Makayla Rhodes, a high school senior and 4-H member from Terrebonne Parish, made history last month as one of the first painters to be invited to the 4-H Spark Celebration at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
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The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), and its nationwide network of state affiliates, concluded its 2026 Legislative Conference this week, bringing together cattle producers from across the country to advocate for policy solutions that strengthen America’s cattle industry and rural communities. Throughout the conference, producers met with federal officials and engaged directly with policymakers on Capitol Hill to ensure the voice of cattle producers is heard in Washington.
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The Louisiana Drought Team, in collective partnership with the USDM national authors, the NWS, and the LDAF, has continued to downgrade conditions across the Bayou State with this week's USDM update ... as 'normal' spring rains fail to develop.
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Northern Louisiana should prepare for occasional strong-to-severe t-storms on Friday evening ... but do note that the NWS timeline has the threat potentially arriving as early as the mid-afternoon. A severe weather Watch may be issued for the region.
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Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) today led 16 of his Congressional colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Jamieson Greer, requesting broad-based, rice specific Section 301 trade investigations against countries unfairly harming our rice producers.
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Louisiana farmers are facing a tough start to the 2026 season, with early pest pressure in cotton, emerging concerns like corn leafhopper, and significant crop damage from a mid-March freeze that forced widespread corn replanting—estimated at 60–70% of acres. Dry conditions and rising irrigation costs are adding pressure, while proper cover crop management remains important to limit pests. Despite setbacks, soybean acreage is expected to increase, and early signs show soybeans may recover from freeze damage if conditions improve.
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Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins says it will require a significant effort from the administration to help improve fertilizer costs in the short term.
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As spring conditions continue to favor insect activity, the LSU AgCenter Field Crop IPM Team conducted an insect pest survey in 15 parishes to document insect pests present in vegetation adjacent to row crop fields. Using sweepnet, we sampled multiple vegetation types (including rye, oats, clovers, hairy vetch, and mixed grasses) at 39 sites.
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This Secretarial natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) to extend much-needed emergency credit to producers recovering from natural disasters through emergency loans. Emergency loans can be used to meet various recovery needs including the replacement of essential items such as equipment or livestock, reorganization of a farming operation, or to refinance certain debts.
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The LSU AgCenter participates as a member of the S-1069 group (a national group to promote remote sensing with drones across the country) and we partly contributed to this handbook, so feel free to download.
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More than 130 head of cattle passed through the show ring April 10–11 at the Florida Parishes Arena in Amite during the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Youth Livestock Show. The annual event brings young exhibitors from across the state together to showcase their livestock while gaining insight into the agriculture industry.
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This year’s crawfish season is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Farmers are in the middle of peak harvest, but the catch so far has been average, with several challenges impacting production.
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Mixed weather and shifting input costs are shaping planting decisions this season, especially for farmers forced to replant.
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The Trump administration’s top ag trade official says the tariff policy has been a game changer for the industry.
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Congressional leaders are signaling renewed momentum on a long-delayed farm bill as pressure builds from agricultural groups ahead of the 2026 planting season.
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