More than 2,000 farms have been lost in Louisiana in between the years 2017 and 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Census.
A census is conducted every five years, and data shows that the numbers are expected to continue dropping. The main reasons are frequent farmer deaths, overpriced labor and a declining farmers networking system.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding crop insurance tailored for nursery producers to all counties in all states. Nursery Value Select (NVS) is a pilot program that enables nursery producers to select the dollar amount of coverage that best fits their risk management needs. Its expansion is part of USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) efforts to provide insurance options for a broader group of producers, including specialty crop producers.
Read MoreA Louisiana congressman is asking the federal government for help with the state’s crawfish industry.
Last week, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-La.) wrote letters to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) asking them to help the crawfish farming industry after it was hit by a severe drought and a hard freeze.
Read MoreThe 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.
USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) manages the 1890 National Scholars Program, which is aimed at increasing the number of students from rural and underserved communities who study food, agriculture, natural resource and other related sciences.
Read MoreThe value of production for field crops in Louisiana during 2023 totaled $2.76 billion, down 7 percent from 2022. The top three crop commodities (excluding sugarcane), corn, rice, and soybeans, accounted for 62 percent of the total value of production for field crops. Corn showed the largest increase at 34 percent in value of production from last year, followed by rice at 11 percent.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are launching a new initiative to help farmers cut costs and increase income using underutilized renewable technologies including smaller-scale wind projects. Through the Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy (RAISE) initiative, USDA is setting an initial goal of helping 400 individual farmers deploy smaller-scale wind projects using USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
Read MoreLouisiana's crawfish industry, a vital part of the state's agricultural landscape and cultural heritage, is in turmoil in 2024.
The industry, already grappling with the aftermath of a severe drought in 2023, has been further devastated by a recent freeze, leading to widespread concerns among farmers and lawmakers about the future of this iconic industry.
In a letter to United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-LA, underscored the gravity of the situation.
Read MoreStarting next Wednesday, dairy producers will be able to enroll for 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC), an important safety net program offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides producers with price support to help offset milk and feed price differences. This year’s DMC signup begins Feb. 28, 2024, and ends April 29, 2024. For those who sign up for 2024 DMC coverage, payments may begin as soon as March 4, 2024, for any payments that triggered in January 2024.
Read MoreThis report contains the results from the 2023 December Agricultural and Row Crops County Agricultural Production surveys.
Read MoreThis report contains the results from the 2023 December Agricultural and Row Crops County Agricultural Production surveys.
Read MoreAgricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year have until March 15, 2024, to revise elections and sign contracts. Both safety net programs, delivered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provide vital income support to farmers who experience substantial declines in crop prices or revenues for the 2024 crop year. In Louisiana, producers have completed 6,285 contracts to date, representing 38.5% of the more than 16,312 expected contracts.
Read MoreConcordia Parish has 373 farms which encompass 301,766 acres of land, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the results last week. The document spans more than six million data points about America’s farms and ranches and the people who operate them down to the parish level.
Read MoreGovernor Jeff Landry sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking federal assistance in regards to the crawfish industry.
The letter, sent to Secretary Tom Vilsack, is seeking federal assistance to address the recent drought that is affecting the domestic crawfish industry and caused prices to skyrocket. The request would expand the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program to include drought as a cause of loss for farm-raised fish, including crawfish.
Read MoreThe Lafourche-Assumption-Terrebonne Parish USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) is relocating to 525 St. Mary Street in Thibodaux.
The phone number for the office is (985) 446-6293. Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Read MoreAccording to the USDA, Louisiana lost two-thousand farms between 2017 and 2022, but the amount of land used to farm has stayed about the same. Neil Melancon with the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation says smaller farms are finding it impossible to remain economically viable, so we are just seeing bigger farms.
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