Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to fund the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-Raised Fish program, or a similar program, to aid Louisiana crawfish farmers affected by drought and cold temperatures. Strain made the request in a letter dated February 2, 2024.
Read MoreOn January 26, 2024, investigators with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Forestry Enforcement Division and the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested James E. Doyle of Elizabeth, Louisiana, for trespassing and setting wildfires on company land in Rapides Parish.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) will work in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to award $4.6 million through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI).
Read MoreLouisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is now accepting applications for the 2024 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), funded through the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS).
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Livestock Brand Commission will host its next saddle microchipping event on Thursday, February 1, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. This event will be held at the LSU AgCenter’s DeSoto Parish Extension Office, located at 10117 Highway 171 in Grand Cane, Louisiana.
Read MoreWith temperatures dipping near or below freezing in parts of the state beginning early next week, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., urges livestock and pet owners to take necessary precautions to protect their animals. This is also the time to protect plants, pipes, and, of course, people.
Read MoreFederal agriculture officials, in cooperation with Louisiana agriculture officials, have established a federal quarantine area for huanglongbing (HLB; citrus greening), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in all of Saint Charles Parish in Louisiana.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) took the action in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF).
Read More"The catches have been so minimal that in most areas they've quit fishing," Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said.
Strain told WWL's Tommy Tucker that crawfish farmers by and large have no product to sell, but it's not for a lack of trying.
Read MoreThe months-long battle against hundreds of wildfires across Louisiana has made clear that the state is ill-prepared for hotter, drier summers producing multiple simultaneous blazes that ravage forests, imperil communities and stretch the state’s firefighting capabilities beyond the limit.
That’s the message state Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain is sending to lawmakers as he lobbies for a substantial boost in funding for Louisiana’s largest wildfire fighting agency.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Seed Testing Laboratory announces that seed sample test results can now be viewed online. Results have always been available upon request; they’ve just made it easier to access the information.
Read MoreLouisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain plans to ask the Legislature for $43 million to beef up firefighting equipment and personnel after the state suffered its worst wildfire season in a century, wiping out 62,000 acres of mostly forestland.
Read MoreLouisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain will ask the Legislature for $43 million to beef up firefighting equipment and personnel after the state suffered its worst wildfire season in a century, wiping out 62,000 acres of mostly forestland.
Read MoreOn November 21, 2023, inspectors with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Brand Commission arrested 60-year-old Anthony R. Allen of Batchelor, Louisiana, for illegal possession of stolen things. The arrest was the result of a warrant from Pointe Coupee Parish.
Read MoreAs Thanksgiving approaches, Louisiana residents may be in for a bit of a surprise when they check their grocery bills. Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, Mike Strain, is urging people to consider incorporating more locally sourced items into their holiday feasts.
"We want you to certify your celebration," Strain emphasizes. "Look for certified Louisiana products. Think about some pecans, Louisiana sweet potatoes – Yam right. And of course, it's got to be Louisiana rice."
Read MoreLouisiana was the first state to wrap up soybean harvest for the week ending Oct. 29, and remains the only state to have finished harvesting soybeans for the week ending Nov. 5, USDA reports.
Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, says that heat and drought resulted in some poor yields for the state’s first batch of soybeans, averaging 10 to 12 bushels per acre (bpa).
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