to recover from the loss of timber destroyed by natural disasters and reforest their lands.
Read MoreGov. John Bel Edwards and Weyerhaeuser announced the company plans to make a two-phased capital investment in its Holden facility. The project would result in approximately $157 million invested over several years to upgrade equipment and modernize the sawmill. Phase one includes nearly $19 million to upgrade lumber kiln-drying capacity, while the second phase will include a major investment of approximately $138 million to completely modernize the facility.
Read MoreLegislation to provide relief dollars to the logging industry in Louisiana is headed to the House floor.
House Bill 642 would create the Louisiana Loggers Relief Program to issue a total of $10 million in grants for timber harvesting and timber-hauling businesses.
Read MoreForestry is the number one industry for Winn Parish, and a top industry for the state of Louisiana. Forestry-related employment accounted for 51,874 jobs in the state. Forest industries manufacturing employers in Louisiana provide about 19,969 jobs in 2017. The Louisiana Forest Festival is important to promote and stimulate the industry for not only the economic wellbeing of Winn and surrounding parishes, but also for the state.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has declared April 2021 as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month (IPPDAM). The national outreach initiative enlists the public in the fight against invasive pests. These damaging invaders threaten our nation’s food crops, forests and natural resources. IPPDAM aims to raise public awareness about this threat, which can devastate agriculture, livelihoods, and food security.
Read MoreArson fires have been burning acres of the Kisatchie National Forest, and authorities are asking the public for help in finding the culprits.
During March, firefighters have responded to around 10 wildfires within different districts of the Kisatchie National Forest, which cover 600,000 acres across seven parishes. On Tuesday, Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain said five of those fires have been in his parish.
Read MoreA Louisiana woman accused of setting fires told investigators she and her boyfriend were trying to get rid of snakes, the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry says.
Robert Lee Ramirez, 34, of Leesville (map), faces two counts of arson and remained at large Tuesday, department spokesman Veronica Mosgrove said in an email.
Read MoreMultiple wildfires have occurred in Grant Parish this month which have caused damage to properties and even threatened some homes.
Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain said over the last 18 days, five separate wildfires have affected the parish.
Read MoreForestry professionals attending the online LSU AgCenter 2021 Forestry Forum on Tuesday heard presentations about a wide range of topics, including estate and tax law, the basics of prescribed burns, controlling a pervasive wild plant, possible tax increases, forestry economics and selling timber.
Video presentations from the sessions will be available later for participants who registered for the events.
Read MoreLouisiana's timberlands remain littered with trees that Hurricane Laura either snapped like toothpicks or yanked out of the ground by their roots as easily as a gardener pulling weeds, wiping out $1.5 billion in timber sales in the state's largest agricultural sector.
Read MoreLouisiana forestry’s $1.5 billion in losses from hurricanes was double the amount of revenue the industry generates annually, according to an LSU AgCenter forestry expert.
Speaking recently (March 10) at the 2021 Virtual Forestry Forum, Michael Blazier, LSU AgCenter forestry specialist, said the damages would be more if lost revenue, infrastructure damage and lost production during the storms are considered.
Blazier said Hurricane Laura that hit on Aug. 27 inflicted damage to 800,000 acres of timber in 22 parishes, with the worst in Vernon Parish. The resulting loss in saw timber, about 3 million board feet, could have supplied 25 sawmills for a year, he said.
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