Avoyelles Parish is one of 11 parishes in Louisiana designated as disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to excessive rains in the second half of 2022.
The potential financial aid that farmers, especially local ones, can receive could be crucial for some families already anticipating a significant loss.
Read MoreAgricultural producers in 11 parishes who suffered losses due to excessive rains that occurred from June 1 through November 2, 2022, may be eligible for assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Many areas of the state, including Louisiana’s greatest row crop-producing parishes, suffered 18 or more inches of rain within just a few days.
Read MoreFarmers in 11 Louisiana parishes and another 30 parishes and counties in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are eligible for disaster aid from the USDA. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack sent a letter to La. Governor John Bel Edwards dated December 20, 2022 that Loss Assessment Reports showed sufficient losses in those 11 parishes to warrant a secretarial disaster declaration.
Read MoreLouisiana inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2022, totaled 5,000 head, was down 17 Percent from December 1, 2021; breeding hog inventory, at 1,000 head, was down 50 percent from previous year; and market hog inventory, at 4,000 head, was unchanged from the previous year.
Read MoreEarlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) mailed the 2022 Census of Agriculture paper questionnaires to all known agriculture producers across the nation and Puerto Rico. Last month, producers in all states received their survey codes with an invitation to respond online. Any Louisiana producer who did not respond online still has the option to complete the ag census at agcounts.usda.gov or by mail.
Read MoreForage producers heard about a new potential income stream during a recent Louisiana Forage and Grassland Council and Louisiana Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative meeting in Alexandria.
Producers normally assess their forage profit potential by what’s above ground, but carbon guidelines offered during the Dec. 2 annual forage conference shows that there’s cash underground as well.
Read MoreLouisiana cotton production and yields were both higher in November while sugarcane production and yield were both down.
Read MoreThe federal government on Monday announced another $325 million for agricultural projects that are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
$4.9 million to promote urban, mainly Black, farmers who grow and market crops in Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi and South Carolina.
Read MoreUSDA is accepting applications for grants to establish and operate Agriculture Innovation Centers (AIC).
AICs provide technical and business development assistance to agricultural producers seeking to market or produce value-added products.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for December 2022, which are effective Dec. 1, 2022. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help agricultural producers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs.
Read MoreFarm Labor: Number of workers, Hours Worked, and Wage Rates by Type of Worker - Delta Region and United States: 2017 - 2022.
Read MoreBaton Rouge-based applied research and product development firm Inventherm has received a $650,000 Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop its innovative Cremmjoy Soft-Serve Ice Cream Machine for use in the restaurant and retail sector. Among the 34 companies awarded SBIR Phase 2 awards nationwide, Inventherm is the only company from Louisiana.
Read MoreGov. John Bel Edwards has asked the federal government to issue a disaster declaration for a number of parishes whose farmers were hit hard by extreme weather during the past growing season.
The request, which had been urged by U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, whose district includes many of the hard-hit parishes in the state's northeast, underscores a tumultuous year for the state's farmers.
Read MoreCorn Yield and Production Unchanged from October… Cotton Yield and Production Up from October… Rice Yield and Production Unchanged from October… Soybean Yield and Production Unchanged from October… Sugarcane Yield Down but Production Up from October.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) began mailing ballots this week for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county and urban county committee elections to all eligible agricultural producers and private landowners across the country. Elections are occurring in certain Local Administrative Areas (LAA) for these committee members who make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. Producers and landowners must return ballots to their local FSA county office or have their ballots be postmarked by Dec. 5, 2022, in order for those ballots to be counted.
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