Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain sat down with columnists Faimon Roberts and Stephanie Grace recently to talk about farmers, tariffs, the economy and other topics affecting the industry today. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Read MoreSome good news for those of you planning a Good Friday or Easter crawfish boil: prices are staying relatively low.
"You can find crawfish under $3 a pound right now," Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain told WWL's Tommy Tucker, adding that he's seen prices as low as $2.95 per pound.
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The Louisiana Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority voted Wednesday to fully fund its nearly $2 billion spending plan for next fiscal year, despite more than a quarter of that money being tied up in a project that might never happen.
Gov. Jeff Landry ordered a 90-day pause last week on the nearly $3 billion Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project, which would direct water and land-building alluvium from the Mississippi River into Barataria Bay. The governor has urged a decrease in the size and scope of the plan because of its expense and potential to adversely affect oyster beds and coastal fisheries
Read MoreRepublican U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, Louisiana's only woman in Congress whose influence continues to grow in Washington, has opened a district office back home in the state's capital city to reflect the new boundaries that frame her 5th Congressional District.
Read MoreBayer says the future of Roundup is in question amid ongoing lawsuits and litigation.
Bayer has paid about $10 billion in Roundup settlements in the last decade. Jess Christiansen, head of crop science communications for Bayer, tells Brownfield claims that Roundup causes cancer are not backed by science.
Read MoreRice farmers who adopt irrigation techniques, like alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and furrow irrigation (FIR) have a promising avenue for increased profitability. These practices, promoted through initiatives by AgriCapture, provide a dual benefit.
Farmers can monetize their agricultural data, which verifies carbon credit generation while simultaneously producing a more sustainable rice crop.
Read MoreUSDA is planning to severely slash its county Service Center offices around the country that house local staff for the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, potentially consolidating county staff into state committees, according to a report published Tuesday.
Read MoreThe Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival is just weeks away, and preparations for the highly anticipated event are well underway. As the heart of festival season unfolds in Louisiana, the city of Breaux Bridge is preparing to welcome thousands for its annual celebration of culture, music, and crawfish.
Read MoreThe Farmers Freedom Act of 2025 would provide a permanent definition of prior converted cropland (PCC) under the Clean Water Act. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has used this authority to issue Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rulemakings, which regulates navigable waterways in the United States.
For the last several decades, wetlands converted to cropland before 1985 have remained exempt from WOTUS regulation. Under the Biden administration ruling, previously-converted cropland could revert to a wetland status if it becomes unavailable for commodity production due to circumstances like flooding.
Read MoreThe Ouachita River is continuing to rise and could be up to 45 feet by Wednesday, April 23, which is five feet above the flood stage according to the National Weather Service.
“The partners of Ouachita Parish are doing everything we can for weeks now to try and get ahead of this, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can to protect the citizens,” said Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Ouachita Parish Director Rodger McConnell.
Read MoreCongressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) introduced H.R. 2715, the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act, which grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to destroy imported products that pose a significant public health concern.
This legislation would ensure that contaminated seafood imports don’t reach American consumers and cause harm. The bill grants the FDA additional authority to destroy food products that don’t pass initial inspection, which prevents importers from port shopping their products.
Read MoreFor this edition of ArkLaTex Made, Rick Rowe features C6 Farms.
It provides customers with the highest quality nutrient dense pasture raised meats & eggs, raised sustainably and transparently from its farm in DeSoto Parish.
Read MoreSoybean contracts jumped 20 cents in midday trading on Wednesday, April 9th, joining other commodities in a sharp rebound, after President Donald Trump took to social media to again raise tariffs on the biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans- China. New Chinese tariffs (125%), set Wednesday, April 9th, more than double the cost for Chinese buyers to import U.S. soybeans, but that didn't stop soy-bean futures from climbing higher.
Read MoreAs the weather warms up, insects become more active. Over the past week, our team visited several parishes to check for insect pests on areas near to row crop fields. Some of these fields have already been planted with corn, while most are yet to be planted with soybean or cotton. We used sweep nets to collect insects in various vegetations including mixed grasses, white clovers, and crimson clovers at different sites in each
Read MoreIt looks like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA train will make a stop in Capitoland.
President Donald Trump’s health secretary is expected to visit Baton Rouge to promote Senate Bill 14, a bill inspired by Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
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