American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the release of a farm bill draft in the House Agriculture Committee.
“AFBF appreciates the work of Chairman Thompson and the entire House Agriculture Committee for its work in drafting a new, modernized farm bill.
Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act. This bill will amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to provide increased and more flexible insurance coverage for farmers who have experienced crop quality loss.
The policies existing in the current Federal Crop Insurance Act do not always provide farmers with the flexibility that is needed for the often unpredictable crop quality losses. Soybean farms in particular have been significantly impacted by quality loss issues.
Louisiana Tech University students and the state’s forestry industry are set to benefit from the recent planting of a seed that’s sure to grow.
Representatives of the University’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences (CANS) and the US Department of AgricultureForest Service, Southern Research Station (USDA-FS-SRS) have signed a letter of intent regarding both a shared commitment to forest sector-based research and a collaboration between the two entities regarding the University’s on-the-horizon Forest Products Innovation Center.
Agriculture Commissioner Mike strain is at the U.S. Agriculture Business Conference in Havana, Cuba to connect US rice and poultry exporters with potential Cuba importers. Strain says the country is in desperate need of food and that need continues to climb.
“Their going to import over $2 billion worth of food. Right now here in the United States we export about $300 million of that, but that could go up to half a billion or more.”
More than 60 Oklahoma Farm Bureau members learned about the spicy, savory and sweet Louisiana agriculture industry during the 2024 OKFB Ag Tour May 6-9 to Vermilion Parish, Louisiana.
The tour featured two days of stops and visits to farms, agribusinesses and cultural destinations in southwest Louisiana near Lafayette.
Members arrived on Monday, May 6, with a welcome dinner and meeting with Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau members and leaders at the parish Farm Bureau office. The local Farm Bureau planned the tour stops for OKFB members with numerous visits at local Farm Bureau members’ farms and ranches.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced the Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act. The bill would give farmers more flexibility by improving the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)’s ability to set discounts for farmers who experience crop loss.
“Too often, federal insurers give American farmers short shrift when regional disasters damage their crops. The Quality Loss Adjustment Improvement for Farmers Act would make sure that fickle government policies don’t control the fate of Louisiana’s soybean farmers,” said Kennedy.
The efficacy of 3 adjuvants combined with a standard rate of insecticide applied for sugarcane borer (SCB) control was compared with untreated controls in second ratoon sugarcane (HoCP 00-950) in 2023 at the USDA-ARS Sugarcane Research Unit Ardoyne Farm in Schriever, Louisiana. Plots consisted of 3, 60-ft rows, with 4 replications assigned using a RCBD. All insecticide applications used the insecticide Vantacor (FMC) at a rate of 1.2 fl oz/acre and were applied when the infestation reached the threshold level (3% of stalks with SCB larvae present in leaf sheaths) on 29 June 2023.
Don Welge, the late president of Gilster-Mary Lee, had a vision. He wanted to start a new kind of agricultural program at his alma mater of Louisiana State University.
“He had this concept of teaching food beyond the farm, meaning not just the growing of the crops and all the sciences that are involved and the economics of all that, but beyond that to the food processors, to food distribution,” said Tom Welge, Don Welge's son and current Gilster-Mary Lee president. “Even through retailing and marketing, so really every part of the cycle in food production.”
Throughout the years I have seen our agriculture community come together during times of need. Wildfires, floods, droughts, tornadoes and hurricanes, for example, all bring the appropriate awareness from news headlines but what about the mental health crisis affecting the people in our industry? The chronic, sometimes daily struggles of farmers and ranchers, whether financial, family, weather, economic, or regulatory in nature all play a role in our daily lives. Often, we are left to absorb the hardships alone.
Agricultural producers and handlers who are certified organic, along with producers and handlers who are transitioning to organic production, can now apply for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Organic and Transitional Education and Certification Program (OTECP) and Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP), which help producers and handlers cover the cost of organic certification, along with other related expenses. Applications for OTECP and OCCSP are both due October 31, 2022.
