USDA announced a major increase in funding for specialty crop programs, with more than $275 million in grants available for fiscal year 2026. Ag Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, alongside Michigan Representative Tom Barrett, shared that the funding will be distributed through key USDA programs, including the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program.
Read MoreLocal craft and food vendors at the Highway 621 Outdoor Market in Gonzales are hoping to “See You on the Grass” through the spring and summer.
The market, 32975 La. 621, will be open from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through the end of July, weather permitting.
Read MoreRecently, ULM announced their new Food Is Medicine program, which aims for patients to focus less on prescription drugs and more on food specific to their needs.
Read MoreThree people were cited after separate incidents involving the shooting of whopping cranes.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) agents cited two people for shooting an endangered whooping crane on a crawfish pond in Evangeline Parish on March 3. Then, on April 13, agents cited another person for shooting a second whooping crane on a different crawfish farm in the parish.
Read MoreThe Trump administration is seeking information from farmers to help with an ongoing Justice Department probe into high costs for fertilizer, machinery and other farm inputs.
Read MoreThe USDA published its most recent Crop Progress report Monday, reporting for the first time this season which states had soybeans planted.
Read MoreThe House of Representatives has passed Congresswoman Julia Letlow’s bill to protect Louisiana’s signature timber industry by cutting red tape for forest landowners, while also strengthening support for impacted livestock producers.
Read MoreUSA Rice extends condolences to the family and friends of Willie Cooper who passed away on April 9, at the age of 90.
Read MoreMarch tractor and combine sales declined in the U.S. and Canada, signaling weak demand even after $11 billion in support payments to producers.
Read MoreA late-season freeze in northeast Louisiana has forced farmers to replant thousands of corn acres, adding costs, straining seed supplies, and raising concerns about shifting to soybeans.
Read MoreAn overwhelming majority of America’s farmers who responded to a nationwide survey say they cannot afford to purchase enough fertilizer to get them through the year. The percentage who pre-purchased fertilizer varies significantly by region.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Livestock Brand Commission will host a saddle microchipping event on Friday, April 24, from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. It will be held at the LSU AgCenter’s DeSoto Parish Extension Office, located at 10117 Highway 171 in Grand Cane, Louisiana
Read MoreThe co-director of the Ag and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University says Congress is still talking about more farmer assistance.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump’s plan for a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (hor-MOOZ) could make an already unprecedented crisis worse in one of the world’s biggest energy-producing regions. Bloomberg said the narrow waterway is seeing transits totaling single digits every day, compared to more than 100 in peacetime.
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