LSU AgCenter Plant Doctor Says Recent Southern Red Oak Tree Symptoms Are Unlikely To Be Oak Wilt
In southern Louisiana and Mississippi, oak trees are a common, beautiful sight in the natural landscape. However, recently, southern red oak trees have been showing concerning symptoms that resemble disease.
LSU AgCenter plant doctor Raj Singh wants to ensure that homeowners and foresters do not panic.
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The Farmer's Forecast: Typical Summer Weather
It’s time to take a look at what’s going on in the world of weather! Spoiler alert, it looks pretty much like typical summer weather. That means highs generally in the 90s, lows in the 70s, and scattered storms each day. No need to dress that up too much. I do think we will see higher rain chances through Thursday, and then things become a bit more isolated into the weekend.
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Don't Look for Raccoons! This Bossier Farm Is the New Flower-Picking Gem
After driving past the sign for what felt like the hundredth time, I finally pulled over to see Raccoon Bend Farms for myself, right here in Bossier. And spoiler alert: there are, in fact, zero raccoons for petting. However, you can walk through a field of flowers and pick your own, and honestly, that brings just as much joy, if not more.
When my friend and I decided to check out this Bossier gem, we had no idea what to expect.
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Acadia Parish Farm and Distillery Featured on Cowboy Channel’s ‘Farms of America’
A local farm using its own rice to make whiskey and vodka was featured on “Farms of America” on the Cowboy Channel Monday night.
Frugé Aquafarms is a full service seafood company covering major markets in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma, which began when Mike and Mark Frugé first started crawfish farming to make money in college.
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Regular Maintenance Requirements for All CRP Contracts
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a program administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conserve farmland for future generations while providing habitat for wildlife, reducing soil erosion, and improving water quality. Regular maintenance on CRP acres is needed to ensure the acreage continues to provide conservation benefits and remains in compliance with the CRP contract.
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Rice Stewardship Program Helps Keep Louisiana Rice Farming, Wildlife Thriving
From the fields of Louisiana to kitchens across the country, rice is a staple in the Bayou State.
For many family farmers, rising costs and changing conditions are making it harder to keep the crop — and a way of life — alive. That’s where the Rice Stewardship Program comes in.
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Louisiana Master Farmer Program Wins 2025 Conservation Innovation Award
The Louisiana Master Farmer Program has won the prestigious 2025 Conservation Innovation Award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society for its work in advancing conservation practices across the state.
The Louisiana Master Farmer Program has provided voluntary certification opportunities for producers and landowners across the state for more than 24 years.
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2025 USA Rice Outlook Conference Tackles ‘The Future’ In New Orleans
The largest rice-specific event in North America, the USA Rice Outlook Conference, is heading to New Orleans later this year and registration opened today. As always, the conference will feature a mix of insightful speakers, carefully curated educational programming, business meetings, a 24,000 square foot exhibit hall, and networking events in the city Travel + Leisure Magazine has ranked the #2 destination in the United States.
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Good Week For Cotton Prices, But Bears Maintain Control
Cotton’s good news: the December futures contract settled the week near the upper end of last Friday’s trading range. That’s always a good sign, and the first one that suggests prices might be higher tomorrow. Good news also came in the form of a 24-point increase in prices for the week.
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Louisiana Crop Conditions As Of August 10
According to USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, as of last Sunday all of the Louisiana soybean crop was blooming, which is also the five year average for this time of year. 94-percent was setting pods, same for the five year average. That crop was rated 8 percent fair, 90 percent good and two percent excellent.
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Louisiana Conservation & Commodity Updates: July 2025
From 2018 – 2022, U.S. farms where most of the ownership lies outside the producer’s household or relatives (nonfamily farms) operate more land than family farms, across all production scales (small, medium, or large). Nonfamily farm operations accounted for 13.4% of total production value during that period even though they make up only 2% of farms in the US.
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Louisiana Farm & Ranch: August 2025
Thanks to Buck Leonards and the staff at Louisiana Farm & Ranch for making the digital edition available here
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Second Venture of US-Canada Partnership
A tale of two sawmills shows lessons learned that helped with the startup of Bienville Lumber Co., the second endeavor of a partnership of Hunt Forest Products and Tolko Industries of Canada.
The partnership of the Ruston-based Hunt Forest Products and Vernon, British Columbia-based Tolko Industries began around 2016 with a decision on its first sawmill in Urania — LaSalle Lumber Co. — soon followed. Testing at that mill began in late 2018 and it became fully operational in 2019.
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LWFC Keeps Two Zones for 2026-30 Waterfowl Hunting Seasons
The 2026–2030 Louisiana waterfowl zone and split structure will remain unchanged.
At their monthly meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission voted to keep the current configuration in place.
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Field Day in Erath Focuses on Climate-smart Agriculture
An LSU AgCenter field day held at a commercial sugarcane farm in Erath focused on climate-smart agriculture solutions that any farmer can implement.
Attendees were transported from the venue location to the field in air-conditioned, yellow school buses — a welcome getaway from the summer heat.
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