Louisiana sugarcane is a stubborn crop. Battling extremes in heat and cold, invasive pests, sandy soils and the inevitability of destructive hurricanes means sugarcane farmers like the Judice family in St. Mary Parish, need to be as resilient as the crop itself.
Read MoreThe American Sugar Cane League announced today that it has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor in its lawsuit challenging the 2023 guest worker wage rule.
The outcome vacates the rule nationwide, eliminating costly and unrealistic wage classifications that have severely burdened farm operators across the country.
Read MoreThe president of the American Farm Bureau Federation says farmers might need more federal assistance to make it through 2026.
Zippy Duvall tells Brownfield “I’m beginning to hear in the last few weeks, especially in the southeast part of the country starting with the Bootheel of Missouri south, it’s time for the USDA and President Trump to start talking about that.”
Read MoreDespite being called a “cruise,” the people on board The Pelican described the experience on the hypoxia monitoring expedition as very different from the elaborate dinners on a towering vacation ship or booze- and buffet-filled Caribbean itinerary.
Passengers describe waves up to 5 feet high in the Gulf of Mexico, swinging the 116-foot research vessel like a pendulum, plaguing anyone who didn’t have sturdy sea legs with bouts of seasickness. Daytime temperatures in late July soared ever higher as sweat dripped down the backs of hard-hat covered heads.
Read MoreSouthern University College of Agriculture alumna Allison Thomas has been named the U.S. Dairy Export Council’s (USDEC) Chief Operating Officer (COO). The announcement was made on August 11, 2025 by the USDEC and will become effective on August 25, 2025.
In her role as COO, Thomas will report directly to USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden and serve as her strategic thought partner, oversee USDEC’s senior leadership team, and spearhead initiatives to accelerate growth, enhance operational performance, and drive innovation across the organization.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced it is investing more than $2.1 million in four projects across nine states in the Southern Region to restore state and private forestlands. These investments directly support the agency’s efforts to reduce wildfire risk, increase timber production, and expand rural economies, while providing critical support to landowners across management jurisdictions as they work to promote healthy, productive forests that benefit rural communities.
The investments, totaling more than $7 million nationwide, are being delivered as competitive grants through the Landscape Scale Restoration program. Of the total funding, $600,000 will support two projects for federally recognized tribes.
Read MoreThe American Soybean Association is urging President Trump to prioritize soybeans in U.S.-China trade talks, warning that retaliatory tariffs are shutting American farmers out of their largest export market going into the 2025 soybean harvest.
In a letter sent to the White House, the group called for the removal of Chinese tariffs on U.S. soybeans and commitments for future purchases. ASA also released a white paper outlining the financial consequences of losing long-term market share in China.
Read MoreEarlier this week, USDA released its estimate for the national average farm case price for corn in the 2025/26 marketing year to be $3.90. That update is down 30¢ from what USDA was saying just last month in July.
Farm CPA Paul Neiffer says in the short-term it means two things: a focus on government payments and tougher conversations with ag lenders.
Read MoreLouisiana’s Office of Multi-modal Commerce says billions of dollars in port projects are stuck in line for funding, with requests piling up as far back as 2019.
Julia Fisher-Cormier, the office’s director, said the program’s design allowed applications to build up without caps on approvals, even when annual funding was a fraction of the demand.
Read MoreLouisiana strawberry farmers regularly contend with a multitude of challenges, including labor costs, unfavorable weather conditions, insect and mite pests, and plant diseases. In February 2022, a new-to-Louisiana disease was identified when a Tangipahoa Parish strawberry grower asked me to look at a field where plants were dying.
Read MoreLouisiana House Speaker Phillip DeVillier has told legislators to keep their calendars open for a possible redistricting special session in late October or November. Lapoliticsweekly.com publisher Jeremy Alford says there are already constitutional questions about Louisiana’s current Congressional map and there’s also an effort to create more Republican seats.
Read MoreCrews are making good progress on the Backbone Fire in the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness Area in Natchitoches Parish. Jim Caldwell with the U.S. Forest Service says as of yesterday evening, the 2,400-acre fire was just under 60% contained.
“Our lines are certainly holding. There’s still a very small amount of fire out there, but things are going completely to plan, and we think it will soon be out,” Caldwell said.
Read MoreThere's a new greenhouse at Northeast High School for its agriculture program.
"When I found out that we were getting a new greenhouse. I said that's one of the best things that could've happened here at Northeast," senior Tahj Turner said.
Turner said he enrolled in the class during his junior year.
Read MoreThe S Mart in Bee Bayou has always done a brisk business.
It's the only convenience store for miles amid the corn and soybean fields that line the old two-lane La. 80 in rural northeast Louisiana, and the only place to get heaping to-go plates of fried chicken gizzards with mac and cheese.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced the rapid implementation of significant enhancements to federal crop insurance programs following the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025. In record time, RMA has delivered these transformative changes, demonstrating the Trump Administration’s unwavering commitment to putting American farmers first by expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable and accessible across multiple insurance programs.
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