The 102nd Annual Convention of the Louisiana Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, is underway here at the Marriott Hotel on Canal St.

The convention will see 1,500 farm families attend during the four-day event, which includes contests, commodity conferences, youth activities and a host of guest speakers, including politicians. Expected to attend this year is U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., Commissioner of Ag and Forestry Dr. Mike Strain and Commissioner of Insurance Tim Temple.

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It’s convention time, so let’s jump in with a New Orleans forecast for everyone that will be gathering down there this weekend! It looks like a very New Orleans weekend with loads of humidity, plenty of heat, and daily rain chances. Rain should keep highs around 90 each day, with lows only falling into the upper 70s. Some of the most refreshing moments will be the time immediately after thunderstorms in the afternoon.

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Nearly 200 people have suffocated in grain bins in the U.S. in the past 30 years, according to Texas A&M.

The Louisiana Farm Bureau and the Louisiana Fire and Rescue Academy have compiled a list of all grain safety rescue tubes in the state. There are 25 in the state and only one here in Southwest Louisiana.

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Louisiana Farm Bureau and the Louisiana Fire and Emergency Training Academy have compiled a list of all grain bin rescue tubes in the state and their locations.

There are currently 25 grain bin rescue tubes in the state. Seventeen are owned by fire departments. The remaining eight are owned by companies that operate grain elevators.

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Parts of Louisiana have already seen more rain than they did all of 2023. We are just a few days over 5 months into the year, or about 43% through the year, and we are either close to, or above what we saw all 12 months of last year. If you are reading this, you are aware of this, but this is a good way for me to put into perspective how dry it was last year vs. how wet it is this year. The good news is, it seems like we are going to get a few, mostly dry days going forward.

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Year after year, people have started their mornings with Smiley.

His column — a daily collection of funny, odd and nostalgic anecdotes submitted by his many readers and deftly spun into an entertaining whole — captured the spirit of south Louisiana.

After more than 50 years of writing for The Advocate, Smiley Anders died Friday at his home in Spanish Town in Baton Rouge. He was 86.

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Full disclosure, Savannah and I went to school together. However, when I saw they had built a vineyard and winery in our hometown, I knew that I wanted to feature it in one of our Feasting on Agriculture segments.  

Thirsty Farmer’s story does start in a more familiar wine country. After a trip to California’s wine country in 2015, the couple decided to try their hand at growing grapes and winemaking back home. Michael planted more than 150 vines of their favorite wine grapes, but the crop was not exactly successful.     

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Rain has returned to the state, which feels like mixed news, depending on who you talk to. It feels like we went from too wet, to too dry, and back to wet, with no time in the middle. It looks like more rain is on the way, as well as at least some threat for severe weather.

The pattern we are in is typical for late spring into the first days of summer. A northwesterly flow aloft is carrying disturbances that will interact with plenty of moisture and instability.

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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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