A startup led by an LSU alumni and two current students is making strides in transforming how farmers and agricultural professionals access essential information.
FarmSmart, an AI-powered app currently in beta testing, promises to streamline complex research from dense agricultural documents into quick, user-friendly responses available at the touch of a button.
Read MoreThis week, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) visited with farmers in Port Allen and Jennings, to discuss the next Farm Bill and what Louisiana’s farmers need to continue feeding our state and the world.
“Our farmers and fishermen produce the best sugarcane, rice and seafood in the world,” said Dr. Cassidy. “It’s my goal to protect them against unfair, foreign competition, to keep crop insurance affordable, and to prevent the cost of farming from rising. I appreciate being able to meet with Louisiana farmers and work together to reach these goals in the next Farm Bill.”
Read MoreLast month, I had the opportunity to attend the National Association of Conservation District's South Central Region meeting in Oklahoma. There, I met many of the partners who help put conservation on the ground here in Louisiana. Helping Louisiana landowners with their resource concerns and keeping their food and fiber operations economically viable is a big job.
Read MoreOver 230,000 farms are up against a Jan. 1, 2025, deadline to file their detailed Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) with the Treasury Department under the requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Despite facing steep fines and possible jail time for failing to file, less than 11% of eligible businesses nationwide have filed their BOI. Efforts to protect small businesses from these invasive requirements and the harsh punishment for noncompliance have stalled in Congress. Let’s review what the Corporate Transparency Act means for farmers.
Read MoreThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that registration is now open for the 101st Agricultural Outlook Forum. The event, titled “Meeting Tomorrow’s Challenges, Today,” will be held at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on February 27-28, 2025. Additionally, all Forum sessions will be livestreamed on a virtual platform.
The Forum program will feature a presentation on the 2025 outlook for the U.S. agricultural economy and trade by USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer.
Read MoreThere were 212,714 farms with 53.1 million irrigated acres, which included 81 million acre-feet of water applied in the United States, according to the 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey results, published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In 2018, the irrigation survey results showed that there were 231,474 farms with 55.9 million irrigated acres, which included 83.4 million acre-feet of water. The results show that the number of farms irrigating, the amount of land irrigated, and the total water used for irrigation decreased between 2018 and 2023.
Read MoreLouisiana FFA members were recognized numerous times at the 97th National FFA Convention and Expo held in Indianapolis on Oct. 23-26. FFA members from across the state participated in many competitive events, and top honors were taken home throughout the week.
Read MoreSoy growers are raising concerns as EPA tightens glufosinate-P registration restrictions, a move some farmers are calling a “result of caving to pressure from environmental groups.”
Read MoreSporting a cowboy hat and a wide smile, Marlo High waves at cars passing by on Old Highway 70 between Swannanoa and Black Mountain, North Carolina, spinning a colorful sign: “Taste of Louisiana.”
Read MoreSeafood festivals along the Gulf Coast have faced allegations of passing off imported shrimp as locally sourced.
Seafood Development (SeaD) Consulting have been investigating shrimp festivals along the Gulf who advertise to sell locally caught shrimp, finding that some festival vendors in Morgan City and Gulf Shores were selling imported shrimp and passing it off as Gulf shrimp.
Read MoreA new round of federal grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation includes around $40,000,000 for railroad and bridge replacement and rehabilitation starting in the DeRidder area.
Read MoreCrazy. Chaotic. Extremes. Those three words were used by AgriGold agronomists in Illinois, Louisiana and Iowa, respectively, to describe the 2024 growing season. Some corn fields shined; others struggled. As with any season, lessons were learned. These agronomists share their biggest takeaways.
Read MoreLouisiana farmers are in limbo after a safety net bill passed in 2018 expired last month, leaving some unprotected from emergencies.
Read MoreMore than a third of grain bin entrapments result in fatalities. However, a recent incident in north Louisiana had a happier ending.
Read MoreAn overly-simplified perspective on the problem...
Today’s issuance of the U.S. Drought Monitor will show that drought continues to dominate most of the greater Mississippi River Basin, although a large portion of the drainage area could see 2" to 5" of rain over the next several days thanks to a return of frontal weather.
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