U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Republican colleagues introduced a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to overturn a misguided rule from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that will drastically increase costs for American farmers. Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC-05) and Agriculture Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA-15) introduced an identical resolution in the House of Representatives.
Read MoreThe Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and 340 national, regional, and state agriculture, food, and forestry stakeholder groups sent a letter to congressional leadership urging House and Senate agriculture committee leaders to fund the Research Facilities Act in 2023 Farm Bill.
Read MoreAgricultural producers and landowners with certain expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts can receive additional rental incentives and extend that land’s role in conservation for another 30 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened the signup period for its Clean Lakes, Estuaries, And Rivers enrollment (CLEAR30) now through July 31, 2023.
Read MoreSustainability means producing sugarcane in a manner that is economically profitable while being a good neighbor to both the local community and environment. The benefit to society is feeding the world without exploiting natural and human resources.
The Louisiana sugar industry is accomplishing this today.
Read MoreAccording to the Washington Parish Fire District 6 Facebook page, at 21:55 (Sunday) night, we were toned out for smoke coming from the debarker unit at Hood Industry’s Saw Mill.
Read MoreSince it was signed into law, grant applications have poured in for funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Several major cities have received significant grants, like Alexandria for improving its natural gas distribution systems and Leesville for its airport.
Read MoreEarly in April of 2023, State Senator Stewart Cathey authored a bill, SB219, that would put large restrictions on the hemp industry. It would lower the total amount of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the psychoactive ingredient that causes intoxication, allowed in hemp products from eight milligrams to two milligrams.
Read MoreLandowners go to forestry meetings and they keep hearing a term used ... “basal area” and they wonder, “What in the world is Basal Area?”
Basal Area, or BA, is a common term used to describe the average amount of an area, commonly an acre, which is occupied by tree stems. In other words, how much of the area of one acre is taken up in trees.
Read MoreIn Louisiana, the many twists and turns of the state’s coast add up to more than 7,700 miles of shoreline, which meet the waters of the 600,000 square-mile Gulf of Mexico. Formed more than 300 million years ago, the Gulf of Mexico is home to 15,420 species of sea-dwelling creatures.
Read MoreAmerica’s families deserve to know what they’re buying when shopping in the dairy aisle. The American Farm Bureau Federation today filed comments with the Food and Drug Administration calling on the agency to enforce food labeling standards for dairy substitute products and enforce existing prohibitions on the misleading labeling of nut- and other plant-based beverage products as “milk.” The FDA requested comments on its draft Labeling of Plant-Based Milk Alternatives and Voluntary Nutrient Statements: Guidance for Industry.
Read MoreTaylor Verdin posted this photo of a crawfish in his hand, but it is not your "normal colored" crawfish.
Read MoreFarmers in certain Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi counties can now apply for the “Conjunctive Water Use Protects Mid-South Aquifers” Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).
Read MoreAs soybean plants reach maturity, the membrane that connects each seed to the pod starts to detach, an early step in the plant dying and drying out for harvest. After this point, the soybean seeds no longer have access to the plant’s resources.
“The plants no longer protect the drying soybean seeds, making them vulnerable to weather events,” explains David Moseley, state soybean specialist for the Louisiana State University AgCenter. “Too much rain after soybeans start drying down can cause the seeds to turn brown, reducing quality.”
Read MoreIn January, we announced two new programs designed to assist producers who experienced revenue losses from 2020 and 2021 natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs are revenue-based and feel a little different from our regular programs, but the goal is to better support farmers.
Both the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two and the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP) offer a holistic approach to disaster assistance and provide economic support for producers who bear the financial brunt of circumstances beyond their control.
Read MoreRice planting along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana is mostly done, and the crop is rapidly progressing. In Texas, conventional rice planting is mainly completed, with the majority of organic fields still to be planted. Overall, the crop looks fairly good, with many fields approaching permanent flood. East of Houston, which normally plants a little later, is about 70 percent planted with recent showers slowing down progress.
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