The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that agricultural producers can now enroll in the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2024 crop year. Producers can enroll and make election changes for the 2024 crop year starting Dec. 18, 2023. The deadline to complete enrollment and any election change is March 15, 2024.
Read MoreFarm Bureau farmer and rancher members play an important role in our communities and our organization by serving on governing boards and committees at local, state and national levels. Several newly appointed volunteers will provide leadership beginning in 2024 as members of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers & Ranchers and Promotion & Education committees.
Read MoreDeer hunters in northeast Louisiana are urged to bring the head of any deer they harvest to one of 13 collection points after cases of chronic wasting disease (CWD) have been confirmed. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries State Deer Program Manager Johnathan Bordelon says 14 positive cases have been detected in Tensas Parish.
Read MoreSouth Louisiana is rich in agriculture and there are many families here that live and work off the land.
Chances are you know of someone who is or was a farmer in South Louisiana and many who do farmland will tell you that there are many dangers when out in the fields.
Well, for those with cattle or horses on their land, one main ingredient to preserving their livestock is hay.
Read MoreHave a summer of higher temperatures and a drought affected this year’s crawfish season?
“There’s nothing in that trap,” Devon Palomino of Lake Charles Crawfish said.
Each year Louisianians look forward to chowing down on some crawfish, but Palomino, a local farmer, said he is nervous for the season.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds specialty crop growers that assistance is available for producers who incur eligible on-farm food safety program expenses to obtain or renew a food safety certification through the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program. Producers can apply for assistance on their calendar year 2023 expenses through Jan. 31, 2024.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting public input – due by Feb. 16, 2024 – on how foreign filers report agricultural land holdings in the United States.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is proposing to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act Report form so that reporting can include data on long-term lessees, data to assess the impacts of foreign investment on agricultural producers and rural communities, and to gather geospatial information.
Read MoreAs American consumers continue to embrace the local food movement some industries are capitalizing on USA-grown. The rice industry is one of those.
Of all the rice consumed in the United States, 80% is grown here.
Read MoreThe Farming for the Future workshop, held at the LSU AgCenter Avoyelles Parish Extension Office on Dec. 8, offered beginning farmers information on risk and financial farm management.
Participating in the workshop were farmers from Avoyelles, Rapides and Grant parishes who represented 20,000 acres in soybean and feed grain production.
Read MoreUSDA is accepting applications for the 2024 USDA 1890 National Scholars Program. The application deadline is March 1, 2024.
The USDA 1890 National Scholars Program is aimed at bolstering educational and career opportunities for students from rural or underserved communities around the country. It was established in 1992 as part of the partnership between USDA and the 1890 land-grant universities.
Read MoreA Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, December 18, 2023, at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church honoring the life of Samuel Jesse Noel, 67, who passed away Tuesday, December 12, 2023. He will be laid to rest at St. Paul Cemetery with Reverend Louis J. Richard officiating the services.
Read MoreFor a second year, K through 12 students across the state were invited to participate in the Louisiana Farm to School Art Contest by submitting unique pieces of artwork that captured the theme of “What Farm to School Means to Me.”
Read MoreDespite phenomenal rice production in 2023, rice milling yields were especially disappointing. Experts point to a host of environmental factors, including a dry fall harvest with high humidity that contributed to lower milling quality.
Summer brought about prolonged periods of extreme heat and high nighttime temperatures. This was the case throughout the Rice Belt – from the Coastal Bend of Texas, over to south Louisiana, and upwards through Arkansas.
Read MoreFarmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs prior to January 2021 may be eligible for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. This program is an important step in delivering on USDA’s commitment of providing financial assistance to those who have faced discrimination in USDA farm lending programs.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter and LSU College of Agriculture announced the winners of their annual faculty and staff awards during a joint ceremony with the Southern University Ag Center and Southern University College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences Dec. 13 at the LSU Union Theatre.
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