Today the USA Rice Outlook Conference, coming to New Orleans in December 2025, is widely acknowledged as the preeminent rice event in North America, but where did it come from?
In the late 20th Century, the Cooperative Extension Services in the primary rice growing states assembled annually to update each other about rice research being conducted and their outlook for the coming crop year.
Read MoreWhen more than 140 Louisiana 4-H members, leaders and parents boarded planes bound for Dublin, they were stepping into more than a ten-day international tour—they were embarking on a journey that would shape their agricultural knowledge, life skills and friendships.
The trip, organized through Louisiana 4-H, included stops at dairy farms, beef operations, vegetable farms, an apple orchard, oyster farms and even the famed Irish National Stud horse farm. Each visit offered a chance for students to see how Irish farmers operate in a climate where lush green pastures thrive nearly year-round.
Read MoreMuch of the southeastern United States is blessed with long deer seasons and generous harvest limits. What’s more, you can hunt deer with everything from a compound bow to a cross bow, and from a primitive muzzle loading firearm to a modern rifle fitted with a sophisticated variable scope that’s capable of minute of angle precision accuracy.
Read MoreVisitors and locals alike flocked to Delcambre for the final day of the 73rd Annual Shrimp Festival, enjoying a vibrant atmosphere filled with food, music, and camaraderie.
First-time festival-goer Joe Tamporello expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “We just come out here, and got some food to eat. And we’re going to have a couple of drinks and listen to the band.”
Read MoreFarmers 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe 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.”
Read MoreU.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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThere’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.
Read MoreBuck 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.
Read MoreNational 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreOn 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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