One out of three of Louisiana's rural roads are in "mediocre" or "poor" condition, according to a report from a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that studies surface transportation.

Poor roads in rural areas have detrimental impacts on key supply chains, including agriculture and manufacturing, the report notes.

Eight days. Maybe 10.

That’s how long it should take, give or take a day or two, to move barges from Morris, Ill., down the Illinois River to the Mississippi River and on to New Orleans, according to barge captain Eric Badeaux. With more than 40 years of experience navigating cargo on our nation’s waterways, Badeaux should know.

But this fall, the trip was taking considerably longer.

To say 2022 has been a challenging year for Louisiana farmers would be an understatement.

Back in the spring, as farmers prepared to plant their fields, they knew they would be facing hefty input costs. Prices for fertilizer, fuel and other items essential to growing crops had already been trending upward since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic two years earlier.

The Southern University Ag Center and the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences (CAFCS) will host the Vino on the Bluff Wine Tasting Fundraiser at 5 p.m. on Oct. 21, 2022 at the Valdry Center for Philanthropy, 598 Harding Blvd., in Baton Rouge, La.

October is Tackling Hunger Action Month, and the LSU AgCenter is doing its part to help on the Northshore.

The AgCenter and its community partners recently installed a “blessing box” — similar to a little free library but stocked with staple foods instead of books — in an area of Covington with a high rate of food-insecure households. The items in the blessing box supplement the fresh produce that is available to residents at a nearby community garden.