The Time is Now to Meet Your Legislators
It's time to prepare for the 2024 regular session of the Louisiana legislature that begins March 11th at the Capitol in Baton Rouge and ends June 3rd. It's an 85-day session with no restrictions on what types, or how many, pieces of legislation can be filed for the session. It's what's referred to as a, "Katy bar the door" session where anything goes.
The new year begins with a new legislative scenario, i.e. of the 144 legislators in the legislature, 46 will be new with a new governor, as well. Louisiana will have a new speaker of the house, a new president of the senate, and new chairpersons for both the house and senate committees.
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Farmers in Caddo Parish Prepare for Winter Blast
The cold arctic blast on the way to the ArkLaTex and the wintery precipitation is not fit for man nor beast. And that really hits home with Marty Wooldridge of Northern Caddo Parish, a cattle farmer as he preps for the cold weather.
"We kind of know the plan, we know what we need to be doing," says Wooldridge. "We're really fortunate. You know, your guys on TV, y'all are giving us several days of warning, so we're prepping the next couple of days.
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La. Farm Bureau Legislative Update: Be Prepared to Answer the Call
As the new year fast-approaches, your Farm Bureau legislative team is preparing for whatever might come ag’s way next year. Yes, we have a pro-business legislature and pro-business Governor that both support agribusiness, but that doesn’t mean Farm Bureau won’t have a fight on our hands over an issue yet to be seen; possibly an issue trickling down from the national level for each state to decide for itself.
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Congresswoman Julia Letlow Introduces the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2023
Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) introduced H.R. 6717, the Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2023. This proposed bill will revise two programs within the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 - the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP), to provide farmers and owners of nonindustrial forest land who have been impacted by natural disasters with the option to receive advance emergency payments prior to carrying out emergency measures.
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2024/26 Rice Leadership Development Program Class Includes 3 From Louisiana
Members of the 2024/26 Rice Leadership Development Program class were announced yesterday during the annual Rice Awards Luncheon at the 2023 USA Rice Outlook Conference. The class is comprised of seven rice industry professionals selected by a committee of agribusiness leaders.
“This is an excellent group that displays exceptional leadership potential,” said Rice Foundation Director Dr. Steve Linscombe. “They also represent a mix of southern and west coast individuals which always makes for good class dynamics.”
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Severe Drought is Taking a Huge Toll on Louisiana Farms, Forests
Louisiana’s abrupt transition this year from one of the wettest states to one of the driest has had crippling repercussions for its farms and forests.
The state’s agricultural and timber industries have suffered nearly $1.7 billion in losses from the long-running drought and recent bouts of record high temperatures, according to a new report from Louisiana State University researchers.
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Louisiana Farm Bureau Podcast: Maximizing Markets for Louisiana Farmers
The primary function of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation is to ensure farmers can continue to feed a growing world. One of the ways it does that is by helping move agricultural products through the Louisiana Farm Bureau Marketing Association. In this episode, Karl Wiggers sits down with grain marketing specialists Greg Fox and Grayson Close to talk about the company and how they help farmers across Louisiana sell their crops at the best price at the best time.
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La. Farm Bureau Legislative Update: Lots of New Faces at the State Capitol
Louisiana has just completed a round of runoff races for statewide and legislative seats. One result of this will be a republican supermajority in both the House and Senate beginning next year for four years. There will be 34 new members in the House, and 11 new members in the Senate.
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Turkey Dinner Prices Down From Last Year, Still Up From 2019
Inflation continues to wreak havoc on consumer's wallets, but there is a tiny bit of relief around the holidays this year.
The average price of a turkey dinner for 10 will cost about $5 less than it did in 2022, but overall prices are still about 25 percent higher than they were in 2019.
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Rotary Club of Abbeville Honors Allen McLain Jr. As Vermilion Parish Farmer of the Year
There is a saying about who to thank for the meal you ate today.
Each year, the Rotary Club of Abbeville dedicates a day to offer a special thanks to those who work to make sure food is plentiful, by presenting its Farmer of the Year Award. Allen McLain Jr. is this year’s recipient. The Rotary Club honored McLain during its weekly meeting on Wednesday.
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La. Farm Bureau President Jim Harper Congratulates Speaker Johnson
Congratulations to Louisiana 4th District Congressman Mike Johnson in becoming the first member of our state’s delegation to ascend to Speaker of the House of Representatives. Congressman Johnson has always been a friend of Farm Bureau.
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Ten-Hut! Farm Bureau Women Sharpen Skills at Communications Boot Camp
Fifteen farm and ranch women leaders graduated from the fall session of Women’s Communications Boot Camp hosted by the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The agricultural leaders completed an intensive four-day course that featured hands-on sessions focused on public speaking, working with the media and messaging. Program graduates will use their training to strategically support Farm Bureau’s priority issues.
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Ruppenicker Saw Many Changes in 43 Years of Cotton
Dave Ruppenicker has held three jobs since beginning his career in 1980 at the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. In all of his roles, Ruppenicker has maintained the same mission: being an advocate for farmers.
Ruppenicker will retire as CEO of Southern Cotton Growers on December 31, after more than 23 years of service to the largest cotton farmer association in the country.
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Vernon Parish Cattlemen’s Association Hosts Youth Farm Day
The average farmer age in the United States is around age 60, a concerning statistic for an agriculture-driven country and community in Central Louisiana. That is why the Vernon Parish Cattlemen’s Association (VPCA) is recruiting the next generation of farmers by hosting its Youth Farm Day at the Porter and Son’s Ranch in Leesville.
Those students learned about farm safety, animal health, beef quality assurance, agriculture careers and farm programs from the LSU Ag Center, McNeese State University, Louisiana Wildlife and Forestry and the Louisiana Farm Bureau.
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Louisiana Farm Bureau Applauds Companion Bills Authored by Rep. Higgins, Sen. Cassidy
Louisiana Farm Bureau President Jim Harper sent letters to Congressman Clay Higgins and Senator Bill Cassidy to thank the two lawmakers for filing companion bills to help farmers and fishermen.
The Prioritizing Offensive Agriculture Disputes and Enforcement Act would identify trade barriers to U.S. agricultural exports and develop strategies to enforce violations of trade agreements, according to a press release.
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