About 20 people gathered outside a Bourg home to take a small piece of an award-winning cabbage. Its outer leaves were roasted and placed in small aluminum foil envelopes.

"It's a family tradition that's supposed to bring you good luck," home gardener Jenny Bourg said.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry have established a federal quarantine area for Huanglongbing, also known as HLB or citrus greening.

The quarantine is for Saint Charles Parish in Louisiana due to HLB detections in plant tissue samples collected in multiple locations during routine surveys and to prevent the spread of HLB to non-infested parts of the U.S., according to a news release.

Pecans and pecan trees are quintessential parts of the southern diet and landscape, although, as reflected by its scientific name (Carya illinoinensis), the pecan tree’s native range extends beyond the South.

A primary criterion for choosing pecan varieties for yards and home orchards is resistance to a fungal disease called pecan scab.

Some farmers are struggling to bear fruit this season because of the freezing temperatures.

75-year-old Daniel Romero owns Daniel & Anna's Orchard, a "pick your own" fruit farm in New Iberia.

Current Farms is launching its third Winter Farm Share Season and it will continue until March 2024. According to Current Farms, this year they are partnering with 3 Board Farm to bring more locally-grown fresh food from the farm to the community.

“Our partnership with 3 Board Farm is more than just a business contract; it’s a shared vision for a healthier, more sustainable community,” said Conrad Cable, owner of Current Farms.

Joe Mitcham pulled a knife from the pocket of his jeans and made a few quick cuts in the root of a peach tree he had pulled out of the ground earlier that day.

Using the tip of the blade, he pointed at the white streaks visible in the soft, yellow wood.

“You see that?” he asked. “That’s the fungus.”

Brandon Breaux started the first elderberry farm in Louisiana.

Michael Davis produced and marketed the first goat milk gelato in New England.

Joshua Morris developed a multi-speciated operation to create ecosystems on his farm in Missouri.

When each of these veterans returned home from their military service, they were driven to take their lives on a new path — farming.

Commercial citrus growers have dwindled over the past few decades in south Louisiana, where farmers have had to battle hurricanes, flooding, invasive insects, freezes and drought to keep their groves alive.

The latest hurdle comes from a slow-moving threat — a mass influx of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico that is creeping up the drought-stricken Mississippi River.