In many ways, being born and raised in Evangeline Parish naturally created a strong affinity for Avoyelles Parish. The two parishes share not only a geographic border, but also many cultural traditions and values.
The people of both parishes have long been known for being friendly, kind, welcoming and outgoing, with a strong French and Cajun cultural heritage that is unique and unmistakable.
Read MoreA federal court in California just ordered the US Department of Labor (DOL) to quickly come up with a new methodology for calculating the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for H-2A job orders, just weeks after the agency released long-awaited new H-2A farmworker rates. Those rates had been calculated under a framework established in an interim final rule, which the DOL issued in 2025 and the United Farm Workers challenged.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced plans to purchase $20 million in wild-caught American shrimp through its Section 32 program.
This will be the first USDA purchase of warm water, wild-caught shrimp in more than a year, bringing much-needed demand at a time when Gulf shrimpers are facing extremely low dock prices, high operating costs, and continued pressure from imported farm-raised shrimp, according to the Louisiana Shrimp Association.
Read MoreNCBA strongly supports increasing competition in the cattle markets and creating more opportunities for small and regional beef processors. We also support eliminating unnecessary regulations that make it harder for those businesses to compete. However, weakening federal meat inspection and food safety standards, as President Trump has suggested, is not the answer.
Read MoreThe application period for the 2027 Rice Leadership Development Class will end on Friday, September 4, 2026.
The Rice Leadership Development Program gives future leaders a comprehensive understanding of the rice industry, with an emphasis on personal development and communication skills. The class attends four one-week sessions over a two-year period that encompasses studies of all aspects of the rice industry through firsthand observations. They also attend seminars and workshops designed to strengthen leadership skills.
Read MoreAmelia Kent, co-owner of Kent Farms, said high costs are squeezing her family cattle-ranching operation more than ever before. President Trump’s plan to import foreign beef to bring down prices has seen broad pushback from cattle ranchers nationwide.
Read MoreOne topic seemed to be on everyone’s mind as Louisiana’s sugarcane field day season got underway this summer: the pasture mealybug.
The invasive insect, first identified in a handful of Louisiana sugarcane last year by crop consultants, has quickly become one of the industry’s top research priorities.
Read MoreThere 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.
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