Louisiana corn area harvested is 680,000, up 56 percent from 2022. The average yield is estimated at 175 bushels per acre, up 5 bushels from last year. Production totaled 119 million bushels, up 61 percent from 2022.
Upland cotton harvested acres is 115,000, down 39 percent from 2022. The yield is expected to average 877 pounds per harvested acre, down 27 pounds from last year. Production is estimated at 210,000 bales, down 41 percent from 2022.
Read MoreProducers in Louisiana are eligible to apply for 2023 Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) benefits on Native Pasture, Full Season Improved Pasture, and Full Season Improved Mixed.
LFP provides compensation if you suffer grazing losses for covered livestock due to drought on privately owned or cash leased land or fire on federally managed land.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will begin accepting applications for the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program (Continuous CRP) signup on Jan. 12, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages agricultural producers and landowners interested in conservation opportunities for their land in exchange for yearly rental payments to consider the enrollment options available through Continuous CRP, which also includes the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) offered by FSA partners. Additionally, producers participating in CRP can apply to re-enroll beginning Jan. 12, 2024 if their contracts will expire this year.
Read MoreThe Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program is designed to increase the availability of local foods in schools and help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals. Grants can launch new farm to school programs or expand existing efforts.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for January 2024, which are effective Jan. 2, 2024. 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 MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that USDA is accepting grant applications for community-driven programs that will help create high-wage jobs and new businesses in underserved rural communities. The Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) program encourages regional, innovation-driven approaches to economic development by funding job accelerator partnerships in low-income and underserved rural communities.
Read MoreAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appointed four new members to the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Federal Advisory Committee (Committee). The new members are replacing four members whose terms are expiring and rotating off the Committee. The Committee is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) efforts to support urban agriculture and innovative production, creating a network for feedback. The Committee’s public meetings give the urban and innovative production community and others an opportunity to witness deliberations and voting procedures.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds specialty crop growers that assistance is available for producers who incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification through the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program. Producers can apply for assistance on their calendar year 2023 expenses through Jan. 31, 2024.
Read MoreLouisiana inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2023, totaled 5,000 head, was unchanged from December 1, 2022; breeding hog inventory, at 1,000 head, was unchanged from previous year; and market hog inventory, at 4,000 head, was unchanged from the previous year. For the December 2022 - November 2023 period, the pig crop totaled 8,200 head, up 14 percent from the same time period the previous year.
Read MoreUSDA officials want farmers to know that the deadline for a special loan assistance program is fast approaching. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 included a provision to help borrowers who have taken extraordinary measures to continue making their Farm Service Agency loan payments. Those borrowers have until Dec. 31 to apply for assistance.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is hosting more than a dozen in-person and virtual workshops this winter for producers to learn about new and expanded livestock risk management products. The “Livestock Roadshow,” hosted by USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), will highlight policy improvements based on feedback from America’s livestock producers as part of the agency’s broader outreach and education efforts
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that agricultural producers can now enroll in the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year. Producers can enroll and make election changes for the 2024 crop year starting Dec. 18, 2023. The deadline to complete enrollment and any election change is March 15, 2024.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds specialty crop growers that assistance is available for producers who incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification through the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program. Producers can apply for assistance on their calendar year 2023 expenses through Jan. 31, 2024.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting public input – due by Feb. 16, 2024 – on how foreign filers report agricultural land holdings in the United States.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is proposing to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Report form so that reporting can include data on long-term lessees, data to assess the impacts of foreign investment on agricultural producers and rural communities, and to gather geospatial information.
Read MoreUSDA is accepting applications for the 2024 USDA 1890 National Scholars Program. The application deadline is March 1, 2024.
The USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is aimed at bolstering educational and career opportunities for students from rural or underserved communities around the country. It was established in 1992 as part of the partnership between USDA and the 1890 land-grant universities.
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