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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
W e d n e s d ay, O c t O b e r 22, 2025
“We’re very resilient, and we try to work with whatever’s thrown at us. But this is a very tough time in agriculture.” STEPHEN LOGAN, Louisiana farmer
Shutdown hits farmers right at harvest time
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La. high court debates BR judge case Foxworth-Roberts faces removal from bench for alleged misconduct BY ANDREA GALLO Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE
Louisiana soybean farmers are concerned that China’s boycott will have a detrimental effect on next year’s prices.
Low prices, high costs, trade uncertainty also fuel concern BY JENNA ROSS
Staff writer
It’s a key moment on Stephen Logan’s farm in Gilliam. And in farming, he said, “timing is everything.” His team has harvested the final corn, soybeans, cotton and peanuts, in that order. Now they’re spreading cereal rye seed and making plans for the next growing season. But the government shutdown has made paying for those cover crops and finalizing those plans more difficult. Each fall, farmers across Louisiana count on the now-shuttered U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies for financial assistance and
information. For three weeks, they’ve been unable to get a loan from the agency, apply for a conservation program or receive a market report. “All of that is shut down,” Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture Mike Strain said. That means many farmers are flying blind as they try to decide when to sell this fall and what to plant next February, a decision they often make months in advance. “That information is needed now,” Strain said. Government programs are even more critical as farmers are struggling with high prices for most of what they buy, including fertilizer, and low prices for
most of what they’re selling, several farmers said. “We’re very resilient, and we try to work with whatever’s thrown at us,” said Logan, a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Council. “But this is a very tough time in agriculture.” About 91% of agriculture economists surveyed in September said they believe the U.S. crops sector is in a recession, according to the Farm Journal’s monthly survey of about 70 economists. Among the reasons: Low grain prices, high input costs and trade uncertainty,
ä See FARMERS, page 7A
Louisiana Supreme Court justices debated Tuesday whether to boot Baton Rouge Judge Tiffany Foxworth-Roberts off the bench, repeatedly pressing her attorneys on why she doubled down on responses that the state’s Judiciary Commission said were lies about her military service and insurance claims. Foxworth-Roberts, who was elected in 2020, is accused of lying about attaining the rank of captain in the U.S. Army, as well as having described herself on the campaign trail as a veteran of Desert Storm. She was just 16 during that conflict. FoxworthJudiciary Commission Roberts members also took issue with insurance claims she filed during her campaign, when she said someone stole roughly $40,000 worth of jewelry and other goods from her car while she was campaigning. But Foxworth-Roberts filed a police report about the burglary from her home, which was 3 miles away from the alleged break-in, and she indicated to police that the break-in happened when her car was “like this,” pointing to it in her driveway, according to body camera footage. “It is this pervasive pattern of fundamental dishonesty that brings us unhappily here today,” said Michelle Beaty, special counsel for the Judiciary Commission, as she argued Tuesday that the high court should strip Foxworth-Roberts of her judgeship. Should the high court accept the recommendation, Foxworth-Roberts would become the first judge to be tossed from the bench over disciplinary matters since 2009. The justices can follow the recommendation from the Judiciary Commission, or they can choose to impose their own discipline instead. Kicking her off the
ä See JUDGE, page 6A
Viral YouTube comic ‘Agent Ratliff’ sued for pranking BR business BY MATT BRUCE
part of a gag to confront company leaders with farce “complaints” for likes, clicks and giggles. In August of last year, Carliemar He’s a content creator who’s gone viral for his comedic skits. White III, known to his legion of soHe’s racked up millions of online cial media fans as “Agent Ratliff,” followers by storming businesses brought his antics to Baton Rouge. dressed as a federal inspector as a Armed with an authoritative
Staff writer
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voice, a clipboard and his “OCDA” uniform, he told managers at Holmes Building Materials he was there to investigate allegations of employee discrimination. