First South Farm Credit announced today that it will distribute $23.2 million in patronage refund checks to its member/borrowers in April. A patronage refund is a payment from a cooperative to a member/borrower based on its earnings and financial performance in proportion to the borrower’s use of the cooperative.
Louisiana has received no rain in the last 7 days. I mean, it's possible there was a trace here or there, but as I look at the data over the last 7 days, I'm not seeing anything more than a couple drops. It looks like we have more dry time on the way, along with low relative humidity this weekend. That means high fire danger, especially on Saturday, and worsening drought conditions as we start to heat up.
The LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station’s latest newsletter highlights current research, industry trends, and upcoming events in rice production. It covers topics like grain quality and market alignment, extension’s role in a changing industry, weed and perennial grass management, and nitrogen use, along with recognizing achievements such as a new “Champion of Rice Research” award. The edition also features graduate research, staff and employee highlights, and updates on station activities.
Applications are now open for the Southern University College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences (CAHES) Beginning Agricultural Youth Opportunities Unlimited (BAYOU) Summer Program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially deregulated a new genetically engineered corn trait designed to combat one of corn growers’ most persistent pests: corn rootworm.
The agricultural community is widely praising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to allow sales of the higher-ethanol E15 gas blend during the summer. The decision comes as consumer fuel prices have risen sharply since the start of the Iran war.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said his administration will announce actions to help U.S. farmers on Friday, as the White House prepares to host hundreds of farmers, ranchers and executives for an event highlighting the agricultural sector.
Spring is peak season in Louisiana for crawfish, the hard-shelled star of outdoor parties. But a shortage of foreign workers is dampening the mood.
For the Holley Family, farming is more than a job. It is a family legacy that runs more than a century deep. Charles Holley of Produce Ridge has a deep connection to his land. He grew up on the farm and learned to cultivate the land from his parents.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall called for EPA’s summer waiver to allow sales of fuels blended with 15% ethanol, or E15, to be made permanent amidst growing urgency and calls for the passage of legislation.
The 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 2025, which runs from Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026
The Charles and Rose Broussard Internship has been awarded to Lily Grace Perrin, an incoming freshman at McNeese State University. Perrin is currently a senior and student of the year at Kaplan High School in Vermilion Parish.
Democratic and Republican senators from the Great Plains and Midwest have proposed the "Fertilizer Transparency Act" to offset, or at least monitor, the rising costs of fertilizer amid the third week of the war in Iran.
Louisiana’s ideal geography allows for the cultivation of all kinds of seafood, especially crawfish. While consumers can enjoy crawfish year-round, the official season runs from January through June. This year, however, a shortage of migrant workers in crawfish processing plants could mean a quick, more expensive season.
Dr. Carrie Castille stepped into the role of president last summer at the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Her background in rural development and education is already shaping her vision for the university and the surrounding region.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau has established a Disaster Relief Fund at the Nebraska Farm Bureau Foundation to gather donations to support farm and ranch families and communities affected by the March 2026 wildfires, including one of the single largest wildfires in Nebraska history.
Liuzza Family Farm is more than 7,000 miles from Iran, but the war in the region is still hitting home in Tangipahoa Parish.
Louisiana saw its second tornado outbreak in less than a month on March 11, with eight tornadoes touching down in the Florida Parishes in just 90 minutes and six more in southwest Mississippi. Despite the fast-moving storms and numerous warnings, damage was limited and no casualties were reported. Recent rainfall has improved drought conditions slightly, but nearly three-quarters of the state remains in some level of drought, with continued dry conditions and elevated fire risks in several parishes.
Legislation continues to move through the state capitol that would allow for the Louisiana Wildlife Commission to establish rules and regulations for a recreational alligator hunting season. The Louisiana Senate unanimously approved the bill by Franklin Senator Robert Allain, who says the alligator population has become too large.
Over 50 state grower groups and eight national ag groups filed a letter with the Department of Commerce on Friday asking it to revoke countervailing duties on imports of phosphate fertilizer as the sunset review begins.
Chances are low, but not zero, that a lawsuit to vacate 2026 registrations allowing use of over-the-top dicamba products in cotton and soybeans might keep farmers from using the herbicide, said Brigit Rollins, staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC).
An ag economist says cattle placed into feedlots were up 4 percent from last year. Charley Martinez is with the University of Tennessee. “Part of the reason why we see that and kind of going against the trend that we saw last year,” he says. “I think drought’s really putting some pressure on folks throughout the country that we just can’t hold on to some of these animals.”
Cotton’s three-week rally gave us the 68 cents suggested last week, and then some. Yet, the market has now posted three consecutive down days. That should not be viewed as evidence that the rally is over. To the contrary, the same factors that sent prices higher are still in the market
The initial planting for a soybean date of planting by population trial at the Dean Lee Research and Extension Center occurred on March 3, 2026. On March 17, 2026, a freeze event resulted in damage to the unifoliate leaves and apical meristem (the primary growing point) of the main stem. However, by March 23, 2026, most plants exhibited axillary branch development originating from the cotyledon node.
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