Congresswoman Letlow announced that crawfish will be covered under the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program and the USDA Farm Service Agency will begin delivering relief for crawfish production losses suffered in 2023 and moving forward.

Congresswoman Letlow began the push for crawfish assistance in September of 2023 with her Drought Assistance Improvement Act, following the severe drought disaster Louisiana experienced last summer.

Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted his request and included crawfish in the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP).

In January, Congressman Higgins sent a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting that drought be included as an eligible cause of loss for ELAP. This was a necessary action for Louisiana’s crawfish farmers to qualify and access emergency assistance in response to the severe drought in 2023.

A proposed seafood bill in the state could create stricter regulations on imported fish.

One owner of a restaurant that’s been in the community for 80 years discusses why its important to keep seafood in Louisiana local.

U.S. Congressmen Garret Graves (Louisiana) and Troy Carter (Louisiana) announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP) funding to crawfish producers in Louisiana affected by last year’s drought. Graves and Carter led a formal request in February 2024 to the USDA, laying out the authority that Congress had already granted through the ELAP statute; the bipartisan letter asked that the Secretary of Agriculture immediately provide relief to Louisiana farmers who suffered significant crop losses in 2023 due to adverse weather. USDA announced today that they were able to use that discretion to authorize policy flexibilities that will allow crawfish producers to recover losses from last year’s extreme heat.

More than 5,000 people filled the streets of downtown Wisner for the Fourth Annual South Franklin Catfish Festival.

“It was a great day,” Chairman Elliot Britt said. “I think it was the best festival we’ve had so far. We were worried about potential bad weather all week, but Saturday could not have been better. A huge thank you to the best committee anyone could ask for. Countless hours and planning goes into this event and we couldn’t do it without the support of a large group of volunteers. It really makes you feel good about our small town.”