Hurricanes Push Crop Insurance Costs Higher in Mid-South
Farmers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi pay much higher crop insurance premiums compared to those in the Midwest. Research from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture shows that hurricane risks are a major factor in driving these costs.
“I began to study the price of insurance crop insurance across the United States, and what I noticed was, there were vast differences in prices between what folks in the South and primarily the Mid-South would pay versus those in the upper Midwest. One thing that I begin to think about and do some research on is what's different about the Mid-South?” said economist Hunter Biram.
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Pawpaws: An Old Native with Renewed Interest
The pawpaw (Asimina triloba), America’s largest native fruit, is experiencing a resurgence of interest from chefs, brewers and native plant enthusiasts. The LSU AgCenter has been encouraging the cultivation of pawpaws in Louisiana through an annual Pawpaw Symposium in partnership with the Meraux Foundation and through extension education outreach to specialty crop producers looking to diversify their offerings.
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Cattle Producers Back Administation On Screwworm Fight
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association announced continued support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) aggressive plan to combat the spread of New World screwworm by ramping up construction of a sterile fly distribution facility alongside a production facility at Moore Air Base in south Texas.
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Louisiana Reminding Farmers of Harvest Season Safety and Guidelines
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry is reminding farmers to have the proper documentation and inspections when crossing state lines.
“We still have boll weevil control program in place where we monitor if we’re going to get bow weevils back, it’s going to be a hitchhiker,” Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Mike Strain said. “It’s going to come in on a piece of equipment or in some type of debris from a boll weevil infected area.”
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USDA Announces Sweeping Plans to Protect the United States from New World Screwworm
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins at the Texas State Capitol alongside Governor Greg Abbott and stakeholders from across the country announced the largest initiative yet in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to combat the New World Screwworm (NWS). This announcement builds upon USDA’s five-pronged plan issued in June to combat the northward spread of NWS from Mexico into the United States.
NWS is a devastating pest. When NWS fly larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal.
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Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Applauds USDA Action to Fight New World Screwworm
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation applauds today’s announcement of a fully federally funded domestic production facility for sterile New World Screwworm (NWS) flies to be constructed at Moore Air Base in Texas. This critical investment represents a monumental step forward in protecting American agriculture, livestock health, and rural economies from one of the most devastating livestock pests in history.
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This Louisiana Farmer Turned A Little-Known Tropical Plant Into A Thriving Business
There’s a booth at the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge where the star attraction is hibiscus. But it’s not the showy ornamental plant you’ll often see adorning Southern front porches. It’s roselle hibiscus, the smaller, bloodred flower with a fruit that’s long been used in a variety of culinary applications. Clinton, Louisiana’s Lena Farms began cultivating it in 2012, tapping into a rising interest in hibiscus teas and other products.
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The Louisiana Forestry Sate of the Union
Buck Vandersteen joins the show from the LegisGator Conference to discuss the state of Louisiana’s forestry industry, highlighting its vast forest coverage—over 15 million acres, mostly privately owned. Historically, early 20th-century logging led to deforestation, but reforestation efforts over the past 75 years have reversed that trend. Today, Louisiana grows 70% more wood than it harvests, creating a surplus of timber, especially small-diameter wood from first thinnings.
Traditionally, this surplus fed the pulp and paper industry, but declining newspaper demand and mill closures—like International Paper in Pineville—have left millions of tons of wood without a market.
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Reduction in the Hypoxia Dead Zone
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-supported scientists recently announced that data reveal this year’s Gulf hypoxia, known as the dead zone, is 21% smaller than estimates predicted for June 2025. This is the 15th smallest measurement on record.
The goal of reducing the dead zone has been a joint effort by many, and therefore it is difficult to determine how much contribution or impact any one organization has had on this reduction.
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Showcase Your Creativity In National Rice Month Video Contest
The annual National Rice Month (NRM) Scholarship video contest is here! Creative students are challenged to shine a light on our favorite home-grown grain, and in a short video – three minutes or less – educate, entertain, and tell us why rice is special to you, to your state, or to the world.
It’s easy to participate! ReelRiceContest.com has all the details about this year’s contest open to graduating high school students from Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, or Texas.
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LSU AgCenter Beef Cattle Extension Programs Receive National Recognition
On July 1, the National Association County Agricultural Agents presented LSU AgCenter extension specialist Ashley Edwards the award for Excellence in Livestock Production in 2025. Edwards received the award on behalf of a team of AgCenter beef cattle agents after a selection process that looked at extension agents from around the country.
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Crop Market Report: August, 2025
This month’s 2025/26 U.S. corn outlook is for sharply higher supplies, greater domestic use and exports, and larger ending stocks. Projected beginning stocks for 2025/26 are 35 million bushels lower based on a slightly higher use forecast for 2024/25. For 2024/25, larger corn exports are partly offset by reductions in corn used for ethanol and glucose and dextrose. Corn production for 2025/26 is forecast at a record 16.7 billion bushels, up 1.0 billion from last month with a 1.9-million acre increase in harvested area and higher yield. If realized, this total would be 1.4 billion bushels more than the prior record set in 2023/24.
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Louisiana Agricultural Workforce Development Program
Through this grant, Louisiana businesses can establish internship programs that grow the next generation of agriculture professionals while strengthening their own businesses.
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Former Vidalia Mills, Fruit of the Loom to Be Deeded to Credit Union
The former Fruit of the Loom that once housed Vidalia Mills now belongs to a credit union that is reportedly owed millions in unpaid loans, officials said. The property, including the 900,000 square foot building and 81.87 acres of land a that was purchased from the Town of Vidalia in 2017, had been advertised for a sheriff’s sale that took place Aug. 6. In Louisiana, sheriff’s sales are public auctions conducted by the Sheriff’s Office to sell property that has been seized by court order, typically to recover unpaid debts.
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Louisiana Inspects Cotton Harvest Equipment to Prevent Boll Weevil Return
Restrictions are being applied for all cotton harvest equipment traveling into Louisiana to avoid the reintroduction of an invasive pest.
The boll weevil was declared eradicated from Louisiana in 2012. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) said there is a risk for the pest to be reintroduced from equipment traveling through the state as the harvest season starts.
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