For Aaron Lee, farming was never just a career choice, it was a legacy.
That legacy challenged him to grow into leadership while carrying the expectations of five generations before him. Lee grew up on his grandfather’s farm, realizing from a young age that he wanted to pursue a career in agriculture. He’s now a sixth-generation sugarcane, livestock, rice, and crawfish farmer.
Read MoreGovernments and organizations that provide mental health support to farmers dealing with depression, anxiety, and isolation have traditionally focused on overcoming the stigma associated with getting help — but that isn’t the barrier farmers face, according to a new study by a research team led by rural sociologists at Penn State. The bigger issues, they found, are rural health care shortages, long wait times for appointments and travel time, as well as high health care costs.
Read MoreHouse Republicans are demanding records from the National FFA Organization about its partnership with Syngenta Group, arguing the agribusiness’ Chinese state ownership and the youth group’s diversity initiatives could jeopardize FFA’s mission — and, potentially, its tax-exempt status.
Read MoreWhen all the Mardi Gras parades are over, many of the horses will be put up for adoption. The Humane Society of Louisiana is once again implementing the Mardi Gras Horse Adoption Program. Executive Director Jeff Dorson says they launched the program to break the cycle of uncertainty.
Read MoreA destructive bug has made its way into Louisiana's farming regions, putting both sugarcane crops and pasture grasses at risk.
Read MoreThe Women in Agribusiness (WIA) Summit is partnering with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in recognition of the International Year of the Woman Farmer. The event, planned Sept. 22-24 in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, will include special profiles on women in farming and expanded recognition for WIA Demeter Award of Excellence recipients and scholarship winners.
Read MoreJosh Courville has harvested crawfish his whole life, but these days, he’s finding a less welcome catch in some of the fields he manages in southern Louisiana. Snails. Big ones.
Read MoreAs Americans prepare to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, National Farmers Union (NFU) is drawing attention to a different kind of matchup: family farmers and consumers versus corporate monopolies that aren’t playing fair. The “Farmer’s Share of the Food Dollar: Super Bowl Edition” report released today highlights how little family farmers earn compared to how much consumers pay at the grocery store.
Read MoreFarmers in Louisiana and Texas are facing growing threats from invasive species that are damaging rice fields and disrupting crawfish harvests, raising concerns for two industries that are closely linked and economically significant in the southern United States.
Read MoreSince 1850, Gene Copenhaver’s family has been rooted in the land raising crops and livestock. The Virginia cattleman now takes the helm as the new president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Copenhaver’s new leadership role began at the end of CattleCon 2026, held this week in Nashville, Tennessee.
Read MoreAs spring rolls around, stores around Louisiana will be showing a welcome sight: fresh and boiled crawfish for sale. For decades, Louisiana farmers have been producing and selling crawfish using practices that have worked consistently throughout their lives. But as droughts and diseases become more common, there is now a need for more robust research into management systems
Read MoreFriday, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the strongest protections in agency history for over-the-top (OTT) dicamba application on dicamba-tolerant cotton and soybean crops. This decision responds directly to the strong advocacy of America's cotton and soybean farmers, particularly growers across the Cotton Belt, who have been clear and consistent about the critical challenges they face without access to this tool for controlling resistant weeds in their growing crops
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on EPA finalizing the registration of dicamba products.
Read MoreUSA Rice extends condolences to the friends and family of Patrick Lloyd Hartwell, “Pat,” who was 65 when he passed away at home yesterday. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Pam, and their two daughters and their families.
Read MoreThe chair of the U.S. Senate's agriculture committee warned on Tuesday that farmers were suffering heavy losses, while more than two dozen former industry leaders sounded the alarm about the risk of a "widespread collapse of American agriculture" ahead of a $12 billion government bailout expected to reach growers this month.
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