The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for December 2024, which are effective Dec. 2, 2024. USDA 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 LSU AgCenter ASPIRE program is offering a 10-week paid summer internship program for college students ($15/hour). The priority deadline to apply is March 7.
The ASPIRE Project engages undergraduates in agricultural-related internships in research, extension, and teaching, with mentorship from faculty in the LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture.
Read MoreFlax producers can now benefit from revenue protection, a crop insurance option available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) has expanded Small Grains Crop Provisions to now offer revenue protection for flax for the 2025 crop year, which is already offered for barley, rye, wheat and oats.
Read MorePresident-elect Trump has tapped Brooke Rollins, a former White House aide in his first administration, to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in his second term.
“Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none,” Trump wrote in a release.
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on the nomination of Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture.
"We congratulate Brooke Rollins on her nomination to be Secretary of Agriculture. We're pleased she has a good relationship with our state Farm Bureau in Texas and hope to build on it if she's confirmed by the Senate.”
Read MorePresident-Elect Donald Trump has made another pick for his Administration.
He has elected Brooke Rollins to hold the position of the new Secretary of Agriculture. Rollins served as president of the America First Policy Institute, an organization closely allied with President-elect Donald Trump.
Read MoreNames continue to be added to the list of possible candidates for Secretary of Agriculture. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly playing an active role in the cabinet selection, and the latest name added to the list, Jimmy Emmons, has a heavy background in regenerative agriculture. Emmons is the senior vice president of climate-smart programs for Trust In Food, Farm Journal’s sustainable agriculture division, but is on leave of absence from Farm Journal.
Read MoreLouisiana corn for grain production is forecast at 84.1 million bushels, unchanged from the October 1 forecast but down 29 percent from 2023. Based on conditions as of November 1, yield is expected to average 189 bushels per acre, unchanged from last month but up 14 bushels from last year. Producers expect to harvest 445,000 acres of corn for grain, down 235,000 acres from 2023.
Upland cotton production is forecast at 310,000 bales, up 10,000 bales from the October 1 forecast and 101,000 bales above last year.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released 2022 Census of Agriculture data tabulated by zip code. This allows users to explore farm characteristics at a local level. The zip code tabulations are available through Quick Stats, NASS’s online data query tool.
“We are excited to provide data users yet another access point to ag census data with our zip code tabulations,” said NASS Administrator Joseph Parsons.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for November 2024, which are effective Nov. 1, 2024. USDA 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 MoreLast month, I had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Conservation District's South Central Region meeting in Oklahoma. There, I met many of the partners who help put conservation on the ground here in Louisiana. Helping Louisiana landowners with their resource concerns and keeping their food and fiber operations economically viable is a big job.
Read MoreThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that registration is now open for the 101st Agricultural Outlook Forum. The event, titled “Meeting Tomorrow’s Challenges, Today,” will be held at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on February 27-28, 2025. Additionally, all Forum sessions will be livestreamed on a virtual platform.
The Forum program will feature a presentation on the 2025 outlook for the U.S. agricultural economy and trade by USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer.
Read MoreThere were 212,714 farms with 53.1 million irrigated acres, which included 81 million acre-feet of water applied in the United States, according to the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey results, published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In 2018, the irrigation survey results showed that there were 231,474 farms with 55.9 million irrigated acres, which included 83.4 million acre-feet of water. The results show that the number of farms irrigating, the amount of land irrigated, and the total water used for irrigation decreased between 2018 and 2023.
Read MoreNotice of a major Disaster Declaration for the State of Louisiana is hereby amended to include the following areas among those areas determined to have been adversely affected by the event declared a major disaster by the President in his declaration of September 16, 2024.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a historic $1.5 billion for 92 partner-driven conservation projects through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a partner-driven approach to conservation that funds solutions to natural resource challenges on agricultural land. Partners will provide $968 million in contributions to amplify the impact of the federal investment. Louisiana Projects include the AR-LA CDN Open Pine Landscape Restoration #2, to receive $21,250,000 in funding, and the RCPP Alternative Funding Arrangements (AFA) for Federal Fiscal Year 2024, to receive $17,000,000 in funding. Selected RCPP projects, including those in Louisiana will help farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners adopt and expand voluntary, locally led conservation strategies to enhance natural resources while tackling the climate crisis.
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