AFBF and other industry coalition members achieved a crucial win yesterday that will help farmers across the country. AFBF and its partners were granted a preliminary injunction by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi barring the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its Worker Protection Rule extending unionization rights to H-2A visaholders.
Read MorePresident-elect Trump has tapped Brooke Rollins, a former White House aide in his first administration, to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in his second term.
“Brooke’s commitment to support the American Farmer, defense of American Food Self-Sufficiency, and the restoration of Agriculture-dependent American Small Towns is second to none,” Trump wrote in a release.
Read MoreOn this week’s episode of The Rice Stuff podcast, co-host Lesley Dixon recounts her recent adventures at the 86th International Rice Festival in Crowley, Louisiana, from judging cooking competitions to VIP seats on the parade route.
The episode includes interviews with many of the festival’s heavy hitters.
Read MoreStrong export sales, coupled with the beginning of the December contract’s expiry, brought life to the cotton market. The expiring December contract had a limit and near limit-up move as December futures gave way to the March contract as the nearby trading contract.
Read MoreThis year, you can host a Thanksgiving feast for ten for relatively little money.
“In Louisiana, that’s going to cost you on average $45.84, which is still $3 lower than it was last year,” says Avery Davidson with the Louisiana Farm Bureau.
Furthermore, that’s considerably less than the national average.
Read MoreLast week, more than five dozen rice industry representatives from all sectors traveled here in what may be a final push to get the Farm Bill across the finish line in the lame duck Congress, and to discuss the need for economic loss assistance for rice farmers for the 2024 crop year.
Before fanning out across the Capitol, the group gathered to hear updates and policy analysis, and pose questions to ag policy thought leaders and officials.
As friends and family sit down for a Thanksgiving dinner, very few are aware that the feast on their table is a culmination of efforts of farmers from every corner of the United States. American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed the production of the ingredients that go into a classic Thanksgiving dinner, detailing which states produce the most commodities and the production value of those items. The Market Intel provides context to AFBF’s annual Thanksgiving dinner cost survey, which found the average cost of this year’s classic holiday dinner for 10 is $58.08, or about $5.80 per person.
Read MoreIn Baton Rouge on November 22, 2024, the Louisiana Legislature wrapped up a special session focused on tax reform, culminating in the approval of a substantial tax package. This legislative action is set to reshape the state’s tax landscape with significant reductions in some areas, increases in others, and the establishment of a permanent stipend for teachers.
However, the implementation of these changes is contingent upon voter approval of a crucial constitutional amendment in the upcoming election.
Read MoreThe ADM Rice Division’s sale of 44,000 metric tons of U.S. long grain rice to Iraq is being called “a breath of fresh air” for rice markets that haven’t had much of that commodity lately.
The sale, which is expected to be shipped in January, comes after India removed its Minimum Export Price, which had been the equivalent of $490 per metric ton.
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented on the nomination of Brooke Rollins for Secretary of Agriculture.
"We congratulate Brooke Rollins on her nomination to be Secretary of Agriculture. We're pleased she has a good relationship with our state Farm Bureau in Texas and hope to build on it if she's confirmed by the Senate.”
Read MoreAlthough grocery prices remain high historically nationwide, they have dropped for a second year in a row.
Louisiana consumers will spend even less this Thanksgiving. According to a statewide sample of prices for the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation Thanksgiving Dinner Price Survey, Louisiana residents should expect to spend $12.24 less than the national average for a classic Thanksgiving dinner for ten people.
Read MoreThe Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SU Ag Center) and the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) have continued their partnership to enhance NMSDC’s 2025 Acres: Cultivating Equity in Black Agriculture program.
In its second year as NMSDC’s educational partner, the Southern University Ag Center will continue to provide instructors and course material for the Acres 12-week learning curriculum focused on growing program participants’ capacity to take on major national contracts with NMSDC corporate members.
Read MoreAs we move into the holiday season, we have much for which to be thankful when we look at the broader picture of the Louisiana sugarcane industry. The final report for 2023 shows that the industry remains strong as it enters its third century of sugar production. We’ve seen growth in both acreage and economic impact.
In 2023, sugarcane production expanded in a number of parishes, bringing the total acres of sugarcane planted in Louisiana to 532,000—an increase of 12,000 acres.
Read MoreGovernor Jeff Landry marked the close of the special legislative session on Tax Reform. When Governor Landry ran for office, he promised the people of Louisiana that he would work to achieve a government as good as the people of Louisiana. As Governor, he has focused on fixing crime, improving our education system, and rebuilding our economy.
Read MoreCars pack a gravel lot outside Hope Ministries, a Methodist nonprofit situated in the 70805 zip code, where the per capita yearly income is $18,340. The organization’s mission is to prevent homelessness and promote dignity.
A week before Thanksgiving, residents wait patiently for their turn at the organization's Client Choice Food Pantry.
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