US Rice Continuing Efforts to Restore Cuban Market

In August of 2005, a group of U.S. rice producers and millers traveled to Havana, Cuba, to visit with officials from ALIMPORT, the Cuban Government’s primary grain-buying agency, about purchases of U.S. rice.

After passage of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, Cuba had begun buying U.S. rice for the first time since the U.S. imposed a trade embargo on the island after Fidel Castro rose to power in 1960.

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USDA Offers Livestock Disaster Program Flexibilities

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has provided additional flexibilities and further enhanced disaster recovery assistance provided by the Emergency Assistance for Livestock Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) and Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) in response to needs expressed by livestock producers across the U.S. who have experienced significant feed, forage and animal losses from natural disasters.

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Rural Electric Co-Ops to Get $10.7B in USDA Funds for Clean Energy Grants, Loans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, administration officials said Tuesday.

Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program the department is calling the New Empowering Rural America program, or New ERA, and $1 billion for a Powering Affordable Clean Energy program that will provide partly forgivable loans — in the energy, health and taxes law Democrats passed last summer.

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Disease, Pests, Drones Discussed at Wheat, Oat Field Day

On an overcast and windy day in Franklin Parish, a group of grain producers gathered to hear the latest updates on crops and witness a drone presentation.

The annual wheat and oat field day, held April 20 at the LSU AgCenter Macon Ridge Research Station in Winnsboro, kicked off with a discussion of Fusarium head blight, also known as scab, from AgCenter plant pathologists Trey Price and Boyd Padgett.

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One Family's History Of Living Off The Land In Louisiana

This past weekend, at the 51st Rayne Frog Festival here, the theme was “Living off the Land.” Among the presentations on a variety of agricultural products and industries, was one on the history of rice production given by Paul Zaunbrecher, a fifth-generation rice farmer from here who farms with his brothers at GF&P Zaunbrecher Farms.

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USDA Accepting Applications To Help Cover Costs Of Organic Producers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will cover up to 75% of the costs associated with organic certification, up to $750 per category, through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP). Louisiana Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages organic agricultural producers and handlers to apply for OCCSP by Oct. 31, 2023, for expenses incurred from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023. 

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USDA Accepting Applications to Help Cover Costs of Organic Producers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will cover up to 75% of the costs associated with organic certification, up to $750 per category, through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP). Louisiana Farm Service Agency (FSA) encourages organic agricultural producers and handlers to apply for OCCSP by Oct. 31, 2023, for expenses incurred from Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023. 

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USDA Seeks Members For Federal Advisory Committee For Urban Agriculture & Innovative Production

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking nominations for four positions on the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. Nominations will be open to public from May 15, 2023, to July 15, 2023. The 12-member Committee, which first convened in March 2022, is part of USDA’s efforts to increase support for urban agriculture and innovative production.

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