The Ruston Farmers Market and Drew Jones Teaching Kitchen were full of energy and excitement on Thursday, June 5, as community members gathered for the annual Peach Cookery Contest, a beloved tradition held in conjunction with the Louisiana Peach Festival.
Sponsored by Park Haus, the event celebrated local culinary talent with a delicious array of pies and cobblers featuring the region’s favorite fruit, peaches.
Read MoreAs the LSU AgCenter Extension agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, Anna Timmerman has become a trusted source of information for the citrus industry, home fruit and vegetable growers and small producers who sell at the more than 30 farmers markets in the Greater New Orleans area. Timmerman’s expertise was so well respected that she was named the state point of contact for citrus earlier this year.
Read MoreNestled in the heart of berry country, ODK Farms is bursting with flavor — and it's not just the fruit.
Owned by Chip Killian, the farm is home to 575 flourishing blackberry plants, each one hand-planted with care just three years ago.
Visitors to ODK Farms don’t just pick berries — they enjoy a full sensory experience.
Read MoreU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a second round of payments coming this week for specialty crop producers through the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, providing up to $1.3 billion in additional program assistance. U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) already delivered just under $900 million in first round payments to eligible producers.
Read MoreThese volunteers are trying to change the wooded landscape at this small nature preserve in Arnaudville.
“This acre back here has a lot of invasives, tallows, Chinese privet, honeysuckle. This could use some more diversity,” said Phyllis Grifford.
Read MoreLSU’s Agriculture Center and LSU School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences (SPESS) presented the 22nd annual Baton Rouge Spring Show at the John M. Parker Coliseum this past weekend.
The LSU AgCenter was established in 1972 by the LSU Board of Chancellors with the intention of giving the university system’s agricultural programs their own distinct identity.
Read MoreIn 2023, Anna Timmerman, a horticulture agent for St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish, had to think swiftly to deal with a salt wedge that was rising up the Mississippi River. There were concerns about this causing issues for nursery irrigation systems, Timmerman was particularly worried about how the saltwater would affect one segment of her clientele: Plaquemines Parish citrus producers.
Read MorePerched at the south entrance of the Saturday Red Stick Farmers Market, the Fullness Farm booth holds tidy, tiered arrangements of colorful organic veggies.
There are tender ready-to-eat lettuces and leafy greens, carefully washed and portioned in clear bags. There are bundles of carrots and radishes, raw materials for recipes or snacking. Broccoli and cauliflower make an appearance in cooler months, while plump tomatoes, eggplant and scads of different peppers beckon spring and summer regulars.
Read MoreWith another record cold this time of year, some farmers are prepping to make sure their crops will survive until morning. Right now, the crops are covered to protect them, but one local farmer says he’s not too worried about them.
Read MoreThere’s nothing quite like pecans. With their rich, buttery flavor, these nuts are a staple of Louisiana culture and cuisine.
If you’d like to produce your own pecans, November through March is an ideal time to plant these trees. There are a few considerations to take into account first.
Read MoreThe effects of last week’s freeze are still being felt across the Lake Area, especially in the farming industry.
Many farms reported several inches of snow.
“To see the entire thing covered in white snow, and the trees, it was just a sight I thought I’d never seen here in South Louisiana,” Driftwood Farm Owner Hilery Gobert said.
Read MoreStrawberry farmers across the state, including one in Livingston Parish, are assessing the damage done by last week’s arctic blast. Rachael Harris, the owner of Harris Strawberry Farm in Springfield, says they took proactive measures in advance of the storm, like covering them with cloth. But that only went so far.
Read MoreAfter much of South Louisiana finally thawed out after Tuesday’s historic winter storm, many farmers throughout Livingston and Tangipahoa Parishes are assessing the damage done to their crops.
Read MoreSome Louisiana pecan producers could amass a larger pile of rejected nuts because of abnormally dry weather through the late summer and early fall, said Michael Polozola, the LSU AgCenter state fruit and nut specialist.
A lack of rain just before harvest prevented some pecans from filling out, Polozola said, leading to lower yields for many producers.
Read MoreRural cooperatives are the backbone of our nation and provide countless goods and services that people in rural Louisiana rely on to thrive.
Cooperatives have existed throughout the U.S. for more than a century. They are businesses owned and controlled by the people who use them. They differ from other businesses because they operate for the benefit of their members, rather than to earn profits for investors.
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