Southern Blight Presents Challenges for Louisiana Growers

Louisiana’s warm, humid weather provides a conducive environment for plant pathogens to quickly establish and spread. As a result, an important plant disease called southern blight has started to show up in Louisiana vegetable and ornamental production.

Southern blight is caused by the soilborne fungus Athelia rolfsii (Sclerotium rolfsii). The pathogen has a wide host range and is known to cause disease on various economically important vegetables (cucurbits, eggplants, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes) and ornamental plants.

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Sweet Potato Quality Analysis is Enhanced with Hyperspectral Imaging and AI

Sweet potatoes are a popular food choice for consumers worldwide because of their delicious taste and nutritious quality. The red, tuberous root vegetable can be processed into chips and fries, and it has a range of industrial applications, including textiles, biodegradable polymers and biofuels.

The study is part of a multi-state collaboration funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that includes researchers from Mississippi, North Carolina, Michigan, Louisiana and Illinois.

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Stricter Labeling Standards for Imported Seafood Move Forward

The House Health and Welfare Committee advanced a bill Wednesday that would require seafood sellers to clearly market whether the seafood is local or imported from other countries such as China. 

Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, showed an image of a package of frozen crawfish sold at a local supermarket. Connick explained that the item named “Boudreaux’s Crawfish” was not from Louisiana but instead a product of China. 

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LaSalle SWCD Host Parish Youth

In an era where the future of agriculture is of paramount importance to both local communities and the global stage, the LaSalle Conservation District in Louisiana has taken a proactive step in shaping the next generation of agriculturalists. Their Career Day event is a testament to this commitment, with a clear goal to display the breadth of opportunities within the local community to high school students fascinated by the agricultural sector.

Caitlin Joubert from the Office of Soil and Water Conservation Districts talked to students about soil health and the importance of it in our everyday lives. She explained many NRCS soil health practices for sustainable agriculture.

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Avery Davidson
Session 2024: The Midway Point

We are right at the midway point of the 2024 Louisiana legislative Session, and things are about to get interesting. Subject matters like insurance and tort reform are starting to really take shape, as well as other issues like reduction in the size of government. These are just a few issues that can spill over into almost every other issue at the legislature.

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Despite Gridlock, Louisiana Still Positioned for Federal Wins

If you have turned on the news recently, you may have noticed that Washington, D.C. has become increasingly complicated over the last sixteen months. The infighting, partisan gridlock, and frequently shifting priorities may give you the sense that nothing is getting done at the federal level.

Beyond funding, there are policy and regulatory decisions being made on issues important to Louisiana such as flood insurance, FEMA reimbursement reform, agriculture regulations and access to rural healthcare.

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Avery Davidson
American Farmland Trust and Anheuser-Busch Support Louisiana Farmers through New U.S. Farmed Certification

Anheuser-Busch recently announced the national rollout of its newly-adopted U.S. Farmed certification and seal for several of its industry-leading beer brands, showing support for farmers in the U.S., including Louisiana, where the state's farmers sold $4.8B worth of agricultural products in 2022. Developed and verified by the American Farmland Trust (AFT), a national nonprofit that helps to keep American farmers on their land, the U.S. Farmed certification and packaging seal helps shoppers choose products that derive at least 95 percent of their agricultural ingredients from farms in the United States.

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Avery Davidson
USDA Actions to Protect Livestock Health From Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza

To further protect the U.S. livestock industry from the threat posed by highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, USDA is sharing a number of actions that we are taking with our federal partners to help us get ahead of this disease and limit its spread.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a Federal Order requiring the following measures, effective Monday, April 29, 2024.

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Livestock, USDAAvery Davidson
Sprayer Drone Use And Utilization In Louisiana Agriculture

The Louisiana sugarcane industry has persevered for more than 225 years, even though it is a tropical crop is growing in a temperate environment. Growers regularly face a challenging climate, which includes the threat of early winter freezes before the crop is harvested. An early freeze can kill the sugarcane plant and cause the sugar (sucrose) inside of the stalk to deteriorate. Another challenge is the short seven-to-10-month growing season.

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Louisiana Reacts to Viral Crawfish Shucker Video on TikTok

A TikTok video from Dust Kitchenware, known by their handle @dust6923, has quickly gained notoriety not for its innovation but for the backlash it has stirred among crawfish lovers in Louisiana.

The video demonstrates a tool designed to simplify the process of shucking crawfish tails. By inserting a tail into the device and pulling, the shell is supposed to strip right away, leaving the meat ready for consumption. However, the response from the Louisiana community, where crawfish is less a food item and more a cultural emblem, is probably not what the company hoped for.

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How a High-School Beekeeper Made Her Way to USDA Honey Bee Researcher

Elizabeth (Liz) Walsh, Ph.D., is a research scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, in the Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research unit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in 2022 with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the guidance of Steve Pernal, Ph.D., at the Beaverlodge Research Farm in Alberta.

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USDAAvery Davidson
Fighting Hunger and Disease, One Strain of Rice at a Time

The LSU AgCenter is Louisiana rice farmers’ MVP, or most valued partner, in research and crop variety development. From creating a new market for jasmine rice, to producing varieties of rice that are better for diabetics and more sustainable and resilient to changes in the environment, LSU has been critical to the Louisiana rice industry for more than 100 years. The research also has world-wide impact since one-fifth of the global population’s calories comes from rice.

More than 60 percent of the rice Louisiana farmers plant was developed by the LSU AgCenter, with a direct economic impact of $580 million.

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