Rice is a point of pride in Japan, and the choice was a break from the typical diplomatic practice of showcasing local ingredients.
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In the late summer heat, the hours move like molasses.
Still, across the cane fields of South Louisiana, migrant workers from Mexico brave the sun and punishing humidity to plant sugarcane. They come from the mountains of Guanajuato and San Luís Potosí, or the tropical coast of Veracruz, working the fields, often up to 70 hours a week.
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“Y’all sure go through a lot of trouble to get your rice. We just buy it at the store.”
So were the words of a young cousin of Louisiana Rice Promotion Board chair Kane Fontenot when first introduced to the rice harvesting process. Fontenot recounted the story to high schoolers from 15 parishes across the state at the pilot Growing Careers
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Over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced trade pacts with Malaysia and Cambodia during a trip to southeast Asia. He also provided new details on potential Thailand and Vietnam deals.
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A low pressure system will send warm and cold fronts across the Lower Mississippi Valley on Tuesday. While thunderstorms are in the forecast, latest projections from the NWS’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and Weather Prediction Center (WPC) indicate no significant concerns with regard to severe storms or excessively-heavy rainfall.
Most of the state can expect less than 1/4" of rain, with isolated larger totals where slower-moving t-storms have an impact.
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Earlier today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the launch of a Section 301 investigation into China’s compliance with the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement (Phase One Agreement) achieved and signed by the first Trump Administration in January 2020.
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins visited a Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Louisiana Monday, marking her first stop at one of the 2,100 offices reopened nationwide following a presidential directive to resume operations during the ongoing government shutdown.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday the U.S. and China have agreed on the “substantial framework” of a trade deal that will benefit American farmers and resolve other key issues.
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When it comes to building smart machines, engineers often turn to the human brain for inspiration. But a recent study published in eLife suggests we might do just as well by looking at the compound eyes of the humble honeybee.
Relatively speaking, bees have minuscule brains. But they still manage to perform incredibly elegant navigation, pattern recognition, and decision-making processes. One of their most impressive tricks? Recognizing symmetrical patterns and spatial relationships in flowers, a key part of their unmatched foraging behavior … and a capability highly prized for the enhancement of artificial intelligence (AI).
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Farmers and ranchers have until Dec. 5 to apply for the Producer Grant Program. The initiative is part of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SSARE) program.
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Kade McMahon glides atop a field of bleached cumulus tufts. With a joystick, he steers a set of massive yellow teeth that gobble the white like a snowplow. Summer has again overstayed its welcome in northeast Louisiana, but McMahon is sealed from the hot and dusty air, sitting comfortably inside an air-conditioned cotton picker.
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Willis Nelson, a third-generation farmer in eastern Louisiana, was hoping to avoid the worst.
The 38-year-old farms 4,000 acres in Sondheimer with his brothers and father. They grow row crops such as corn, cotton, and soybean, which are the leading U.S. agricultural exports that are sold to a global market.
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The Louisiana Drought Team, in coordination with national USDM authors, increased the coverage of D1 (‘Moderate Drought’) across central and southwestern Louisiana and introduced a new area of D1 across far northwestern Louisiana. D0 (‘Abnormally Dry’) coverage was reduced across northeastern Louisiana and increased across southeastern Louisiana.
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Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA), Governor Jeff Landry (R-LA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, and Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain held a roundtable discussion with Louisiana farmers, cattlemen, and aquaculture reps, focused on strengthening the state’s agricultural industry.
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In an old coal-mining town in northern Texas, around 130 miles from Dallas/Fort Worth, Greg Buenger raises beef cattle on his ranch. But Buenger, also a Texas Farm Bureau District 3 state director and retired veterinarian, has his eyes elsewhere at the moment, far from the northern flatlands.
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