As the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival enters its 80th year of entertaining Teche Area residents, organizers are trying to consolidate the festival more into downtown New Iberia.
For Louisiana Sugar Cane Association President Lisa Norris, the effort is an attempt to bring the festival back to its roots. For years the festival has been spread out in various parts of the parish and bringing more events to the Main Street area.
Read MoreThe Southern University College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences, formally known as the College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences, held a student convocation on August 31, 2023 in the auditorium of T.T. Allain Hall.
The standing-room-only crowd of Agricultural students was welcomed by Saturn Douglas, Director of Recruitment and Retention, and Dr. Renita Marshall, Vice Chancellor for Academics and Student Support-Associate Dean, shared updates from the College.
Read MoreIn a summer replete with challenges for Louisiana farmers as they’ve dealt with a heatwave and extended drought conditions, there is finally some good news on the agricultural front. The state’s sweet potato crop is doing just fine, and although harvest may be slightly delayed this year, some producers are expecting bumper yields.
Read MoreThe Louisiana official who leads the state’s wildfire fighting efforts says he will ask the legislature for more resources next year, including additional personnel and a tanker plane that can drop water on blazes. His pending request comes as emergency crews attempt to contain major fires in southwest Louisiana under persisting drought conditions.
Read MoreLouisiana is home to more than 1 million feral hogs.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries suggests that 70% of hogs are killed every year to maintain a stable environment.
Read MoreDry conditions in the area are causing major problems for Louisiana’s $230 million dollar crawfish industry. The excessive heat and drought are making it difficult for Louisiana crawfish farmers to maintain their land.
Alan Lawson, a crawfish and rice farmer in Crowley, said it costs him lots of money just to irrigate crops.
Read MoreInvestigators have determined that the Tiger Island Fire, which has burned over 31,000 acres in Beauregard Parish since Aug. 22, started as a result of arson.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the incident. They are asking anyone with information that could help identify a suspect to contact investigators.
Read MoreTensas Parish. Located in a highly sought-after parish, this 511-acre plantation property sold for approximately $3 million. The farm was almost all tillable ground and partially irrigated.
Read MoreEddie Lewis III pulls up to his Youngsville farm in a large black Ford pickup truck, handing out gallon containers of water to his workers preparing land to plant the 2024 sugar cane crop. He’s surrounded by sugar cane, and because of a prolonged drought in Louisiana, the typically fully green stalks are beginning to yellow, a dying process that isn't supposed to happen until December.
Read MoreFor over a week now, multiple wildfires have devastated Vernon Parish. A large number of these fires are caused by natural or mechanical causes. However, wildfire investigators with the LDAF Forestry Enforcement Division have determined that the Lions Camp Fire – which threatened multiple residences and grew to 1,204 acres before it was contained – resulted from arson.
Read MoreThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rules on Tuesday, following a May Supreme Court ruling in Sackett v. EPA, that required EPA to revise the WOTUS definition.
Read MoreWith dove season opening Saturday (Sept. 2), the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) reminds all hunters and outdoorsmen of the ongoing state burn ban. Though we have seen showers in some areas in the state, the burn ban is still in effect. Low humidity and windy conditions will continue for several days, extending our drought conditions.
Read MoreEngineers with the Louisiana National Guard’s 225th Engineer Brigade were activated to assist the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry in fighting wildfires.
Since August 23, 2023, LANG engineers have been activated to use approximately 34 bulldozers to increase the width of existing firebreaks in Beauregard, Vernon and Sabine Parishes to prevent the spread of wildfires, such as the Tiger Island fire.
Read MoreSoybeans have been used as a forage crop since they were originally brought to the United States. Their use as a forage declined in the 1940’s as producers adopted other forages that had higher yields. So, although soybeans today are most commonly grown as a grain crop, they can be harvested as a forage crop under certain situations, such as drought.
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