Horizon Ag Adds New Rice Breeder At LSU Rice Research Station
Horizon Ag is pleased to announce the hiring of Dr. María Guadalupe Montiel for the newly created position of Rice Breeder for the company’s independent lab located at the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter Rice Research Station at Crowley.
The position was created as part of a recent partnership between Horizon Ag and the LSU AgCenter to support enhanced collaborative breeding efforts. In her new role, Dr. Montiel will have access to the AgCenter’s elite rice-breeding germplasm, and any new varieties released by Horizon Ag will be in addition to the AgCenter’s breeding activities.
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2024 Rayne Frog Festival Happening This Weekend, May 9-11
The Rayne Frog Festival is taking place in the Frog Capital this weekend, May 9-11, 2024, at the Frog Festival Pavilion.
This year's festival will be the 52nd year of celebrating all that is those hopping and tasty little swamp critters.
As always there is a full schedule of music, delicious food and drinks, arts and crafts show, carnival rides, kick-off parade, frog derby, frog races, frog leg sauce piquant eating contest, and a whole lot more.
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Will Louisiana Crawfish Season End Early After a Tough, Pricy Year?
Any Louisiana seafood lover will agree— the 2024 crawfish season has been far from normal.
As farmers battled with drought and saltwater intrusion in the fall, mudbug prices have stayed higher than average for most of the season, and the yield for many in the seafood industry has been significantly smaller.
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Food Preservation Camp Demystifies Canning
In a kitchen normally used to prepare meals for hungry 4-H campers, participants in a different type of camp looked on with interest and anticipation as LSU AgCenter nutrition and community health agent Breanna Staab stirred a saucepan containing a bubbling blend of pureed bell and serrano peppers, sugar and vinegar.
Staab was guiding the adult campers through the process of making and canning pepper jelly as part of an April 30 food preservation camp at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center in Pollock.
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Union Members Tell Congress Sugar Policy Means Good Jobs, Strong Communities
Sugar workers who are members of the International Association of Machinists were recently on Capitol Hill talking about how a strong U.S. sugar policy supports union jobs across the country. We’re proud that much of the sugar made in America is done so by a union workforce.
“U.S. sugar policy provides so much opportunity for people in the rural communities,” said Cornelius Fowler, a truck driver for Florida Crystals with 16 years’ experience on the job. “They have great benefits, great programs that allow individuals that want to further their career.”
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'Aggressive, Insidious And Volatile' Invasive Grass Causing Problems In LA And Several Other States
An invasive grass species is causing problems and putting native plant life at risk.
In Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Alabama, cogongrass infestations are popping up. The infestations are “aggressive, insidious and volatile,” according to experts.
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Louisiana Couple Cook Fresh Nutria Over Rice For Youtuber
For those of us in South Louisiana, we sometimes wince a little whenever we see videos pop up online from out-of-town YouTubers documenting their travels to Acadiana.
Not because we don't want them down here, but mainly because we're never sure what sort of light the video will show us in.
Admittedly, for people not from here, there's a whole lot about our lifestyle and culture that some people seem to misunderstand.
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LSU AgCenter Launches Online Course For Retailers Interested In Specialized Food Processes
Recent trends in the food business are driving restaurants, chefs and artisans to market their fare in new ways and blend manufacturing and retail.
Online marketplaces sell Louisiana boudin to customers all over the globe. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants and grocers are selling more packaged sushi and other foods so customers can dine at home.
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Fish Pond Management Workshop to Take Place in Bossier City
A free Fish Pond Management Workshop is scheduled for May 14, 2024, at the Bossier Parish Central Library & History Center. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Biologist Jeff Sibley will lead the workshop, covering topics such as pond water quality, weed control, nutrient management, pond stocking, and information on technical and financial assistance.
On-site registration begins at 5:15 p.m. at the Bossier Parish Central Library & History Center located at 850 City Hall Drive, Bossier City, Louisiana.
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Fly-In Focus Includes Farm Bill, Food Aid, and Trade
This week, industry leaders representing the rice farmer, merchant, and milling sectors traveled here to meet with Washington trade experts and advocate for leveling the global playing field on trade. USA Rice members also shared industry priorities for the next Farm Bill during talks with legislators on Capitol Hill.
The fly-in focused on the Biden Administration’s trade agenda; the current state of the World Trade Organization (WTO); challenges with domestic rail transportation; food aid during a time of war; interagency discussions about the financing situation in Iraq; food safety and pesticide regulatory issues; and advocacy for USDA trade promotion and market development programs.
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St. Landry Parish FSA is Hiring
The St. Landry Parish Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Opelousas is hiring a full time Program Technician (PT). The deadline to apply is May 15, 2024.
Duties include general office activities supporting FSA programs administered at the field level. Successful applicants must be reliable, have a professional attitude and enjoy working with the public.
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La. Bill Aims for Solution to State’s Forest Devastation from Drought, Excessive Heat
A Central Louisiana lawmaker is pushing for legislation to combat the devastation of the state’s forest industry. This is due to last summer’s drought, which is still having effects across the Cenla region.
Pineville resident Mike Tudor said 14 pine trees are dead in his neighborhood strictly from the drought and heat.
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Wheat, Oat Field Day Provides Producers The Latest Crop Updates
The weather couldn’t have been better for attendees of the LSU AgCenter’s 2024 Wheat and Oat Field Day, which brought researchers together with producers from across the state to discuss a variety of topics.
The annual informational gathering, held last week at the AgCenter’s Tom H. Scott Research Station in Winnsboro, began with a discussion of Fusarium head blight, also known as scab, from AgCenter plant pathologists Trey Price and Boyd Padgett.
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John Bradford Doesn’t Just Grow Daylilies, He Makes New Varieties of Them
The Day the Earth Stood Still. Vampire Romance. Witches Stitches. Lipstick Lips. These are just a few of the names you’ll see on labels as you take a stroll through the daylily gardens of Lake Charles attorney John Bradford.
Bradford’s West Prien Lake Road home is surrounded by hundreds of daylily blooms. His brother, Henry, a microbiologist in Abita Springs, La., became interested in growing the flowers first. Then, about 10 years ago, Bradford joined him.
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10-year-old From Rayville Receives Female Youth Hunter of the Year Award
A 10-year-old girl from Rayville is one of the winners of the 2023 Youth Hunter of the Year competition. Paisleigh Stephenson and three others were honored at the 58th Conservation Achievement Awards.
This was the first time since 2019 that the Louisiana Wildlife Federation and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries were able to honor youth hunters due to a hiatus.
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