Tropical Storm Arthur battered south Louisiana with heavy rain, flooding, tornadoes and widespread power outages as the first named storm of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season moved inland after making landfall along the Texas coast.
Arthur briefly strengthened into a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph before making landfall near the upper Texas coast and weakening into a post tropical system.
Read MoreSouthern crop agriculture occupies a prominent position in the history of the U.S. crop safety net (Coppess). Thus, understanding its role in U.S. crop agriculture is important.
Over the last 100 years, harvested crop acres have declined more in the South than the rest of the U.S. Cotton accounted for most of the decline during the first 50 years.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has teamed up with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry to launch the Louisiana Forestry Initiative, which is an estimated 3 million dollar program designed to improve both wildlife management and private forest health.
The initiative, also known as LFI, was funded by the U.S. Forest Service and administered by the National Bobwhite and Grassland Initiative Foundation.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation culminated the opening night of its 104th Annual Convention with Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau capturing the President’s Award, the organization’s highest parish honor, for the seventh year straight.
The President’s Award recognizes the parish Farm Bureau excelling in membership, advocacy and communications over the past year.
Read MoreAmerican Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the Trump administration’s clarification of a key aspect of farm labor access for the dairy sector.
“Farmers thank the Trump administration for addressing the farm labor crisis by expanding H-2A access for certain dairy jobs. The reality is clear - fewer Americans choose to work on farms while the need for qualified workers increases, creating a difficult labor market for U.S. farm families.
Read MoreCongressmen Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Cleo Fields (D-LA) introduced the bipartisan Crawfish Reclassification for Agricultural Workforce (CRAW) Act. This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to explicitly classify crawfish‑processing work—such as washing, sorting, grading, whole‑boiling, peeling, and transporting—as “agricultural labor or services.” By recognizing these tasks as agricultural, the legislation makes crawfish‑processing employers eligible to use the H‑2A visa program, which is designed for temporary agricultural labor and is not subject to the annual caps that restrict the H‑2B program.
Read MoreThe 104th Annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention at the New Orleans Marriott will go on as scheduled despite the formation of Tropical Storm Arthur. The event will take place June 17-21.
“Farmers and ranchers show up and do the hard work no matter the weather,” said Louisiana Farm Bureau President Richard Fontenot.
Read MoreStarting Aug. 1, there will be stricter penalties for businesses caught mixing domestic and foreign seafood and selling it as locally sourced.
The law's author, State Representative Timothy Kerner (R-Lafitte), says that the law, signed by Governor Jeff Landry a week ago, will help out the Louisiana seafood industry.
Read MoreUSDA is investing $105 million in 40 projects intended to combat the spread of New World screwworm. Those projects will receive funding through its “New World Screwworm Grand Challenge.”
The initiative, overseen by the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, offered financial support for projects aimed at fighting the spread of New World screwworm.
Read MoreThe threat for active storms is not over for Louisiana ... but concerns for any widespread severe weather and tropical impacts are on a slow decline for the Bayou State.
Arthur appears to have already moved inland and is expected to remain inland for the rest of 'his' brief journey.
Read MoreThe American Farm Bureau Federation, with support from Farm Credit, is seeking applicants for the Veteran Farmer Award of Excellence. The award recognizes U.S. military veterans or service members for excellence in farming or agriculture and positively impacting local communities.
Read MoreThe CFPCGP projects are to be designed to require a one-time contribution of Federal assistance to become self-reliant and meet short- and long-term goals. Applicants are required to address at least one short-term and one long-term CFPCGP goals that best fit the plan or project being proposed to ensure a comprehensive and enduring approach to resolving food and nutrition security and hunger.
Read MoreThe 2026/27 U.S. corn outlook remains virtually unchanged relative to last month. June’s WASDE report calls for fractionally higher beginning and ending stocks for 2026/27, reflective of mostly offsetting trade and domestic use changes for 2025/26 with adjustments to imports, corn used for ethanol, and exports based on data to date. The 2026/27 season-average farm price received by producers is unchanged at $4.40 per bushel.
Read MoreThe USDA reported on June 15 that Louisiana farmers have completed soybean planting, while 95% of U.S. soybean acreage was planted as of June 14 across the top producing states. The update matters because faster planting, stronger emergence and improving crop ratings could shape 2026 yield expectations, commodity prices, crop insurance decisions and farm income across the U.S. grain sector.
The 11th USDA Crop Progress report of the 2026 growing season showed generally solid momentum for row crops.
Read MoreAs of June 14, 95% of the soybean crop in the nation’s top 18 soybean-growing states was in the ground. That’s ahead of the five-year average of 93%.
Farmers in Louisiana are done planting soybeans.
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