The Southwest Louisiana resident who had the nation’s first severe case of bird flu has died, health officials announced Monday.
This is the first human death related to bird flu in the country.
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The 2024 National Rice Month Scholarship Video Contest Grand Prize Winner is Helen Lan, a graduating senior from Boerne, Texas. Her award-winning video, The Tale of The Rice Ghost, was made with lots of determination, rice facts, and Lego bricks.
“It brought back fun childhood memories,” says Lan, who talks about her experience creating the video on Episode 104 of The Rice Stuff podcast.
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This past year marked my second full year serving as executive vice president at the American Farm Bureau Federation and it has been inspiring to see our organization flourish as we serve farmers and ranchers.
Although our grassroots leaders have been key to the federation for more than 100 years, in 2024, we put a special spotlight on them as we celebrated “The Year of the County President.”
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U.S. cotton growers can now enroll in the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and apply for the Climate Smart Cotton Program for the 2025 crop year. These programs enable growers to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable cotton production, meeting the increasing demand for responsibly produced fiber.
The Trust Protocol also provides growers with data and resources to choose practices that are best for their land and business. By tracking key metrics like water use, land use, and greenhouse gas emissions, growers gain valuable insights into their farm’s environmental footprint.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds specialty crop producers to apply for assistance for marketing and food safety certification expenses. Specifically, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing an additional $650 million in funding for the new Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program and extending the MASC application deadline to Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. Meanwhile, FSA also reminds specialty crop producers of the Jan. 31, 2025, deadline to apply for the Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops (FSCSC) program for 2024 expenses.
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On Saturday, December 21, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Relief Act of 2025. Congress overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan bill, a continuing resolution (CR) that will keep the Federal government operating through March 14, 2025. It also included farmer economic assistance, weather-related disaster relief for agriculture, and another 2018 Farm Bill extension.
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One certainty for farmers in 2025 is that uncertainty will prevail. Farmers know they must befriend uncertainty because it remains their constant companion.
Farmers anticipate another year of low commodity prices and high production costs. They will watch their expenses and determine the best pricing opportunities to market their crops.
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New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be big and audacious.
To make lasting and beneficial modifications, nutrition and physical activity experts at the LSU AgCenter recommend starting with small changes.
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State water conservationists warn that the Sparta Aquifer could soon reach unstable daily extractions of water.
Meanwhile, the Sparta Groundwater Conservation District Commission recently developed a model of the Sparta Aquifer to allow the commission to run a variety of tests to determine potential long-term solutions.
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The deadline for registering for the 2025 RTWG and for securing a hotel room at the conference hotel is quickly approaching. The deadline to register without incurring a late fee and to reserve a hotel room at the conference hotel is January 17, 2025. However, ii is important to point out that hotel rooms at the conference rate are on a first-come, first-served basis. To ensure you are able to secure your room, you are encouraged to make your reservation as soon as possible.
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Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson was reelected as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in dramatic fashion on Friday as the 119th Congress got underway. Johnson eventually secured the necessary 218 Republican votes after a couple representatives changed their position before the final tally.
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After a week of drama, the Senate finally voted 85 to 11 to pass a spending bill to avoid federal government shutdown. The House of Representatives earlier had voted overwhelmingly to approve a short-term funding bill for the government that included nearly $31 billion in aid for farmers faced with natural disasters and economic challenges. The bill (H.R. 10545) was signed by President Joe Biden on December 21st .
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Sometimes people will ask, “What’s an acre of trees worth?” Obviously, a regular reader of Forest & People magazine would know that to answer that question, we need more information, which would be obtained on site.
Inputs like tree size, vigor, form, number of trees per acre is information that is generally collected with a timber cruise. Now is a good time to go over some of the basics of forest measurement.
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The LSU AgCenter will hold its 2025 Precision Agriculture Summit Jan. 25 at the State Evacuation Shelter near Alexandria.
The shelter’s address is 8125 U.S. Highway 71 South. This summit will present new ways for farmers to use data and analysis to take care of their farms.
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Farm Bureau farmer and rancher members play an important role in our communities and our organization by serving on governing boards and committees at local, state and national levels. Several newly appointed volunteers will provide leadership beginning in 2025 as members of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Promotion & Education and Young Farmers & Ranchers committees.
Duvall announced the appointment of the following members to the YF&R Committee for the 2025-2027 term beginning in March: Cleveland Jackson, Georgia, (beef cattle); Scot Schwieterman, Kansas (alfalfa hay, row crops, cereal grains); Rachel Duncan, Louisiana (soybeans, beef cattle, cut flowers); Cora Okkema, Michigan (dairy cattle); Dustin and Katie Wiese, Minnesota (beef cattle, hay, corn, sorghum, oats); Tommy Salisbury, Oklahoma (soybeans, milo, wheat, beef cattle); and Jonathan Quigley, Washington (tree fruit).
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