Agricultural leaders are in Havanna for the U.S. Agricultural Conference and Commissioner for Louisiana, Mike Strain, says the trip could prove fruitful for Louisiana exporters.
"There is a food shortage here and they will import about 2B dollars in food and resources."
In an effort to protect Louisiana’s struggling domestic seafood industry, state lawmakers on Wednesday passed sweeping changes to public health codes that will affect thousands of restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores and other food establishments across the state. They also include every state agency and school district that serves food.
Senate Bill 166, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Connick, R-Marrero, received final passage with overwhelming bipartisan support from both chambers.
Louisiana GLCI will be offering partial scholarships for travel and conference tickets to 10 farmers/ranchers from Louisiana and Mississippi.
The application deadline is June 15, 2024
Decisions will be released by Sept 1, 2024 or before.
A plaintiff group, including Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, the Louisiana Crawfish Producers Association-West, Healthy Gulf, Sierra Club and its Delta Chapter, and Waterkeeper Alliance filed a lawsuit to challenge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s (CPRA) East Grand Lake (EGL) project in the Atchafalaya Basin.
In the lower Mississippi Delta, excessive rainfall is common during the early growing season, leading to saturated soils for several days. This condition accelerates nitrogen (N) losses through denitrification, leaching, and runoff, thereby reducing corn yield potential. Consequently, the LSU AgCenter recommends applying N in at least two splits for silt loam and clayey soils, and in three splits for sandy soils.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s (LDAF) Livestock Brand Commission will host its next saddle microchipping event on Friday, May 31, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. It will be held at Burton Coliseum located at 7001 Gulf Highway in Lake Charles, Louisiana, in conjunction with the Louisiana High School Rodeo Association.
LDAF’s microchip identification program provides all saddle owners in the state of Louisiana the opportunity to have their saddles registered and identified by using a microchip implant. If microchipped saddles are ever stolen, the program allows brand officers to confirm ownership and return the property. This service is provided free to the public.
Congressman Troy Carter joins the show for DC Current to share his thoughts on peaceful protests on college campuses, emergency assistance to Louisiana’s Crawfish Aquaculture Industry, along with the misuse and abuse of AI.
In a second round of Big Idea seed grants, the largest internal funding program in LSU history, the Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research is investing $1.2 million in 15 interdisciplinary research teams. Aligned with LSU’s Scholarship First Agenda, the teams and their projects aim to solve pressing problems in Louisiana and everywhere.
In total, the funded projects will engage 65 faculty across nine colleges and schools on LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, extending collaboration to LSU Athletics, LSU AgCenter, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and LSU Health New Orleans. Two projects support advances in agriculture; seven projects drive discovery in biomedicine; six projects elevate the coast and environment; six projects protect the state and nation through stronger defense and cybersecurity; and six projects help secure the future of energy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) today announced that all 64 Louisiana parishes have been approved for the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to restore and rehabilitate private forest lands impacted by severe drought and related insect infestation damage. The EFRP signup period runs from May 13, 2024, to July 12, 2024.
EFRP is a cost-share program that provides financial and technical assistance to owners of nonindustrial private forestland (NIPF) to restore NIPF damaged by a qualifying natural disaster event.
Last year was one for the ages across Louisiana, and NOT in a good way. I did a brief dive into a comparison of the numbers from this year and last year, since May 15th 2023 was the point where we went from a pretty normal year, to one of the most incredible droughts and heat waves in recent history. I used Alexandria for this exercise since it is right in the middle of the state, and I had already used it for my local update.
Louisiana's soybean planting progressed well in mid-April, exceeding the five-year average. However, heavy rains in mid-May slowed progress, with only 69% planted by May 12th, 2024. This lags behind last year's 76% at the same point. An article, “The Farmer's Forecast: More Soybean Planting Delays” indicates continued rain and potential wind/hail threats.
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