There has been an abundance of ear rots reported in Louisiana throughout this growing season. As the harvest window is winding down, and with many growers already finished with harvest, I have heard of one reoccurring issue in particular: aflatoxin. There have been reports of heavy docking and even loads being rejected at the elevators.
Read MoreSpaceX’s $100 billion rocket launch site in coastal Vermilion Parish could bring thousands of jobs to Acadiana. But some are questioning what the massive development could mean for the area’s wildlife. Starbase Louisiana will be built near Pecan Island, a popular destination for fishing, crabbing and duck hunting. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell says the company will develop only a portion of the 125,000 acres of marshland it now owns.
Read MoreThe American Soybean Association is warning that small refinery exemptions could significantly exceed earlier expectations for the 2025 Renewable Fuel Standard compliance year, a shift the group says would undermine domestic biofuel demand when soybean growers are already under pressure.
Read MoreHigh temperatures and heavy rain have battered China’s key corn, soybean, and cotton-growing regions since mid-July, threatening crop quality and yield losses that could boost imports of feed grains and cotton, including from the United States.
Read MoreOver the last two years, administrative actions and the 2025 Farm Bill have raised to 80% the federal premium subsidy rate for area insurance added on top of individual farm insurance (see Farmdoc Daily, Dec. 10, 2025). Farmers responded. For the crops that USDA reports a cost of production (barley, corn, cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat), all acres insured in all area add-on insurance products increased by 146 million acres between the 2024 and 2026 crop years.
Read MoreNo sales tax will be applied to firearms, ammunition and a range of hunting supplies purchases over the Labor Day weekend, the Louisiana Department of Revenue announced Thursday.
The sales tax exemption runs from Friday, Sep. 4, through Sunday, Sep. 6, which the state calls the "Louisiana 2nd Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday."
Read MoreUnited States soybean farmers have a free, straightforward way to prove the quality of their crop to the world. Through the Annual Soybean Quality Survey, funded by the Soy CheckoffSM, farmers can send in a sample from their 2026 harvest at no cost and receive a personalized report on its quality. Samples are due Oct. 21, 2026, and the effort helps position U.S. soy as the premium choice for customers around the globe.
Read MoreIn Louisiana, a few topics are almost guaranteed to spark a food debate. Put rice dressing or dirty rice on the table, and you've got one.
Read MoreThe President’s plan to facilitate record imports of beef will have a significant impact on farmers and ranchers who are rebuilding their herds devastated by drought. American Farm Bureau Federation economists analyzed the potential consequences of increased imports in the latest Farm Bureau Intel. Also today, Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall sent a letter to President Trump urging him to reconsider his plan to flood the market with foreign beef.
Read MoreAs Canada and the United States continue their tariff war, Canada’s latest update on which goods will face additional tariffs could have a significant impact.
The Canadian finance minister says the counter-tariffs will target products including dairy, agricultural equipment and paper, which are all part of industries that play a major role in northern Louisiana. With northern Louisiana’s economy relying heavily on agriculture and logging, ULM economics professor Tammy Johnston says those industries could feel the impact.
Read MoreAnyone who has seen an old Western movie knows that every cattle drive was accompanied by a chuck wagon driven by a crusty old cook who fixed the beans and coffee and dared anyone to criticize him. Those wagons also accompanied long overland drives when south Louisiana cattle were herded to market in New Orleans, but some of our drives were a little bit different. They used chuck boats instead of chuck wagons.
Read MoreBlue Point One, a joint venture between CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF), the world’s largest producer of ammonia; JERA Co., Inc. (JERA), Japan’s largest energy company; and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui), a leading global investment and trading company, today broke ground in Modeste, Louisiana, on a low-carbon ammonia plant that can serve both traditional agricultural customers and emerging energy applications. The plant is expected to be the world’s largest ammonia plant upon completion, with a production capacity of 1.4 million metric tons per year.
Read MoreWeightlifting, sports and crochet may not have much to do with agriculture by themselves, but at the AgReimagined Symposium, they were crucial to educating attendees on agricultural research and techniques.
On Aug. 10, three student workers and two assistant professors with the LSU AgCenter presented their ideas for new ways to explain and teach agricultural concepts in relatable ways. The event was hosted at the AgCenter Tom H. Scott Research, Extension and Education Center in Winnsboro.
Read MoreA greenhouse can be an uncomfortable place to spend a Louisiana summer, but for Lawrence Harrison it was an ideal spot to gain hands-on experience for his future career.
Harrison, a biology major at LSU Shreveport, worked as a horticulture intern at the LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station. His internship was part of the Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service (LCES) Internship Program.
Read MoreOn 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.
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