Rep. Troy Carter Meets with Farmers, USDA Employees
Rep. Troy Carter (D, Dist. 2) is back in his district planting sweet potatoes with Leory Conish, a produce farmer in St. James Parish.
Conish gave him tips on how far apart to drop each seed potato in the row. Despite being accustomed to getting his hands dirty in Washington, D.C., Carter said getting his hands dirty in this field is a good thing.
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LA Tech Marks The Start Of Two New Projects
Louisiana Tech had a busy day on April 25, with two groundbreakings.
It began with the groundbreaking of the Origin Bank Center for Student-Athlete Success, a place where university leaders say student athlete’s educational demands will be met.
Tech’s expansion doesn’t end at the Student-Athlete Success Center. They also marked the start of the Forest Products Innovation Center, which will focus on the vast timber industry in Louisiana.
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UL Solar Farm to Be Part of National Department of Energy Research Network
The U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories designated UL Lafayette's Louisiana Solar Energy Lab as a regional test center for emerging solar technologies.
The facility, whose main building was named Antoun Hall after Acadiana area philanthropist and UL alumni Georges Antoun at a Friday ceremony, will be the DOE's sixth Regional Test Center and will be used for research into new solar technologies to advance American energy markets.
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Grand Isle Oyster Farmers Unite Under Single Brand
Oyster farmers in Grand Isle will start branding their oysters as "Grand Isle Jewels," a moniker they hope can spark new demand for their briny hauls.
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Two Cited in Sugartown for Alleged Turkey Hunting Violations
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) reported that two men in Beauregard Parish were cited on April 17, for alleged hunting violations.
LDWF agents said a person had complained that a turkey hunter was taking over the daily limit of turkeys near Sugartown. After investigating, agents said they made contact with Chad Cole, 48, of Sugartown and Konner Seal, 24, of DeRidder.
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Dr. Orlando F. McMeans Receives The Career Achievement Award From The University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
Orlando F. McMeans, Ph.D., Chancellor-Dean of the Southern University Ag Center and the College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences, was one of three recipients of the 2025 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) Career Achievement Award.
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Are Crawfish Good For you? The Case For Louisiana's Lean, Potentially Healthy Mudbug
Greg Lutz still remembers his first crawfish season. Working toward his doctorate and living in a trailer outside Lafayette, he split time between research at LSU and working a 64-acre crawfish pond with a seasoned Louisiana fisherman.
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Spring Rice Planting Report
Rice planting is well underway along the Gulf Coast and the mid-South, and just getting started in California.
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Estate Tax Cliff Threatens Family Farms
The cost of inheriting the family farm will increase dramatically at the end of the year if Congress doesn’t take steps to extend the elevated estate tax exemption. American Farm Bureau economists analyzed the estate tax cliff in a Market Intel this week.
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Heat Stress During Rice Growth Improves Future Crop Resilience, Study Finds
As grain producers face increasingly hot growing seasons, new research reveals promising news: rice plants exposed to high temperatures during a critical growth stage can produce offspring better adapted to future heat.
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Farmer’s Forecast: Friday Showers, Weekend Sunshine
It looks like another day of scattered rain and storms for Friday, followed by a nice stretch of dry weather through the middle of next week. Warm weather will continue, probably for the next 6 months or so, but you knew that already. I don’t see widespread 90s on the way just yet, but we should stay in the 80s through the first week of May. Our next round of rain is going to hit around Thursday of next week, so if you need things to stop, I think you’ll get 4-5 days of little to no rain after Friday.
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Fishermen Fear Bonnet Carre Spillway Opening Could Halt Oyster Season
Commercial fisherman Ryan Bradley said business is booming at the Pass Christian Harbor, with fresh and bountiful oysters this season.
“They’re beautiful, they’re tasty,” Bradley said.
Bradley said he and other fishermen are harvesting up to 30 sacks a day — the best yield they’ve seen in years.
But he fears the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may open the Bonnet Carre Spillway to alleviate flooding along the Mississippi River.
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St. Martin Farm Bureau Celebrates First Agriculture Appreciation Event
On Friday, April 4, 2025, St. Martin Parish Farm Bureau held a special event to recognize the invaluable contributions of farmers and ranchers across the parish. Over 150 community members gathered for the inaugural St. Martin Parish Farm Bureau Agriculture Appreciation event.
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Editorial: Shrimp Bill a Rare Show of Worthy Bipartisanship
It is a rare sight indeed to see two poles in Louisiana's stark political divide come together on any topic.
That's why we were heartened last week to see two of the state's dedicated political footsoldiers — Democratic Rep. Troy Carter and Republican Rep. Clay Higgins — join together to sponsor a bill that would increase the power of federal regulators to confiscate and destroy seafood that has been found to be contaminated, adulterated or misbranded.
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Louisiana’s Crawfish Journey: From Muddy Fields to Your Plate
We're in the peak of crawfish season, so we went behind the scenes in Louisiana with the experts to learn more about the mudbugs' journey from their pond to your plate.
Before they’re served up at a restaurant or at your broil, crawfish spend months growing in rice fields.
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