The Louisiana sugarcane industry has persevered for more than 225 years, even though it is a tropical crop is growing in a temperate environment. Growers regularly face a challenging climate, which includes the threat of early winter freezes before the crop is harvested. An early freeze can kill the sugarcane plant and cause the sugar (sucrose) inside of the stalk to deteriorate. Another challenge is the short seven-to-10-month growing season.
Read MoreA TikTok video from Dust Kitchenware, known by their handle @dust6923, has quickly gained notoriety not for its innovation but for the backlash it has stirred among crawfish lovers in Louisiana.
The video demonstrates a tool designed to simplify the process of shucking crawfish tails. By inserting a tail into the device and pulling, the shell is supposed to strip right away, leaving the meat ready for consumption. However, the response from the Louisiana community, where crawfish is less a food item and more a cultural emblem, is probably not what the company hoped for.
Read MoreElizabeth (Liz) Walsh, Ph.D., is a research scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, in the Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research unit in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in 2022 with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada under the guidance of Steve Pernal, Ph.D., at the Beaverlodge Research Farm in Alberta.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter is Louisiana rice farmers’ MVP, or most valued partner, in research and crop variety development. From creating a new market for jasmine rice, to producing varieties of rice that are better for diabetics and more sustainable and resilient to changes in the environment, LSU has been critical to the Louisiana rice industry for more than 100 years. The research also has world-wide impact since one-fifth of the global population’s calories comes from rice.
More than 60 percent of the rice Louisiana farmers plant was developed by the LSU AgCenter, with a direct economic impact of $580 million.
Read MoreThe USDA FSA is looking for a Program Technician to serve in the Natchitoches Office. The application deadline is Monday, April 29, 2024.
Read MoreDown in southwest Louisiana we know tailgating! And cooking rice dishes such as jambalaya while getting your pregame on is a tradition. But lest you think it’s only for college football, let’s set the record straight: we can and will tailgate before lots of other sports, including baseball, and rice is always a focal point of the festivities.
Friday, April 12, was Cajun Country Rice Day at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette (UL) for the first of a three-game baseball series versus Marshall University in the Sun Belt Conference.
Read MoreOne of Cotton Incorporated’s missions is to improve cotton production profitability through research. To make sure our research direction is addressing current challenges, and that past research results have had a positive impact, Natural Resource Surveys of U.S. cotton producers were conducted in 2008, 2015, and 2023.
Read MoreAccording to the National Agricultural Statistics Service in Louisiana, there were 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork for the week ending Sunday, April 21, 2024. Topsoil moisture supplies were 1 percent very short, 7 percent short, 70 percent adequate, and 22 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture supplies were 0 percent very short, 4 percent short, 81 percent adequate, and 15 percent surplus.
Read MoreLouisiana milk production during the January - March 2024 quarter was 29.0 million pounds, down 3 percent from the same period in 2023 but up 32 percent from the October - December 2023 quarter. The average number of milk cows on farms during the quarter was 8,000 head, unchanged from the same period last year but up 1,000 head from the previous quarter.
Read MoreBefore harvested soybeans are sold, they must be graded for quality. These inspections can be inconsistent. LSU AgCenter engineer Kevin Hoffseth is working on methods to use cameras and computers to generate a more accurate analysis of soybeans.
Read MoreThe Southern University College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences (CAHES) Fashion Merchandising, Design and Textiles Program will hold its 2024 Quilt Design Summer Camp from June 17 – June 28, 2024.
The camp will operate from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Monday – Friday) for students aged 14 – 17 years old in Pinkie Thrift Hall on the campus of Southern University.
Read MoreI hope all of you are gearing up for what will be an exceptional growing season! Mr. Groundhog really missed the mark this go-round. As I type this, it’s April Fool’s Day, and we planted our first corn on the research farm today, as well as MG 3.5 soybeans in a trial.
I’ve included a couple pics from the Rice Consultant of the Year (RCOY) event where our own Rusty Elston received this very prestigious award. I couldn't be more proud that one of our own has once again been recognized among the elite!
Read MoreSaturday marked the Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s 14th anniversary. The environmental disaster plagued the Gulf Coast for months when it began. Its consequences are still felt today.
The destruction of Louisiana’s coastal ecosystems is one of the most prominent effects of the disaster. The spill killed countless plants, weakening the strength of the coastline and accelerating Louisiana’s coastal erosion.
Read MoreThe southern United States, which includes Louisiana, is one of the nation’s leading commodity crop planting regions due to its intensive crop production systems. Soil is a complex and dynamic living system that is critical to agricultural ecosystem functions and crop productivity.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Commodity Credit Corporation today announced the 2024 crop loan rate differentials for upland and extra-long staple cotton.
The differentials, also referred to as loan rate premiums and discounts, were calculated based on market valuations of various cotton quality factors for the prior three years. This calculation procedure is identical to that used in past years.
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