A coalition of Louisiana’s largest agricultural groups representing more than 150,000 Louisiana residents today sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation urging them to pass The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 now that it has advanced out of the House Agriculture Committee.

Louisiana Farm Bureau, American Sugar Cane League, Louisiana Cotton and Grain Association, Louisiana Forestry Association, Louisiana Rice Producers Group and Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association are the organizations that signed the letter.

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The annual meetings of the Louisiana Farm Bureau and its related companies are to be held at its 102nd annual convention and are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., Sunday, June 30, 2024; however, these meetings may begin earlier or later, depending on the time of adjournment of the session of the House of Voting Delegates of Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, Inc.

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Louisiana Farm Bureau President Jim Harper issued a statement in support of the proposed 2024 Farm Bill presented by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania.

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Chantelle Hataway, a third-grade teacher at Lafargue Elementary School in Avoyelles Parish, has been named the 2024 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. The program recognizes educators who effectively integrate agriculture into their core curriculum.

Hataway's passion for agriculture shines through in her classroom. "I was raised on a farm," she says. "My daddy raised cattle. We had chickens, we had pigs...That was our way of life."

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Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act. This bill will amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide increased and more flexible insurance coverage for farmers who have experienced crop quality loss.

The policies existing in the current Federal Crop Insurance Act do not always provide farmers with the flexibility that is needed for the often unpredictable crop quality losses. Soybean farms in particular have been significantly impacted by quality loss issues.

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More than 60 Oklahoma Farm Bureau members learned about the spicy, savory and sweet Louisiana agriculture industry during the 2024 OKFB Ag Tour May 6-9 to Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.

The tour featured two days of stops and visits to farms, agribusinesses and cultural destinations in southwest Louisiana near Lafayette.

Members arrived on Monday, May 6, with a welcome dinner and meeting with Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau members and leaders at the parish Farm Bureau office. The local Farm Bureau planned the tour stops for OKFB members with numerous visits at local Farm Bureau members’ farms and ranches.

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Sen. John Kennedy (R-La), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act. The bill would give farmers more flexibility by improving the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)’s ability to set discounts for farmers who experience crop loss.

“Too often, federal insurers give American farmers short shrift when regional disasters damage their crops. The Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act would make sure that fickle government policies don’t control the fate of Louisiana’s soybean farmers,” said Kennedy.

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Last year was one for the ages across Louisiana, and NOT in a good way. I did a brief dive into a comparison of the numbers from this year and last year, since May 15th 2023 was the point where we went from a pretty normal year, to one of the most incredible droughts and heat waves in recent history. I used Alexandria for this exercise since it is right in the middle of the state, and I had already used it for my local update.

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I genuinely wish I had better news in this update. Corn is in the ground, and that’s a great start. I know fertilizing needs to happen for some, and others are in the process of planting cotton and soybeans. If not already in the process, I’m sure you want to be. I don’t see that happening for the next week to 10 days. 

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Heavy rain is likely, once again, and it looks like some of the hardest hit areas in recent weeks will once again bear the brunt of this next system. There will also be at least some potential for severe weather. Over the last 24 hours, there has been an uptick in forecast rainfall amounts, as well as severe weather parameters. I've included forecast rain totals through Thursday night.

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The latest crop report shows loads of good news, with most everything close to 5 year averages, or ahead of schedule. It looks like more good weather is on the way. By that, I mean there will be some rain, and some dry, as things try to stay pretty balanced across Louisiana. Here’s how I see things going through the middle of next week. 

First off, the warmth is here, and it looks like it’s here to stay. We’ll still see a couple of “cold” fronts before we really shift into summer mode, but the cold fronts are going to lose their punch.

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