TWILA Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of This Week in Louisiana Agriculture, we take you from the fields of Catahoula Parish to the cliffs of coastal California, highlighting some of the challenges and triumphs in agriculture. 

Neil Melancon shows us that while Louisiana's corn crop is thriving, farmers are bracing for tough market conditions and rising input costs. While Louisiana avoided major flooding as the Mississippi River crested, Arkansas farmers are facing significant impacts from heavy rainfall and levee breaches. Grassroots leadership takes center stage at the Michael Danna and Women's Leadership Committee Leadership Conference, and international relations strengthen with a visit from Canada’s Consul General. You'll also meet Burch Pierce, Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Second Vice President, whose leadership journey started with a childhood connection. Plus, a van life blogger makes a daring calf rescue in California in this week’s TWILA Boost! 

Catch all that and more in this week’s episode of TWILA!

Show Notes

• Join Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation
• Learn more about Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention

This week on This Week in Louisiana Agriculture, we follow Congressman Troy Carter as he visits farmers in his district to hear firsthand about the urgent need for a Farm Bill. We also explore a new state-of-the-art sawmill revitalizing a small town, dive into Louisiana's booming agritourism scene, and continue our Road to Leadership series with Marty Wooldridge. Plus, we celebrate Black Farmers and Growers Day, stomp grapes at Landry Vineyards, and get a reality check on farming in the John Deere Challenge. 

Catch all that and more in this edition of TWILA!

Show Notes

• Contact your Senators and Representative 
• Sign up for Voter Voice
• Learn more about Hunt Forests Products
• View photos from the 2025 Louisiana Farm Bureau Sporting Clays Challenge 
• Visit Landry Vineyards
• Watch this week’s entire TWILA Boost here

This Week in Louisiana Agriculture, Avery introduces us to the final two candidates seeking the Louisiana Governor seat this fall – Jeff Landry and John Schroder. We also meet the Louisiana Ag in the Classroom Teacher of the Year and see how she is helping children better understand the role agriculture plays in their daily lives.

SHOW NOTES

• Learn more about Jeff Landry
• Learn more about John Schroder
• To sign up for the Grassroots Government e-newsletter and Voter Voice, visit this link.
• Learn more about Louisiana Ag In The Classroom
• Download the Crawfish App, and learn more about the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board.

It’s June, which means we are gearing up for the Louisiana Farm Bureau’s 101st Annual Convention. In this week’s episode, we meet the three finalists for the Young Farmers and Ranchers Achievement Award and some of the Louisiana Farm Bureau staff who are working behind the scenes. You can catch all that and more in This Week in Louisiana Agriculture!

SHOW NOTES

• Check out the schedule and details of the  2023 Louisiana Farm Bureau Convention
• Learn more about the Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers
• Get prepared for hurricane season here
• Learn more about mental health resources  near you
• Learn more about rural stress information
• American Farm Bureau Farm State of Mind
• Learn more about Farm Aid
• Download the Crawfish App, and learn more about the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board.

In this week’s episode, Neil Melancon takes us to New Orleans to show us how hurricane-hunting crews are preparing for the upcoming season. Avery Davidson introduces us to two more candidates seeking the Louisiana Governor seat this fall. And Breann Hendrickson has a blooming Boost just in time for Mother’s Day.

SHOW NOTES

• Get a hurricane prep gameplan here
• Learn more about Stephen Waguespack
• Learn more about Richard Nelson
• To sign up for the Grassroots Government e-newsletter and Voter Voice, visit this link.
• Visit Haven Flower Farm
• Download the Crawfish App, and learn more about the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board.

Crop updates, farm tours, and politics… we’ve got a little bit of everything in this week’s episode of TWILA.
Karl Wiggers takes us to Franklin Parish to see how three-week-old corn weathered the hard frost earlier this spring. Avery Davidson starts introducing us to the candidates running for Louisiana Governor. Finally, Breann Hendrickson takes us on a Northwest Louisiana farm with the Louisiana Women in Agriculture.

Watch the entire show here.

Spring is in full swing, and so are Louisiana's farmers and legislature! Breann Hendrickson takes us to the Louisiana Women In Agriculture Conference And Expo in Alexandria, Louisiana. Avery Davidson reports on the 10th Annual Louisiana Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Show. Neil Melancon visits a mayhaw orchid in Caldwell Parish to get an update on this year’s crop. We also have a legislative update, Feasting On Agriculture segment, and Earth Day Boost!

SHOW NOTES

• Learn about  Louisiana Women in Agriculture
• View photos from the Louisiana YF&R Livestock Show
• Listen to the Grassroots Government Podcast 
• To sign up for the Grassroots Government e-newsletter and Voter Voice, visit this link.
• Feasting on Agriculture: Crawfish Stuffed Bell Peppers with Four Oaks Farm
• Learn more about sustainability on the farm
• Download the Crawfish App, and learn more about the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board.

Visit our website to watch this show.

On this episode of TWILA, Karl Wiggers tags along as American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall experiences crawfish farming for the first time. Avery Davidson shows us how sugarcane is helping make a new kind of cattle feed in Napoleonville, while Neil Melançon shows us how river cane is being used to make duck calls in Central Louisiana. And Breann Hendrickson takes us to the annual Louisiana 4-H Food Challenge.

SHOW NOTES

• Farm Bill Principles 
• Learn about Impact Fusion International
• Learn more about the Louisiana 4-H Food Challenge
• Learn more about Bayou Beast Duck Calls
• Learn more about the American Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year Contest
• Download the Crawfish App, and learn more about the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board.
• Learn more about Louisiana beef from Louisiana Beef Industry Council 

https://www.twilatv.org/archive/042123 

This week, the team looks back on the past couple weeks of shows, and the big stories from the past year! Neil tells about his story from Camp Claiborne and the impact the Louisiana forests had in the events that took place on the beaches of Normandy. Breann talks about her story about the McNeese State rodeo team and the success they found nationally this year. The story Karl looks back on is the tough decisions farmers faced in the spring as they wrestled with input prices, a story that continued to develop all year as weather wreaked havoc on those same expensive crops. Avery makes everyone hungry talking about his Feasting On Agriculture segment that feature Louisiana sweet potatoes from Cafe Josephine in Sunset, Louisiana.

SHOW NOTES

• Watch this week’s show
• See Neil's story from Camp Claiborne
• Learn more about the McNeese State Rodeo Team
• Some stories about the difficult year farmers faced in Northeast Louisiana
  • Spring Planting Decisions by Karl
  • August Soybean Disaster Story by Neil
  • Soybean Farmers Head to Washington D.C. by Karl
• Avery's new segment of Feasting On Agriculture from Cafe Josephine
  • See the original segment here

We’re backkkk! After a crazy four months, the TWILA team, including its newest member, Allie Shipley, is back on the mics to give you a behind-the-scenes look of our latest episode. Neil Melancon gives an update on the low Mississippi River while we discuss how farmers across the nation are affected. Avery Davidson takes us to Greensburg where 2021 Minority Landowner Magazine Farmer of the Year Warner Hall hosted the Leafy Green Field Day at his farm. Karl tells us about Congressman Mike Johnson’s visit with farmers in Northwest Louisiana and Breann Hendrickson gives us a glimpse of the Fast Food Farm’s Fall Ag Day. All that and more in this episode of the TWILA After Show!

SHOW NOTES

• Watch this week’s show
• Learn more about the LSU AgCenter
• Learn more about the USDA’s People’s Garden Initiative
• View the Minority Landowner Magazine
• Like Fast Food Farm on Facebook