Tropical Storm Arthur brought historic rainfall to portions of Louisiana, with some areas reportedly receiving up to 30 inches of rain in a single day. The resulting flooding and prolonged saturated soil conditions caused widespread damage to soybean fields across the central Louisiana region.
Read MoreLouisiana farmers suffered an estimated $112 million loss as a result of Tropical Storm Arthur last month. Avoyelles, St. Landry and Rapides Parishes accounted for 90% of total losses. Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says Avoyelles received 29 inches of rain in less than 24 hours.
Read MoreFor 25 years, the Louisiana Master Farmer Program has helped farmers improve efficiency, sustainability and long-term productivity. A rancher in south Louisiana completed the program, which led her to make environmental improvements.
Read MoreLouisiana residents with an interest in gardening and community service can receive specialized horticulture training through the LSU Ag Center’s Louisiana Master Gardener program.
Several regional programs are scheduled to begin in August, including a Central Louisiana class that will meet in Mansura.
Read MoreIt has been a challenging time for farmers. First tariffs, and more recently, restrictions on ships in the Strait of Hormuz carrying fertilizer or the elements and compounds in it, have increased the cost of bringing crops to harvest.
LSU Ag Center’s Dr. Peters Egbedi said farmers have dealt with the increases in different ways. Some, anticipating price hikes, purchased extra fertilizer early.
Read MoreThe predictions of a harvest increase over last year’s were undercut by the news of the arrival of a worrisome, invasive insect at the LSU AgCenter’s annual Sugar Research Station field day July 15.
At the outset of the day, AgCenter sugarcane specialist Kenneth Gravois said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Statistics Services is indicating a 5,000-to-6,000-acre increase over last year’s crop, with a clearer focus coming into view in August.
Read MoreIn a work shed surrounded by a cow pasture in an area of New Iberia where well-manicured lawns share the landscape with sugarcane fields, 4-H youth are doing something special. Despite the setting, these 4-H’ers are not working on a traditional agriculture project. They are designing and building robots destined for competition.
Read MoreSymbiotic relationships come in many harmless forms throughout nature: clownfish and anemones, whales and barnacles, and bees and flowers to name a few. Two LSU AgCenter scientists are studying how to use symbiosis to potentially control a dangerous pest that is anything but harmless — the New World screwworm.
Read MoreThis month’s 2026/27 U.S. corn outlook is for smaller supplies, greater exports, and reduced ending stocks. Corn beginning stocks are cut 125 million bushels to 2.0 billion, reflecting an increase in feed and residual use that is partly offset by a reduction in corn used for ethanol for 2025/26. Feed and residual use is raised 150 million bushels based on indicated disappearance in the June 30 Grain Stocks report.
Read MoreSugarcane varieties are the lifeblood of the Louisiana sugar industry. As a result, variety selection is one of the most important decisions a producer makes — one with long-term implications. The goal is to maximize profitability on every acre throughout an extended crop cycle.
Read MoreAt the 112th 4-H University, the “Krewe De 4-H U” let the good times roll, with Louisiana’s 4-H annual celebration on the LSU main campus. Maddox Fieldhouse was turned into a grand event space for the awards ceremony, where winners and new officers were revealed.
Read MoreIn Karuna Kharel’s LSU AgCenter food microbiology lab, pecans are better protected, freeze-dried strawberries are safer and smoked and canned oysters are safely on the menu. The researcher focuses on improving the safety and quality of Louisiana commodities, with particular attention to low-moisture foods like nuts and freeze-dried products.
Read MoreUSDA’s much-anticipated Acreage Report was released on June 30th. Corn acreage stayed large, but lower-than-expected corn and wheat stocks gave traders enough demand support to trigger relief buying and short-covering after a sharp June selloff.
Grain markets treated the Acreage and Grain Stocks reports as less bearish than the headline corn acreage number first suggested. USDA pegged corn planted area at 95.343 million acres, above the average pre-report trade estimate near 94.99 million acres, with harvested area for grain forecast at 87.434 million acres.
Read MoreLouisiana's agriculture commissioner met with flood-affected farmers in Opelousas on Monday, urging them to meticulously document their losses as crop damage from catastrophic flooding in Avoyelles and St. Landry parishes climbs into the millions of dollars.
Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain traveled to Opelousas to outline the steps farmers must take to access state and federal assistance following flooding that inundated miles of farm fields and forced livestock to seek higher ground about a week and a half ago.
Read MoreA mid-June tropical disturbance (remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur), combined with a stalled frontal system, produced record-breaking rainfall and significant flooding across south-central Louisiana. The highest rainfall totals were recorded in Avoyelles, St. Landry, and northwestern Pointe Coupee parishes.
Sugarcane is a key component of the diverse cropping systems in these affected areas.
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