By Greg Hilburn, USA TODAY Network
NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain officially announced during the Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention he will seek a fourth four-year term in 2019.
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By Neil Melancon, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
NEW ORLEANS--With the EPA rescinding the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule under the Clean Water Act this week, Louisiana farmers and ranchers should have felt refreshed.
For many here at the 95th Annual Convention of the Louisiana Farm Bureau here, it's also rescinding an ocean of fear that has washed over the state since WOTUS was passed. The rule would have over-regulated not only Louisiana agriculture, but everyone in the state.
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By Neil Melancon, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
NEW ORLEANS - More than 50,000 acres of ranchland baking in the Arizona summer sun would be a tough challenge for anyone.
At 77 years old, it would seem like it for owner and rancher Jim Chilton. He’s used to it by now, though, handling his horses and barbed wire fences with a spryness that belies his age. What he’s never gotten used to, however, is the drug cartels that cross his land daily.
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By Dr. Bobby Soileau
NEW ORLEANS - Daughter, wife, mother, volunteer, advocate and farmer all describe Katie Sistrunk. She is also this year’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture winner at the 2017 Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Convention in New Orleans.
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By Veronica Mosgrove
NEW ORLEANS - A Vermilion Parish rice and crawfish farmer is this year's Outstanding Young Farm Woman. Thirty-one year old Natachia Stelly received the award at the 95th Annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention in New Orleans on June 29, 2017.
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By Allie Doise, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
NEW ORLEANS — The Rapides Parish Farm Bureau took home this year’s President’s Trophy, the top honor awarded by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, during state’s largest general farm organization’s 95th annual convention Thursday.
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By Greg Hilburn, USA Today Network
NEW ORLEANS — Nothing is off limits for Natachia Stelly at her family's 2,800-acre rice, crawfish and cattle farm in Abbeville.From checking traps to filling sacks to managing the family restaurant, you may find Stelly in a boat, tending a pot of boiling bugs and corn or on a tractor, her husband and partner Adlar said.
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By Craig Gautreaux and Randy LaBauve
NEW ORLEANS — Adam Caughern, a 32-year-old Caddo Parish farmer, won the Young Farmers and Ranchers Discussion Meet contest at the 95th annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation State Convention. Participants in the competition simulate a meeting to discuss important agricultural issues.
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By Greg Hilburn, USA TODAY Network
NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana farmers may not have faced the 10 Biblical plagues during the last two years, but sometimes it feels like it.
"Basically, we've been getting hammered in the north and the south," said Caddo Parish cattle rancher Marty Wooldrige. "There has been drought, floods and now back to drought in some areas."
"It's been relentless," said Acadiana farmer Richard Fontenot of the flooding in southern Louisiana. "I thought 2016 was rough, but 2017 comes and here we go again."
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By Carey Martin, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
NEW ORLEANS - President Trump wants to build a wall to secure America's borders, but Louisiana farmers and ranchers have become increasingly dependent on immigrant labor to keep their farms running.
It's a dilemma that is on the minds of farmers and ranchers attending the 95th annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation convention here in the Big Easy.
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A record number of Louisiana farmers and ranchers started arriving in New Orleans Wednesday for the state's largest farm convention.
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation is holding its 95th annual convention at the New Orleans Marriott Thursday through Sunday.
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Yimmi Fontenot of Jeff Davis Parish couldn’t hide her excitement, gasping with disbelief as her name was called as the 2016 Louisiana Farm Bureau Queen, Saturday night during Farm Bureau's 94th Annual Convention.
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