The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) is now accepting applications for the 2025 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), funded through the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS).
Applications must be received no later than the close of business (4:30 p.m.) Friday, March 17, 2025.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, pursuant to ACT 148 in the 2024 Regular Session submitted a Notice of Intent with the Louisiana State Register giving public notice that the Department, through the Office of Agro-Consumer Services, Weights and Measures Division, intended to adopt LAC 7:XXXV.Chapter 5. Subchapter C. Seafood Consumer Protection.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Livestock Brand Commission will host its next saddle microchipping event on Friday, January 31, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. It will be held at the Louisiana Equine Sales and Event Center located at 372 Harry Guilbeau Road, Opelousas.
Read MoreProducers in south Lousiana have hunkered down as the region experiences its first-ever blizzard warning.
Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Mike Strain joined RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arender to talk about current conditions across the state, if the community was prepared for this warning, and what ripple effects lay ahead for agriculture.
Read MoreLouisiana’s new law that requires that imported seafood be clearly labeled on packaging and menus will start to be enforced by the Louisiana Department of Health.
Act 372 mandates that if a retailer, restaurant, or supplier is selling imported shrimp, crawfish or other seafood it must clearly be labeled. The state Department of Agriculture will begin looking for such labels during their regular weights and measures checks.
Read MoreLouisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said his agency is better equipped to fight the kind of wildfires devastating California than it was in 2023 during Louisiana's worst wildfire season in a century.
"We've upped our game," said Strain, whose agency oversees wildland fires in Louisiana, in an interview with USA Today Network Tuesday.
Read MoreLouisiana’s Chronic Wasting Disease news took another turn for the worse last week when a state agency reported three more positive cases in captive deer facilities in three new parishes. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry said it detected the cases while investigating movement records following a CWD positive test found in a Jeff Davis Parish facility in November.
Read MoreWith temperatures dipping near or below freezing in parts of the state this 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 MoreLouisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain discussing the importance of self-reliance and the Farm Bill. Strain emphasizes the need for countries to achieve self-reliance to buy American products, highlighting the strength of the U.S. dollar. He notes that while countries need to be self-reliant, the U.S. must help them achieve this to maintain trade relationships.
Strain outlines the U.S. strategy to diversify trade by engaging with smaller, less-traveled countries, moving away from reliance on major partners like China.
Read MoreOn December 13, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced the detection of the first presumptive positive human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1, in Louisiana. Following a report of increased mortality in the non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry) on the property in southwest Louisiana, testing by Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (LADDL) has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the flock.
Read MoreBird flu has been detected in a backyard flock in Southwest Louisiana after a person exposed to the flock tested positive for the illness.
The SWLA resident was the first person in the state diagnosed with H5N1 and became the first person in the U.S. with a severe case of the disease in the current outbreak. They are hospitalized in Louisiana in critical condition, health officials said Wednesday.
Read MoreTesting has confirmed a case of avian influenza in a backyard flock in Bossier Parish, Louisiana. The backyard flock owner alerted the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry of increased mortality in the backyard flock. Following an investigation by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry).
Read MoreThe deadline to apply for the Apprenticeship Project for Growing Beekeepers and Honey Producers in Louisiana is now December 6th.
The LDAF announced the opportunity to participate in the Apprenticeship Project for Growing Beekeepers and Honey Producers in Louisiana last week.
Read MoreLouisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain is set to visit the UK to promote Louisiana spices, meet agricultural officials, and tour farms and other agricultural sites. Strain highlights the UK’s extensive agricultural land, with 71% dedicated to farming, focusing on staple crops like wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes. He also notes that UK’s top export is…
“…Beverages…oh yeah. So maybe there might be a little Guinness there I heard. Maybe, a little Guinness and a few other things.”
Read MoreChronic Wasting Disease has been found in a deer in Acadiana, officials said.
LSU’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, in coordination with the National Veterinary Services Laboratory, confirmed a positive CWD test Nov. 7 from a deer carcass at a deer farm in Jeff Davis Parish.
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