The Farmer's Forecast: Edouard Forms in the Gulf

Tropical Storm Edouard will make landfall near the Texas Louisiana border later this afternoon. This system is going to be fairly compact, so I don’t expect far reaching impacts across Louisiana, but there will likely be some coastal flooding, heavy rain, and gusty wind over southwest Louisiana.

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Avery Davidson
Secretary Rollins Announces Ranchers First Initiatives to Rebuild the Great American Beef Herd

Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the Ranchers First Initiative, a sweeping package of actions to continue rebuilding the Great American Beef Herd and put America’s ranchers back at the center of our nation’s food supply. Building on USDA’s October 2025 Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry, the Trump Administration is delivering again.

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USDA, LivestockAllie Shipley
GROW LA Pilot Connects 27 Farmers, Producers and Small Business Owners with Resources in Opelousas

From information to action, the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center’s (SUAREC) Growing Rural Opportunities through Workforce and Business Development, Louisiana (GROW LA) initiative made a measurable impact during its Opelousas pilot, connecting 27 farmers, producers, and small business owners with practical guidance, trusted resources, and hands-on technical assistance. GROW LA is designed to help Louisiana farmers, producers, entrepreneurs, and small business owners access the information, programs, technical assistance, and relationships needed to strengthen and grow their operations.

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SU Ag CenterAllie Shipley
Farm Bureau: Understanding The Beef Cycle

The beef production cycle is a long-term process that takes several years to complete.

Cattle farmers' daily decisions affect the beef supply and prices for years to come.

America's beef cattle herd is at its lowest level since the 1970s, reflecting the years of depressed prices, high input costs and persistent drought conditions ranchers have faced.

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Ruston, Louisiana, Has 22,000 Residents—Yet It Grows More Peaches per Person Than Almost Any Southern Town Its Size

Ruston, Louisiana built its identity around Louisiana Tech University and a peach farming tradition dating back generations, with the surrounding Lincoln Parish countryside still home to working peach orchards that supply the annual Louisiana Peach Festival, a June event drawing visitors from across the state for a celebration built entirely around a crop most people don’t associate with Louisiana agriculture at all.

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Early Agricultural Ties to Avoyelles Parish

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.

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Avery Davidson
New H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates Up in Air as Court Orders DOL to Try Again: What Agricultural Employers Need to Know

A 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.

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Avery Davidson
USDA Announces $20 Million Purchase of Wild-caught American Shrimp

The 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.

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AquacultureAvery Davidson
NCBA Opposes Any Effort That Weakens Food Safety

NCBA 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.

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Livestockdon molino
Rice Leadership Development Program Application Period Is Ending Soon

The 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.

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Ricedon molino