Farmers Seek Stronger Safety Net as Congress Considers New Farm Bill

Louisiana farmers, along with their counterparts across the nation, are urging Congress to pass a new farm bill this year, expressing concerns that the current safety net is inadequate to address rising costs. The urgency was palpable at the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio, where attendees packed a session on the upcoming farm bill.

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SU College of Ag Students Participated in Super Bowl LIX Events

Twelve Southern University College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences students had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in Super Bowl LIX events.

The students, who are members of the Southern University chapter of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (MANRRS), the Southern University Dietetic Internship Program, and student scholars with the 1890 Center of Excellence (COE) at Southern University, participated in the Super Bowl’s Taste of the NFL 2025 on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

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SU Ag CenterAvery Davidson
Disaster Assistance Fuels 2025’s Farm Income Rebound

Largely driven by a surge in disaster and economic government assistance, USDA’s latest farm income forecast projects a significant but misleading rebound in net farm income for 2025, rising to $180.1 billion — a $41 billion (29.5%) increase over 2024 and following two years of sharp declines. USDA also adjusted its 2024 estimate downward in this update, now projecting net farm income at $139.1 billion, reflecting an $8.2 billion (5.6%) decline from 2023. This is lower than the $140.7 billion (a $6 billion, or 4.1%, decline) forecast in December 2024, showing that farm sector profitability in 2024 was weaker than previously estimated.

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Second Spring Women’s Fishing 101 Workshop Application Period is Open!

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation (LAWFF) are teaming up to present two Women’s Fishing 101 Workshops this spring. The workshops are open to women over the age of 18 who are looking to become knowledgeable and confident anglers. 

The workshops cover a variety of skills to help make fishing even more enjoyable. LDWF biologists and aquatic volunteer instructors will train 15 women per event in fish identification, best fish handling practices, preparing fishing equipment, basic fishing skills, as well as cleaning, storing, and cooking fish.

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Avery Davidson
Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) Crop Insurance Policy Mechanics for 2025

The optional Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) endorsement provides additional coverage for a portion of an individual producer’s underlying crop insurance policy deductible. The basic operational mechanics of the SCO endorsement follows/ ‘mirrors’ underlying policy coverage. If the producer purchases a yield protection (revenue protection) policy, then SCO covers yield loss (revenue loss). The amount of coverage depends on the liability, coverage level, and approved yield for the underlying policy. 

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LSU AgCenterAvery Davidson
The Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) Crop Insurance Program for 2025

The Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) allows producers to supplement their current underlying individual insurance coverage and provides area-based coverage for a portion of the deductible of the producer’s underlying policy in a manner like the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO). ECO utilizes the same expected and final area yields, projected and harvest prices, and payment factors as SCO but covers a band from 86% (where SCO coverage ends) up to 90% or 95% of expected crop value. Like SCO, ECO is based on a producer’s underlying insurance coverage. 

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LSU AgCenterAvery Davidson
La. Rep. Carter Signs on as Cosponsor of Bicameral Effort to Restore FAFSA Exemptions for Farm and Small Business Families

U.S. Representatives Tracey Mann (KS-01) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), alongside House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (PA-15), and House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) led 74 of their colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act. In July 2024, provisions from the Federal Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) Simplification Act altered the federal formula for determining student aid.

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Avery Davidson
LSU AgCenter Hunger Project ‘On Hold’ Amid USAID Freeze

A $22 million project involving the LSU AgCenter has been paused while the Trump administration reviews spending at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

LSU is part of the Feed the Future Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab, which researchers at Kansas State University lead. It seeks to make cereal crops – such as rice, wheat, miller and sorghum – more readily available to those at risk of hunger, according to an AgCenter blog post.

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LSU AgCenterAvery Davidson