March 2018 Articles

Archives by Months

Just Rambling March 2018:

Just Rambling:
Recently I saw an interview on the Tucker Carlson show which is aired on Fox News. The interview was with a young woman, who apparently is affiliated with a university that is promoting the idea that the word “man” should be eliminated from our vocabulary. She informed Tucker Carlson that “man” was offensive. She did not want to use any word that had “man” in it such as mankind, mailman, and even woman. She wanted to be called a person... read more

Spiritual Corner: Parable of Two Pups

Parable of Two Pups

God often uses the simplest, most every day things in our lives to speak to us, doesn’t He? I’m not sure why, probably because He knows how obsessed I am with my pups, but God seems to use them to illustrate spiritual things to me. If you don’t already know about my two dogs, I’ll give you a quick introduction. I have Charlie, who will be five in May. I adopted him almost 5 years ago, as a 2 month old from the West Ouachita... read more

Researchers evaluate cover crop benefits

Researchers evaluate cover crop benefits Writer: Craig Gautreaux at 225-578-5673 or cgautreaux@agcenter.lsu.edu (02/06/18) CHENEYVILLE, La. — In a field just north of the Rapides-Avoyelles parish line, a 45-acre plot that once grew sugarcane is now covered in Austrian winter peas, vetch and tillage radishes. These three cover crops are part of a study being... read more

Invasive snail discovered in Louisiana crawfish pond

Invasive snail discovered in Louisiana crawfish pond Writer: Bruce Schultz at 337-788-7531 or bschultz@agcenter.lsu.edu (02/12/18) RAYNE, La. — An invasive species of snail has forced a farmer in Acadia Parish to shut down his crawfish harvest on a 220-acre field. The pest, called the apple snail, clogs crawfish trap openings and complicates crawfish harvesting. It has a big appetite... read more

Seventh Round of NAFTA Talks Underway in Mexico City

Seventh Round of NAFTA Talks Underway in Mexico City With NAFTA negotiators meeting in Mexico City for the seventh round of talks, media outlets unleashed a flurry of reports assessing progress and potential pitfalls. Here are the three things you need to know: Negotiation status. Media reports suggest negotiators will focus on issues related to automobiles, services, and energy, with little word on agriculture. The threat of an imminent U.S. withdrawal... read more

ICYMI: Colin Woodall Outlines NCBA's 2018 Policy Priorities

ICYMI: Colin Woodall Outlines NCBA's 2018 Policy Priorities

● Regulatory Reform. Fighting back against federal overreach and minimizing the negative impacts of government regulations. ● 2018 Farm Bill. Key asks include a strong conservation title, robust research title, and fully funded foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank.... read more

Strain Meets with Vice-President and Top Federal Ag Officials  Farm Bill Priori

Strain Meets with Vice-President and Top Federal Ag Officials
Farm Bill Priorities Set Baton Rouge, La. (February 7, 2018) – Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M., and his counterparts across the country are calling on Congress to pass a Farm Bill... read more

LDAF Launches New Certified Louisiana Logo Program

LDAF Launches New Certified Louisiana Logo Program
Baton Rouge, LA (January 31, 2018) – The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) has launched a new system to certify authentic Louisiana products.
“People want to know where their food comes from and many want to support local agricultural producers and locally owned businesses,” said LDAF Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M.
The Certified logo program, which was already in existence,... read more

New Urania lumber mill discussed at AgCenter forestry event

New Urania lumber mill discussed at AgCenter forestry event Writer: Bruce Schultz at 337-788-7531 or bschultz@agcenter.lsu.edu (03/02/18) SHREVEPORT, La. — The director of the Louisiana Forestry Association said a new lumber mill near Urania in LaSalle Parish will require 1 million tons of timber.... read more

STUMPAGE SPEAK

STUMPAGE SPEAK http://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/environment/forestry http://www.lsuagcenter.com/portals/blogs/stumpagespeak Louisiana Timber Market Report, Fourth Quarter (Oct.-Dec.) 2017, LSU AgCenter Dr. Shaun M. Tanger, Forest Economist E-mail: stanger@agcenter.lsu.edu Louisiana Stumpage Prices ($/ton)... read more

