On Wednesday, USA Rice staff joined the newly sworn-in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden for a stakeholder meeting as the Administration rolled out the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP). The briefing coincided with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins' formal announcement that sign-ups for SDRP have commenced.
Read MoreUSDA’s Risk Management Agency invites all crop insurance agents to join a webinar on July 16 to learn about the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), announced this week by USDA’s Farm Service Agency. This webinar will be offered in two sessions. The same content will be covered in each session.
Read MoreCongresswoman Julia Letlow announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has designated the Ouachita River as a U.S. Marine Highway, further unlocking the 605-mile river’s potential to spur economic development in North Louisiana.
Letlow called for the designation in a March letter to DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, touting the river’s capability to facilitate commerce, reduce highway congestion, and move freight. The designation enables local agencies, industries, and shippers to become eligible for federal infrastructure grants.
Read MoreThe H-2A program allows eligible employers in the U.S. an avenue to request and hire foreign workers to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Applicants must be certified and demonstrate a lack of willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers to fill the temporary roles and that the wages and working conditions available to similarly employed U.S. workers will not be adversely affected.
Application numbers tend to be the largest in states like Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota but requests are for smaller numbers of workers per application compared with the leading authorized worker areas.
Read MoreThe Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SUAREC) was honored to host 25 exceptional Mandela Washington Fellows — a prestigious cohort of young African leaders recognized for their innovation, entrepreneurship, and dedication to advancing agriculture across the continent.
Chosen from a pool of over 50,000 applicants, the 700 fellows selected for this year’s Mandela Washington Fellowship represent the brightest minds from across Africa. SUAREC, in partnership with Dr. Sarah Becker of Louisiana State University (LSU), proudly welcomed a select group of 25 agricultural changemakers to its campus for an intimate tour and engagement session highlighting the Center’s impactful research, outreach, and community-based agricultural initiatives.
Read MoreSt. Mary Parish Councilwoman Dr. Kristi Prejeant Rink relayed a message from Bayou Bend Health System to the council Wednesday: The Franklin hospital is in no danger of closure from Medicaid cuts.
Rink spoke at a Parish Council meeting and said she was repeating a message from Bayou Bend CEO Stephanie Guidry.
The message was that “there is no immediate risk of Bayou Bend closing,” Rink said.
Read MoreA closely watched study of how many redfish and other species the industrial menhaden industry nets and ultimately kills off of Louisiana’s coast shows the numbers are not as bad as some had feared, but recreational anglers called the results concerning nonetheless.
Industry officials pointed to the study as evidence that they did not deserve to be vilified, particularly given their economic contributions to the state. Conservationists highlighted the effects on redfish in particular while calling for further precautions.
Read MoreA social media post from Louisiana Democrats suggests that the Louisiana Republican delegation is responsible for the potential closure of rural hospitals throughout the state following their support for President Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill."
However, Senator Bill Cassidy stated that that wouldn't be the case.
In a statement to The Shreveport Times regarding the post, Cassidy stated that people who are opposed to President Trump are opposed to the bill and will twist things around to say things that aren't true.
Read MoreThe Nutrien Ag Solutions Texas Rice Field Day was held yesterday at their research station south of El Campo. General Rice Business Manager Randy Ouzts welcomed attendees and provided an overview of Nutrien’s rice breeding activities, and rice breeder Nanyen Chou explained the various steps in pure line rice variety development.
Dr. Steve Linscombe, director of The Rice Foundation, was there to talk about ongoing USA Rice activities as well as the Rice Leadership Development Program, which is currently accepting applications.
Read MoreFarmers have until July 25 to submit nominations for the 2026 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year contest, which comes with cash prizes and bragging rights. This is the eighth year of the contest, supported by Nestlé Purina PetCare, which celebrates farm dogs and the many ways they support farmers and ranchers.
The grand prize winner – Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year – will win a year’s worth of Purina Pro Plan dog food and $5,000 in prize money.
Read MoreTuesday, Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA) reported a new case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz in Mexico, which is approximately 160 miles northward of the current sterile fly dispersal grid, on the eastern side of the country and 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border. This new northward detection comes approximately two months after northern detections were reported in Oaxaca and Veracruz, less than 700 miles away from the U.S. border, which triggered the closure of our ports to Mexican cattle, bison, and horses on May 11, 2025.
Read MoreThis July, Busch Light is launching brand new limited-edition Farming Cans across the U.S. and continuing to encourage consumers to ‘Choose Beer Grown Here.’ This year’s Farming Cans — vibrantly wrapped with a red barn design, a tractor and eagle soaring over lush cornfields — are truly brewed for the farmers, honoring the hardworking men and women of American agriculture and reinforcing Busch Light’s commitment to farming and ranching communities.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump signed an executive order in March aimed at revitalizing America’s timber industry by increasing logging on federal lands, streamlining permitting, and reducing regulatory delays.
But in Louisiana, where the timber sector has been in long decline, early reactions suggest the impact has been minimal — at least for now.
Read MoreGrassroots cattle industry organizations throughout the United States are sharing support for Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ National Farm Security Action Plan.
Louisiana Cattlemen's Association President and Cattle Producer Jarett Daigle:
“Louisiana Cattlemen's Association is appreciative of Secretary Rollins' plan to put farm security first. Agriculture built this land, and we must safeguard it for our future generations!”
Read MoreFor decades cotton was king. But this year the Louisiana cotton crop is expected to be the smallest in history. State Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says input costs to produce cotton has gone up and the price farmers can get for cotton has gone down from two dollars a pound in the mid-1800s.
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