Louisiana's ongoing exceptional drought is making the Bayou state's staple of boiled crawfish unaffordable for many.
Louisiana is amid its worst drought since 2000, with more than 70% of the Bayou State in exceptional drought, the worst rating on the 5-level U.S. Drought Monitor scale. Many of the crawfish farmers' crops from last spring didn't survive without rain.
Read MoreAwards recognizing excellence in implementation of outstanding member programs and membership achievement in 2023 were presented at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 105th Convention.
Read MoreMore than 65 Louisiana Farm Bureau Members and their families are traveling to the 105th American Farm Bureau Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s at the convention where voting delegates from all 50 states and Puerto Rico set policy positions for the nation’s largest general farm organization.
Read MoreCash prizes and bragging rights are up for grabs during the inaugural Louisiana Ag Week taking place March 18 through 22.
The Louisiana Ag in the Classroom program will be hosting a coloring contest, art contest and a video contest for students in all grades during Ag Week.
Read MoreIt'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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MoreCongresswoman 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.
Read MoreMembers 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.”
Read MoreLouisiana’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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreLouisiana 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.
Read MoreInflation 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.
Read MoreThere 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.
Read MoreCongratulations 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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