Francine is making a push toward the Louisiana coast, with today being our last day to prepare. I know preparations can be impossible if you are about to harvest, or farm hundreds of acres, but I’ll do my best to give you and idea about what’s on the way for Louisiana.
Francine has steadily strengthened, and appears to be making the turn toward Louisiana.
Read MoreOn September 4, inspectors with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Livestock Brand Commission (LBC) arrested 53-year-old Bert E. Smith, IV, of Lewisburg, Tennessee, on an arrest warrant out of Anderson County, Kansas.
Smith is a known cattle buyer and regularly buys at several sale barns in Louisiana. For that reason, LDAF’s LBC was notified of the warrant by the Anderson County Sheriff's Office. Once made aware of the warrant, LBC inspectors took Smith into custody without incident. He was booked in the Avoyelles Parish Jail.
Read MoreThe Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) has updated the features on the Get A Game Plan App offering people in Louisiana a new resource for developing and finalizing their emergency plans. The Get A Game Plan mobile app is designed to prepare Louisiana residents for emergency events with preparedness tools, guides and push notifications.
The app includes contact information for all parish Offices of Emergency Preparedness and OEP directors.
Read MoreClint and Raquel Manuel, co-owners of Manuel Farms Cattle Co., recently announced the opening of a new educational pumpkin patch in Evangeline Parish, designed specifically for local school field trips. This fall, the Manuels are inviting preschoolers, homeschool co-ops, and small educational groups to experience the magic of agriculture through a hands-on, interactive pumpkin patch experience.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter continues to be a leading resource in crawfish data. Many of you know, LSU and their data sources have been key in all funding opportunities and communications with USDA on any assistance programs we have been able to secure over the past few years. As recently as the ELAP excessive heat calculations of 2023, LSU AgCenter agents and faculty were the leading resource for information on our niche “farm raised fish.” In an effort to continually improve those figures, we are supporting their effort to update key information that is a general resource for the industry and allows their scientists and economists to provide quality anonymous information back to the industry when needed.
Read MoreUSA Rice, all state rice organizations, and nearly 300 other agricultural groups sent a letter to Congressional leaders: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calling for action on a meaningful Farm Bill reauthorization before the end of the year.
Read MoreWith Tropical Storm Francine projected to make landfall as a hurricane in Louisiana later this week, LaHouse Research and Education Center director Carol Friedland is urging homeowners to take proactive measures to safeguard their families and homes from the impending severe weather.
Read MoreThe Dean Lee Research and Extension Center is cancelling the Soybean Production School that was to be held Tuesday, September 10 at the State Evacuation Shelter due to the inclement weather coming in. You will be notified when rescheduling is determined.
Also, for any who may have been planning to attend the Beef Cattle Field Day on Thursday, September 12, this has also been cancelled until further notice.
Read MoreThe 22nd Annual Louisiana Agricultural Consultants Association Fall Planning Meeting will be held October 4th, 2024. The LACA Executive Board and 2025 LATMC Program Planning Committee invite you to participate in this year's discussions and planning meeting. The meetings will be held in the north arena of the Evacuation Center located on the Dean Lee Research Station. This, of course, is contingent on the Evac Center not being occupied by hurricane victims. In that case, we will go to a Plan B to be determined.
Read MoreThe month of September is the month when the harvesting of corn and rice were completed (end of Aug.), soybean harvest will finish (weather permitting), cotton will be near completion and the bulk of our calves will be marketed by month’s end.
In addition to being completed, if you have not paid your CPL dues, please do so by the end of September because the computer will drop your name from the membership list. Thank you to the ones who have already paid.
Read MoreInvest 91L in the SW Gulf (Bay of Campeche) remains disorganized but conditions will be favorable for development as the disturbance slowly drifts north-to-NW over the next 2-3 days.
A landfall in Mexico or Texas is becoming less unlikely, with the majority of the model guidance keeping the slowly-organizing system over the western Gulf waters.
Read MoreBarges plying the shrinking lower Mississippi River have to reduce their draft, meaning operators will have to cut the amount of cargo their boats carry to meet the latest restrictions.
“The gauge at Memphis dropped to the low water threshold of minus 5 feet on Aug. 30,” said Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “The last two years, the U.S. Coast Guard initiated a 9-foot draft requirement when river levels fall below the low water threshold.
Read MoreWhile insiders know U.S.-grown rice is one of the most sustainable and responsibly grown crops in the world, telling that story to those who are unaware is increasingly important. To help recognize the crop’s unique environmental qualities and the people who improve rice’s sustainability every day, USA Rice launched a Sustainability Award in 2018 to identify and promote prime examples.
Read MoreThe invasive apple snail is popping up all over south Louisiana, causing problems for crawfish and their producers.
“We’ve had a number of crawfish ponds in the past three years that have had to be drained very early in the season because they can’t be fished profitably,” LSU Department of Entomology Associate Professor Blake Wilson said.
Read MoreRecently, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate published a piece outlining the need for heat-related protections for Louisiana workers in the form of a rule from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The piece should also serve as a warning sign for employers. As a labor and employment attorney who practices in the area of OSHA defense, my clients are often asking how they can comply with the ever-changing landscape of federal law and keep their employees safe.
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