On a recent Friday at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station, an aroma reminiscent of freshly cut grass filled a meeting room. Participants in a workshop on tea production had returned from a field outside where they’d plucked tender leaves earlier in the morning and were now learning the art of transforming them into tea.
Read MoreCHS, America’s leading farmer-owned cooperative, and OCP North America, a subsidiary of the OCP Group, are taking a major step to strengthen domestic fertilizer production in the United States. Through a proposed joint venture, the two companies are preparing to build and operate a phosphate fertilizer production facility at the Cornerstone Energy Park located in Waggaman, Louisiana. The new plant is expected to produce over 1 million metric tonnes of phosphate-based fertilizer annually and would be the first of its kind constructed in the United States since 1984.
Read MoreGovernor Jeff Landry and SpaceX are announced plans on Tuesday in Abbeville to build what the company says will be the world’s largest spaceport on Louisiana’s coast.
The proposed $100 billion launch facility would be located in Vermilion Parish and have the capacity to support thousands of rocket launches each year.
Read MoreOver the past decade, the feral swine population has continued to grow across various regions of the United States, and with that comes an increase in damage.
“Their ability to root, trample, destroy natural environment and crops in native species makes them really problematic across the United States where they have successfully invaded an established population,” says Dana Cole, coordinator of the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Read MoreIn the sugarcane fields where the fertile soil meets the steel skyline of industry, Frankie and Mallory Sotile are holding on to a crop and a way of life.
Read MoreUSDA’s new payment limitation rule gives eligible LLCs and S corporations access to multiple program payment limits beginning with the 2026 program year, reducing a longstanding disadvantage compared with general partnerships and joint ventures.
Read MoreMexico resumed live cattle exports to the United States on Monday after they were halted for nearly two years by restrictions imposed by the Trump administration following a screwworm outbreak.
Even under strict limitations, the reopening of the trade channel brought relief to Mexico’s ranching industry, which was dealt an economic blow by the controls. The flesh-eating worm is now present on both sides of the border.
Read MoreRainfall was limited during the 7-day run as high pressure was in control; only portions of southeastern Louisiana received any appreciable amounts, many locations recorded no rain.
Outside of a couple of isolated locations, rainfall was significantly below-normal across the state, continuing the pattern of recent weeks.
Read MoreBest management decisions during the final weeks of the season can have a significant impact on yield and profitability.
Read MoreCorn exports through Mississippi River terminals surged during the week ending August 13, with 1.1 million metric tons inspected for shipment. That was 176% above the prior three-year average and the third-highest weekly total from the river this year.
Read MoreAxios' Ben Geman reported that "diesel prices are soaring just as the energy-thirsty peak of harvest season looms for many of the country's largest crops. It's a double whammy for farmers, with the Iran war also causing much higher fertilizer costs that hit months ago.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) announced today that it does not expect to purchase and sell sugar under the Feedstock Flexibility Program for crop year 2026, which runs from Oct. 1, 2026, to Sept. 30, 2027.
Read MoreAugust is National Water Quality Month, celebrating one of earth’s most vital resources: clean water. Across America, farmers and ranchers are working with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to protect the water that connects our country’s farms, families, and communities.
Read MoreDogfennel is a commonly occurring weed in the southeast that if left uncontrolled can negatively impact forage production. Dogfennel is an aggressively growing native perennial that reproduces by windborne seeds as well as large amounts of rootstocks. Identification of this weed is quite easy. Dogfennel has an upright growth pattern with thin wispy leaves that have a distinct odor if crushed. The main stem of the plant typically does not branch and can have a mature height of 8 feet. Dogfennel typically thrives in areas with poor soil fertility as well as areas that are not intensively managed.
Read MoreDylan and Shelby Laster’s farm in Marion is a place where tradition meets innovation, where technology works hand-in-hand with hard work, and where family roots run deep. As finalists for the Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award, the Lasters are not just raising chickens and cattle — they’re raising a future.
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