Rice feeds more people than any other crop on Earth, supplying roughly one-fifth of all calories consumed globally and serving as a staple food for more than half the world’s population.
Yet breeding better rice varieties is becoming increasingly complicated.
Read MoreA summer pattern of 'hot 'n humid' will be the rule for all of Louisiana through the upcoming 7 days. Scattered to numerous showers and t-storms are in the forecast for Tuesday but it turns drier (and a little hotter) for most communities (especially the northern half of the state) after Tuesday and into the weekend.
Read MoreFor row crop producers across the nation, late winter and early spring are key seasonal windows for fertilizer sourcing. Just as producers are making their final cropping decisions for the coming planting season, they will also think about plant and soil nutrition.
But in 2026, this final run-up to planting was packed with a confluence of circumstances that made fertilizer sourcing an especially painful undertaking.
Read MoreThe State Fair of Louisiana will celebrate its 120th annual event from Oct. 29 through Nov. 15 at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport.
The 14-day fair will close on Mondays and Tuesdays. Daily hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Read MoreA recent audit of New Orleans restaurants has discovered that the rate of shrimp authenticity has declined over the last year. SeaD Consulting diners ordered shrimp dishes at 44 restaurants, and of those, 11 served imported shrimp. Chief Operating Officer Erin Williams says of those 11, nine of them misrepresented the origins of their shrimp.
Read MoreLouisiana has doubled the state money available for nonprofit groups to preserve and restore public lands of historic, environmental or recreational importance.
Louisiana Outdoors Forever was allotted $2 million by the state legislature for the 2027 grant application cycle, which starts this week. That’s up from $1.07 million in 2026 and the largest amount set aside for the program since it began in 2022.
Read MoreLab-grown meat, also known as cultivated or cell-cultured meat, has officially received federal approval in the United States. While that may sound like a major shift in the food industry, it doesn’t necessarily mean Louisiana consumers will soon find it in their local grocery stores.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting farmers first by offering them a new option to schedule appointments online with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Following a successful pilot program, FSA is now using a digital appointment platform across the agency to allow producers to make farm program or farm loan appointments online at their convenience.
Read MoreOfficials with the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival have announced this year's live entertainment lineup, and as always, it's a solid mix of local, regional, and national acts.
Read MoreA push to “Trump Speed” environmental permits has put the proposed $4 billion Blue Point ammonia plant in Ascension Parish on the edge of a mandated 45-day regulatory deadline on Friday.
The Trump administration's 45-day mandate, intended to fast-track new U.S. fertilizer production, applies to critical environmental reviews of the Blue Point ammonia project pending before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
Read MoreThe American Soybean Association is applauding the Environmental Protection Agency's approval of new crop protection technologies, saying the products will give farmers more tools to manage weeds, protect yields, and support regenerative farming practices.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump last week approved Louisiana’s request for $8.6 million in federal aid for the damage caused by Tropical Storm Arthur last month.
The storm dumped record rainfall on Avoyelles Parish and the surrounding areas, causing widespread flooding. It also generated numerous tornadoes across southeast Louisiana.
Read MoreWhen Lance Nacio started out in the shrimping industry in the late 1990s, he had a bag phone. At the dock, he could get $4 a pound for shrimp, and he paid a lot less for diesel. Today, he has Starlink satellite internet, navigation technology and an iPhone on his shrimping boat, the Anna Marie.
Read MoreAt the 112th 4-H University, the “Krewe De 4-H U” let the good times roll, with Louisiana’s 4-H annual celebration on the LSU main campus. Maddox Fieldhouse was turned into a grand event space for the awards ceremony, where winners and new officers were revealed.
Read MoreState officials will temporarily expand the number of red snapper recreational anglers can take home in Louisiana for the Fourth of July holiday.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will allow those fishing in state coastal waters for red snapper to take home five fish per person per day, increased from the typical four-fish limit, Thursday through Sunday.
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