House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (MN-02) led fellow Agriculture Committee Democrats on a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins expressing deep concern regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) anticipated Reduction in Force (RIF).
The letter comes after months of chaos and discord at USDA have sowed confusion and uncertainty throughout the farm economy and rural America.
Read MoreIn response to requests from the Governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking action to address the States’ concerns about E10 fuel standards by issuing an emergency fuel waiver.
Specifically, the agency has waived provisions that would have otherwise made E10 gasoline sold in those states meet a more stringent standard than conventional gasoline in other parts of the country.
Read MoreU.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announces a major win for American agriculture by securing the agreement of the Mexican government to meet the current water needs of farmers and ranchers in Texas as part of the 1944 Water Treaty. The Mexican government committed to transfer water from international reservoirs and increase the U.S. share of the flow in six of Mexico’s Rio Grande tributaries through the end of the current five-year water cycle.
Read MoreThe third annual City of Lights Crawfish cook-off is returning to Natchitoches.
To join the competition, the cost is $400 per team, which includes six team wristbands. Crawfish will be supplied for all teams. Guests can pay $30 on the day of entry for all-you-can-eat crawfish or pay $25 for early bird entry. All proceeds will be given to the local St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Read MoreRep. 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.
Read MoreLouisiana 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreOyster 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.
Read MoreLouisiana 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.
Read MoreOrlando 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.
Read MoreGreg 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.
Read MoreRice planting is well underway along the Gulf Coast and the mid-South, and just getting started in California.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MoreIt 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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