LSU AgCenter State Livestock Show Dedicated to Ascension Parish's Frank Sotile
The 2025 LSU AgCenter State Livestock Show, set for Feb. 11-18 at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, has been dedicated to Donaldsonville native Frank Sotile.
He exhibited his first 4-H steer at the LSU show in 1950 when he was 9 years old, sparking a lifetime of dedication to the organization, according to the AgCenter.
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USDA Applauds Mexico’s Action Towards Resolving USMCA Dispute on GE Corn
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the following statement commending Mexico’s action to declare ineffective measures concerning genetically engineered (GE) corn that the United States successfully challenged in the USMCA dispute. The action safeguards approximately $5.6 billion in U.S. corn exports to Mexico. USDA, in coordination with USTR, will continue to monitor Mexico’s compliance with its USMCA commitments.
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Be Aware Of Email Phishing Scam Falsely Using USDA Logo
The National Organic Program is aware that certifiers and certified operations have received emails from sources pretending to be the USDA. These emails, referred to as phishing emails, have been sent using the following information:
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Louisiana Farmers Work To Fill Gap As Egg Prices Go Up Across The US
Across the nation, bird flu is destroying flocks and creating egg shortages. In Southeast Louisiana, farmers are filling that poultry gap.
Kickn' Chickn' Farm is a homestead in Zachary that sells eggs. Over the past three weeks, Owners Chris and Nicole Young said business has grown and now the farm has backorders for all the eggs demanded.
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Baton Rouge Community Farm Training the Next Generation of Urban Farmers
Fresh food is a premium in neighborhoods where transportation is lacking and walkability to fresh produce is not feasible. In the capital city, Baton Roots not only grows food in those communities to counteract such issues but is also paving a path toward horticultural futures by training the next generation of urban gardeners.
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Seafood Testing Campaign Ahead of Super Bowl Raises Awareness of Foreign Shrimp
A new round of genetic seafood testing conducted for a state advisory panel detected foreign shrimp that was falsely presented as domestic in a small percentage of the restaurants sampled in New Orleans, despite a new state law that forbids the practice.
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Letlow Legislation Improves Disaster Assistance for Farmers, Landowners
In the wake of recent natural disasters causing severe damage to Louisiana’s timber economy, Congresswoman Julia Letlow has introduced legislation adding improvements to disaster relief programs for forest landowners.
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Grower Meetings Across the Mid-South Address Changing Landscape for U.S. Agriculture Policy
Yesterday proved to be a busy day for rice growers from southeast Texas to central and northeast Louisiana.
In what was likely a first time, and probably on nobody’s Bingo card, the SETX Rice Symposium had to be rescheduled due to an unprecedented snow event across the Gulf Coast region in late January. Dr. Mithila Jugulam, director of the Rice Research Station in Beaumont, welcomed growers and industry representatives to the Winnie Stovall Community Center yesterday afternoon.
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AFBF President Duvall Shares Agriculture Challenges with Senate
America’s farmers and ranchers need a new, modernized farm bill, a strengthened farm safety net, and open trading markets. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall traveled to the Capitol to emphasize those priorities to the Senate Agriculture Committee today as he testified in the hearing “Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy, Part I.”
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LDWF Working Alongside LDH to Close Oyster Area 3 Due to Non-Life Threatening Illnesses Reported
As a precautionary measure, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) has closed a molluscan shellfish harvesting area in Area 3 and ordered a recall of all oysters harvested from that area since January 10, 2025. This includes shucked, frozen, breaded, post-harvest processed and oysters for the half-shell market due to norovirus-like illnesses reported from oysters consumed from that area. Area 3 is located east of Lake Borgne, north of Eloi Bay, and includes Chandeleur Islands and surrounding marshes.
All Louisiana oysters harvested outside of Area 3 as well as all other Louisiana seafood statewide is safe for consumption. Oyster Area 3 is only one of 30 Oyster Areas that are harvested along Louisiana’s coast.
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Lafayette Bakery Pushes Through with Rising Egg Prices Amid Avian Flu Outbreak
Mardi Gras season is a busy time at Twin’s Burgers and Sweets, but this year, the holiday rush comes with a hefty price tag. Eggs, a staple ingredient at the bakery, have become significantly more expensive following the outbreak of avian flu across the U.S.
Owner Billy Guilbeaux said the increase in egg prices are hitting hard. “We go through cases of eggs every week,” Guilbeaux explained. “It is a big cost for us, eggs are an important ingredient in everything that we make.”
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Southern University Ag Center Launches FAA Part 107 Drone Certification Program
The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center proudly launched its inaugural FAA Part 107 small, unmanned aircraft certification course on January 25, 2025 in Opelousas, La. This pioneering initiative aims to equip Louisiana youth with the skills and credentials necessary to legally operate drones for commercial purposes, opening doors to a range of professional opportunities in emerging industries.
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SU College Of Ag To Hold VET Explore 2025 For High School & College Students
The Southern University College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences (CAHES) will host its VET Explore 2025 event on April 26, 2025 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Maurice A. Edmond Livestock Arena, 14600 Scenic Hwy., Baton Rouge, LA 70807.
The event is free and open to 9th - 12th graders and undergraduate college students who are interested in becoming veterinarians, however, registration is required.
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America’s Sugar Crop Farmers, Workers Urge Swift Senate Confirmation of Brooke Rollins
Following the Senate Agriculture Committee’s bipartisan vote to advance the nomination of Brooke Rollins as the next Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Sugar Alliance issued the following statement on behalf of America’s sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers and workers.
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Farm Bureau Urges Quick Confirmation of Rollins
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urging swift confirmation of Brooke Rollins as the next Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) after the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously advanced her nomination.
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