We hear the word "resiliency" a lot nowadays, in discussions of urban planning, infrastructure and economics, usually at a governmental level.
Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain told a St. Mary Chamber Business Luncheon audience Wednesday that people and individual businesses should also find ways cope with and bounce back from the inevitable tough times.
Agricultural producers, pesticide applicators and homeowners can drop off unwanted pesticides during the Unwanted Pesticide Pick-Up day on Nov. 2, 2021, from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Simplot Grower Solutions, 1110 West Mill Street in Crowley.
Read MoreAs recovery efforts progress following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning and Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain are lifting the cease and desist order issued for all private burning for two parishes: Iberville and St. Bernard.
The cease and desist order remains in place for Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and Terrebonne parishes. In these parishes, private burning is only allowed by permission of the local fire department or local government.
Read MoreAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to aid recovery efforts for farmers, ranchers and residents affected by Hurricane Ida. USDA staff in offices across the country are ready to respond with a variety of program flexibilities and other assistance to producers and communities in need.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is hosting a pesticide pick-up day on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at Simplot Grower Solutions, 1110 W. Mill St. Extension in Crowley from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Read MoreBales of hay are headed to Plaquemines Parish to help cattle and horses impacted by Hurricane Ida.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry says that the hay will be used to feed cattle and horses stranded following the storm.
LDAF says the delivery was made possible thanks to their partners at the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, Louisiana Cattlemen's Association, the LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association Equine Committee, Texas Equine Veterinary Association, Texas A&M Veterinary Association and The Foundation for the Horse.
Read MorePower outages alongside mangled trees, ruined crops and damaged grain elevators were early indications of Hurricane Ida's impact on Louisiana's agriculture industry.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry did a flyover Thursday across parishes hard hit by the storm. Commissioner Mike Strain saw some stranded livestock and flooding in some orchards in Plaquemines Parish, but it's too early to estimate the total cost of damage.
Read MoreLouisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain says there are a lot of barges and ships grounded in the Mississippi River in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida.
“We have to get the barges floated and the ships back into the channel and get the channel cleared,” said Strain.
“We are some six days out from re-opening the mouth of the (Mississippi) River. We have to remove the debris and get the power lines pulled out of the river.
“We hope the upper river, from basically the Port of (South) Louisiana to Baton Rouge and further north, to have that section of the river open and then start moving cargo again.
“There are a lot of ships in the river that are waiting to be loaded. But we’re also working to get electricity to our refineries and grain elevators so we can get those repaired.
“Nine of Loisiana’’s major refineries, which process over two million barrels of oil a day—or 13% of the US total—were offline in the wake of Ida.”
Read MoreFollowing the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, State Fire Marshal H. “Butch” Browning and Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain have issued a cease and desist order for all private burning, pursuant to authority under R.S. 40:1602.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry deployed their mobile pet shelter and animal-transport task force on Monday, Aug. 30.
The task force helped to shelter and care for pets in Laplace which saw major flooding caused by Hurricane Ida.
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 MoreMike Strain, Louisiana's commissioner of agriculture, told DTN agriculture in his state is "working the problem," in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, but he spent most of Monday working without communications until those came online in the mid-afternoon.
"We probably have a million people without power in southeast Louisiana right now," Strain said. "There's a lot of destruction to the transmission lines."
Farmers far outside the direct path of Hurricane Ida could face higher diesel prices as they move into harvest, as well as early shipping challenges, depending on the extent of time oil production and Gulf Coast ports are down.
Read MoreSummer/Fall 2021
Read MoreThere are widespread reports of people using Ivermectin—a horse dewormer—to treat the symptoms of COVID-19. Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain, a practicing veterinarian, warns don’t do it. “The World Health Organization has issued a statement warning against the use of Ivermectin saying ‘the anti-parasitic drug is being investigated in clinical trials, but Ivermectin is incorrectly being used for treatment of COVID-19 with out any scientific evidence of safety for treatment of the disease.’
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is now accepting applications for the Louisiana Agricultural Workforce Development Program, LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., said. The new program provides businesses a monetary incentive to establish intern programs to train students for careers in the agriculture and forestry fields.
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