Louisiana Farm Bureau Podcast

This week is National Grain Bin Safety Week. Joining us on this episode of the podcast are Wendell Miley and Matt Sirgo of Louisiana Farm Bureau. They are here to talk about the upcoming grain bin safety workshops and the story behind why they started these programs over a decade ago. 

Labor: it's a constant need on farms across the nation. In many cases, farmers will bring labor in through foreign worker programs to fill jobs that they're unable to fill locally. That's a lot easier said than done, thanks to constantly changing policies and requirements for farmers to bring these valuable workers to their farms. That's why the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation hosts the Mid-South Ag Labor Seminar -- it's an opportunity to get up-to-date on all things labor policy, law, and best practices.

A new year in Louisiana means a few things... king cake, gumbo weather, and crawfish! On this week's episode, Avery Davidson chats with Andy Brown and Bill Pizzolato about the affects weather has had on this year's crawfish crop and how that's making the crustacean quite expensive and hard to get for consumers. 

Welcome to a new year of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Podcast! We return with a great conversation with Robert and Rachel Duncan, young farmers from central Louisiana. Along with raising their children, soybeans, flowers and cattle, they chair the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers and Ranchers committee. They are also the winner of this year's YF&R Achievement Award. This week they are heading to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual meeting to represent Louisiana in the national competition. That's among the many topics we cover in this episode of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Podcast.

The primary function of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation is to ensure farmers can continue to feed a growing world. One of the ways it does that is by helping move agricultural products through the Louisiana Farm Bureau Marketing Association. In this episode, Karl Wiggers sits down with grain marketing specialists Greg Fox and Grayson Close to talk about the company and how they help farmers across Louisiana sell their crops at the best price at the best time.

You have probably heard us say “we are more than just insurance” a time or two on this podcast. But truth is, access to Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance is one of the biggest benefits offered to Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation members.  In this episode, Avery Davidson sits down with Kirk Hendry, Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Vice President of Sales, to discuss the unique structure of the company, his personal career and the difficult times the insurance industry is facing in Louisiana.  

This week, Karl has Avery and Neil join the podcast to discuss the 2023 American Farm Bureau Thanksgiving Dinner Survey. The short of it, the cost for the average Thanksgiving Dinner is down from last year. This week, Neil Melancon tells us more about the survey's findings and what it means for consumers when it's time to head to the grocery store.

In this episode, Karl sits down with Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation 3rd Vice President, Richard Fontenot. They discuss how he originally got introduced to the Farm Bureau family as a child, and then again in the Young Farmers and Ranchers program. They also discuss his crops this year, his involvement in 4-H and FFA as a youth and still today, and why he loves to serve in leadership at Louisiana Farm Bureau.