The American Farm Bureau Federation and John Deere signed a memorandum of understanding today that ensures farmers’ and ranchers’ right to repair their own farm equipment. The MOU, signed at the 2023 AFBF Convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the culmination of several years of discussions between AFBF and John Deere.
Read MoreIt was the best Case scenario for one Louisiana farm dog at the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention.
Case, a four-year-old corgi from Vermilion Parish, is winner of the AFBF People’s Choice Pup social media contest. Case belongs to Louisiana Farm Bureau members Kelsi and Amanda Duhon who entered their pet in the 2023 AFBF Dog of the Year contest.
Read MoreThe January 2023 issue of the “Cow Country Reporter” from Cattle Producers of Louisiana is now available online.
Read MoreLNG export facilities are heralded as good things to come and economic game changers, but there are still fishermen and environmentalists who fight the massive industry.
They went before the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force on Wednesday.
Many local commercial fishers and environmentalists remain firmly against the LNG facilities and they took their fight to the task force.
Read MoreFor many beef cattle producers, evaluating breeding soundness of their herd bulls is often an overlooked practice. Selection of bulls based on genetic potential is one of the most progressive ways to improve the beef herd. However, bulls that do not properly settle cows contribute to reproductive inefficiency and lost income — no matter how genetically superior they may be. Performing an annual bull breeding soundness exam (BBSE) on every bull in the herd is the only way producers can predict with relative certainty that their bulls can adequately service the cow herd during the breeding season.
Read MoreEveryone knows that crawfish are a Louisiana staple.
With the recent cold snap, many are left wondering if the crawfish season will be plentiful.
Trent Broussard is a crawfish farmer whose family owns Acadia Crawfish Company, LLC.
He says the cold weather will certainly have an effect on the season which started Jan. 1.
Read MoreMore than 50 Louisiana Farm Bureau members and their families are here for the first American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) convention held in the U.S. territory.
Read MoreAt the beginning of 2023, U.S. agriculture finds itself in a position of strength and cautious optimism. Short term, this has created a palpable sense of excitement headed into the new year. Long term, economic fundamentals suggest the momentum currently fueling industry growth has potential for an extended runway.
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on EPA’s issuance of yet another Waters of the United States Rule, which will replace the Navigable Waters Protection Rule.
Read More5th generation Louisiana rice farmers, JT Meleck, are truly farm-to-glass as they create a distinctly American Rice Whiskey.
Read MoreAvery Claire Hebert has ridden or attended many parades over the last 21 years. But on Monday, Hebert road in a unique parade.
Hebert, a 2019 Vermilion Catholic graduate, is the Louisiana Queen LXXIX of the Sugar Cane Festival in Iberia Parish.
When Sam Irwin began playing trumpet again following a 30-year hiatus, he unknowingly set the stage for his latest book.
Learning to play traditional jazz inspired him to investigate the music’s origins and the often-forgotten musicians who played it in cities and towns beyond the jazz mecca of New Orleans.
Read MoreCotton prices in 2022 were like a roller coaster ride, including increased volatility and the highest price achieved for the past decade. Multiple rapid market rallies in the cotton market were observed in 2022, followed by a quick withdrawal of speculative money, resulting in an immediate plunge in cotton prices after the rally.
Read MoreBAGHDAD, IRAQ – Just prior to the end of 2022, Al Awees from Iraq followed up on their initial purchase of 44,000 tons of U.S. rice with another purchase for the same amount, bringing the sales total for the 2022-23 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to 88,000 tons in the past month.
Commencing in June 2021, Al Awees was officially appointed to handle rice tenders for the Iraqi government. Eventual purchase of an additional 112,000 tons will satisfy the 2022-23 MOU total of 200,000 tons.
Iraq, which typically relies on imports for 90 percent of its rice consumption needs, has recently increased its consumption levels and hence its imports. Iraq’s rice imports averaged 1.1 – 1.2 million tons a few years ago but have now surged to nearly 2 million tons. Local production has moderately increased, from about 120,000 tons to 250,000 tons this past year, and domestic consumption increased from 1.3 million tons to 1.7 million tons in 2022.
Iraq operates a public distribution system where the government provides certain essential food products, such as rice, oil, wheat flour, sugar, and milk. Nearly 90 percent of Iraqi households receive ration cards for subsidized food commodities. The amount of rice in these ration cards has increased from 12kg per person annually in 2017 to 33kg per person in 2022.
“As we enter the New Year, we’re thankful for these sales to Iraq and their two-fold success of bolstering the U.S. industry and providing healthy, nutritious U.S. rice to the Iraqi population,” said USA Rice President & CEO Betsy Ward.
Read MoreI have had a few questions about the soil temperatures during the low temperature event we experienced on December 22, 2022. Note that the American Sugarcane League funded us some new temperature sensors and these were installed in an actual sugarcane field at Dean Lee. The data from these sensors is given below. The blue line is for the 2-inch depth. Note that soil temperatures stayed sufficiently warm that no damage should not have occurred. If you do think you had any damage, please let your ANR agent know.
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