From policy to people, this week’s episode covers a wide range of stories shaping Louisiana agriculture. We highlight key changes in Senate Bill 244, a new program helping protect people, pets, and alligators, and the challenges cotton farmers face with record-low acreage. You’ll also meet Frankie and Mallory Sotile, finalists for the Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award, and Michele Simoneaux, a Farm Bureau leader working to elevate the voices of rural women across the state.

From the waters of Dulac to the vineyards of West Monroe, we’re covering a lot of ground in this week’s episode of TWILA! Neil Melancon shows how low prices and high costs are driving Louisiana shrimpers out of business. We also highlight the Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee and FFA students making their voices heard at the State Capitol. Plus, learn how a simple invitation to a meeting led Nicholas Gerace to become chair of Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee. Discover growing agritourism at Landry Vineyards and get a taste of Uncle Larry’s Certified Louisiana products in St. James Parish.

From the coast to the Capitol, this week’s show explores the many ways Louisiana’s farmers are preserving tradition, shaping policy, and feeding the future. Neil Melancon travels to Leeville, where a member of the United Houma Nation is honoring tradition while using modern farming methods to cultivate oysters. Avery Davidson heads to Lafayette Parish to introduce the 2025 Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year. We also catch up with Louisiana Farm Bureau leaders—both at the Capitol and in the field. Plus, Kristen Oaks White gets her father-in-law and husband on camera to reveal the secrets behind perfect, farm-raised steaks in a new Feasting on Agriculture. Watch all that and more in this week's episode!

This week’s episode of TWILA takes you from the muddy fields of spring planting to the spicy flavors of a Louisiana crawfish boil. Brothers Dallas and Reed Ardoin are working hard to beat the weather and get their soybeans in the ground. In Tensas Parish, 81-year-old Roy Smith shares a lifetime of farming wisdom. We also dive into coastal conservation with oyster shell recycling, follow Amelia Kent’s leadership journey in Farm Bureau, and sit down with former president Ronnie Anderson. Then, enjoy some cross-cultural cuisine as two Brits experience their first crawfish boil in our TWILA Boost!

Usually when we talk about disasters in Louisiana this time of the year it is a hurricane. However, it's the extreme heat and drought wearing on Louisiana farmers.  This week we learn how lack of rain and high temperatures are impacting grain crops, sugarcane, timber and cattle in every corner of the state and how farmers can make their voices heard. Plus, we get an update on the upcoming Farm Bill. 

This week we take you to the streets of downtown Baton Rouge, the forests of Vernon Parish, and a lot of places in between. 

 Karl Wiggers shows us how the triple digit temperatures are impacting Louisiana’s beef industry. Trevor Williams takes us to the Red Stick Farmers Market where farmers are bringing their bounty to community tables. Neil Melancon tells us about an archaeological discovery in the forests of Vernon Parish. Plus, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the 2023 Louisiana Harvest.

In this special episode of Louisiana Farm Life, TWILA’s Avery Davidson sits down with third generation farmer and American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall and his new bride Jennifer. Zippy tells us about his upbringing family’s dairy farm, and how a conversation with his father grew into a life-long passion for Farm Bureau. They also talk about how Jennifer and Zippy connected after losing their first loves, and the importance of mental health in agriculture.

Welcome to Monterey, Louisiana — where the grass is green, the cows are black, and the family is very serious about beef.

On this episode of Feasting on Agriculture, I visited a place I know almost too well: my father-in-law Lynn White’s farm, where beef isn’t just a product — it’s a purpose.

I need a goat. Or ten goats. Like, ASAP.

In fact, my new mission in life is to convince my husband to get on board with this idea… because it’s happening.

Why, you ask?

Goats are like the quirky, free-spirited friends of the livestock world. They'll climb on your car, yell at you when you're late with breakfast, and occasionally escape—just to remind you who's really in charge. But they also give you delicious, nutrient-rich milk and eternal bragging rights.

Each member of our team was tasked with preparing a dish for a Christmas dinner—ideally, something they traditionally eat during the holidays that features a Louisiana commodity. Luckily, everyone came up with a dish that created a perfectly balanced holiday menu! We had a main course, bread, several side dishes, and a dessert—all highlighting the bounty of Louisiana agriculture.

Now, it was time to get busy in the kitchen!

Irish writer Jonathan Swift once wrote, “He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.”

And maybe he was right. Heck, it took me 37 years to muster up the courage to take the plunge—into raw oysters, at least.

If you’re going to cross this cultural bridge into the world of oyster slurping, there’s no better place than the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, which is where I found myself for this month’s Feasting on Agriculture.