Scientific Research Cuts Could Be ‘Devastating” to Louisiana, Higher Ed Leaders Warn
Louisiana would be among the states hardest hit by the indefinite pause of funding from the National Science Foundation, with higher education leaders warning of catastrophic impacts to students and the economy.
According to an internal memo exclusively reported by Nature, the National Science Foundation, one of the top federal funders of scientific research at Louisiana universities, is pausing funding of all existing grants and will stop awarding new grants. The agency announced it will also slash its indirect cost rate to 15%, joining the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy in doing so. Those cuts will result in tens of millions of dollars in loss for Louisiana universities.
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Louisiana Officials Lament Loss of USDA Money to Help Schools, Food Banks Buy From Local Farmers
Louisiana lawmakers are asking Congress to bring back a $1 billion federal program that allows schools, child care programs, and food banks to purchase locally grown produce and protein.
The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, both administered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, were axed in March as part of the Trump administration’s move to reduce federal government spending.
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Delta Submerged By Massive Flooding
The month of April is known for rainfall, but 2025 has been a record-breaking year. Between April 2 and April 5 at least three months of rainfall dumped across the Delta, as reported by the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Ark. and Memphis, Tenn.
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Hey, Cotton Has A Kelce Connection, Too!
Let’s tip a cap to Jason Kelce.
Yes, that Jason Kelce. All-Pro center and Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles. Big brother to Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce…and thus, a personal friend of Taylor Swift. Now retired from his playing days, he’s become his own corporation of sorts, including broadcasting, podcasting, social media, and his own YouTube channel…not to mention endorsements.
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2025 Beauregard Watermelon Festival Begins This Week
The 2025 Beauregard Watermelon Festival is set to kick off this week in DeRidder.
The yearly festival features plenty of fun for the whole family, with unique events like mutton bustin’, seed spittin’, pig scrambles, and even a mullet contest. If you feel like having a ball, there will also be dance lessons where you can learn to do the Watermelon Crawl.
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Linking Higher Reference Prices and Boost in Farm Program Payment Caps
If Title I reference prices in the farm bill are increased significantly, it would be logical to also consider raising the current payment caps for farm program payments.
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Game of Horns: Iowa Poacher’s Antler Addiction Leads to Historic Bust
The darkest corner of buck fever hides addiction—and sometimes, fetish.
Staring at a headless deer splayed in a cornfield, game warden Craig Roberg had no inkling a killing spree was underway on Iowa farmland. The decapitated carcass, still oozing blood, was one link in a 52-kill chain, with each rack procured to satisfy a compulsion.
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Invasive Apple Snails Return; Solutions Researchers and Farmers Testing to Keep Snails Out of Crops
Apple snails are popping back up around the state as the weather starts to get warmer, and entomologists say they pose a bigger threat this year.
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Lawmakers Send More Signals Farm Bill Is Uncertain This Year
Politico's Grace Yarrow and Marcia Brown reported Wednesday that Republican "lawmakers are currently weighing whether to put Biden-era conservation programs into their party-line megabill that might have otherwise been included in their separate reauthorization of federal farm programs, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations."
Yarrow and Brown reported that the possibility of moving conservation programs into the megabill is "sending more signals they doubt their ability to pass a new, bipartisan farm bill this year."
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Farmers Grow More Optimistic Despite Tariff Concerns
Farmer sentiment improved in April as producers expressed more optimism about current and future conditions on their farms.
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LDWF Announces Temporary Closure of South Farm in Sherburne Wildlife Management Area
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has closed South Farm on Sherburne Wildlife Management Area (WMA) due to flooding.
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Commissioner Temple Urges Residents to Prepare and Be Insurance Ready Ahead of Heavy Rain
Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple is urging Louisiana residents to prepare for heavy rainfall which is expected to develop Tuesday evening and continue through Wednesday. The rain could produce flash flooding across the region.
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The Cow Country Reporter: May 2025
I had planned to start out our May CPL Country Reporter with a market summary of record prices, however, every week in April both the calves and feeders broke "all-time records" as did the slaughter steer and heifer (fat cattle) market. So, by the time y'all get this report these prices will be "old news.'
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