Conference highlights women’s role in agriculture

Conference highlights women’s role in agriculture Writer: Tobie Blanchard at 225-578-5649 or tblanchard@agcenter.lsu.edu (02/26/18) ALEXANDRIA, La. — Louisiana has approximately 3,500 farms primarily operated by women. Female farmers, ranchers and women in all fields of the agriculture industry gathered for the Louisiana Women in Agriculture conference on Feb.... read more

Management of Beef Bulls

Management of Beef Bulls Jason E. Holmes - LSU AgCenter When purchasing bulls, genotype and phenotype are important factors in bull selection. However, information about health and environment should also be considered. Breeding Soundness Examination (BSE) Only purchase bulls that have been classified as Satisfactory Potential Breeders following a complete BSE. Purchase only virgin bulls to avoid introducing venereal diseases. Although there... read more

Building on NAFTA’s Success By Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation

Building on NAFTA’s Success By Zippy Duvall, American Farm Bureau Federation Agriculture will be keeping a close eye on the next rounds of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation this month in Mexico City and Washington, D.C. For farmers and ranchers across the country, spring is a time of planning, planting and praying for a fruitful year. But if our leading export markets hang in the balance, a cloud of uncertainty... read more

Farm Groups Urge Trump to Maintain RFS

Farm Groups Urge Trump to Maintain RFS Source: www.fb.org Describing the renewable fuels standard as “a strong engine driving the rural economy,” the American Farm Bureau Federation and five other ag groups in a letter asked President Donald Trump to reject proposals that would undermine the biofuels mandate. The letter was sent Monday, Feb. 26, the day before Trump... read more

Farmers For Monarchs Collaboration Announced at

Farmers For Monarchs Collaboration Announced at Commodity Classic www.fb.org Farmers For Monarchs, a broad-based collaboration aimed at addressing on-farm conservation efforts, was launched today at Commodity Classic, America’s largest farmer-led convention and trade show. This unprecedented, united effort by farmers, ranchers, landowners, the agriculture industry, conservation groups... read more

Pesticide resistance highlighted at field day

Pesticide resistance highlighted at field day Writer: Karol Osborne at 318-574-2465 or kosborne@agcenter.lsu.edu (02/15/18) DELHI, La. — More than 100 agricultural producers heard from LSU AgCenter experts on how to manage for herbicide, insecticide and fungicide resistance at the Northeast Louisiana Crops Forum held Feb. 8 at the Delhi Civic Center. AgCenter entomologist Sebe Brown said farming may get harder before it gets easier.... read more

Ag Adventures gives a view of agriculture to student

Ag Adventures gives a view of agriculture to students Writer: Karol Osborne at 318-574-2465 or kosborne@agcenter.lsu.edu(02/23/18) DELHI, La. — Schoolchildren from across northeast Louisiana stepped out of the classroom to get an up-close look at agriculture at the LSU AgCenter Ag Adventures on Feb. 20 to 21 at the Delhi Civic Center. “Any kind of hands-on experience outside the classroom that enhances real-world knowledge is very helpful,”... read more

Secretary Perdue Statement on Confirmation of Bill Northey for Key USDA Post

Secretary Perdue Statement on Confirmation of Bill Northey for Key USDA Post (Washington, D.C., February 27, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today applauded the Senate’s long-awaited confirmation of Bill Northey to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Northey will serve as Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service (FFAS)*.... read more

Louisiana January 1 All Cattle Inventory Up 5 Percent from Last Year

Louisiana January 1 All Cattle Inventory Up 5 Percent from Last Year — All cattle and calves in Louisiana as of January 1, 2018, totaled 820,000 head, were up 5 percent from January 1, 2017. The calf crop for the full year of 2017 was 370,000 head, up 6 percent from last year. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 485,000 head, were up 5 percent from January 1, 2017; beef cows, at 473,000 head, were up 6 percent; and milk cows, at 12,000 head, were unchanged from 2017. All heifers weighing 500 pounds and over were up 5 percent... read more

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Saltine Cracker Toffee
40 salted saltine crackers or enough to line your pan ● 1 cup unsalted butter ● 1 cup packed brown sugar ● 2 cups chocolate chips ● 3/4 cup chopped pecan ( optional)
Preheat oven to 400°F and line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with saltine crackers ina single layer. In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. Mixture should be deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread... read more