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NEWS
Strain: Celebrate National Farmers Day
October 11, 2018
Baton Rouge, LA (October 11, 2018) – Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M. said while we celebrate the farmer on October 12 for National Farmers Day, we should celebrate the farmer every day.
“As our population grows, the job of the farmer becomes increasingly demanding. The hours continue to be long and the farmer is often at the mercy of environmental challenges such as droughts, excessive rain and/or flooding, to even freezing temperatures which can damage a crop,” said Strain. “Don’t forget where your food comes from and if you know a farmer, make sure you let him or her know how much you appreciate them.”
Agriculture and forestry are nearly $13 billion industries in Louisiana. According to the LSU AgCenter, the average age of a farmer is 58. Louisiana consists of 22,684,083 acres in agricultural and forestry land. The average size of a Louisiana farm is 291 acres. Most Louisiana farms (87.3%) are family farms. The average land holding by a timber owner is 68 acres.
Louisiana’s top 10 commodities are: forestry, poultry, sugarcane, soybeans, marine fisheries, aquaculture, cattle, horses, rice, and feed grain crops.
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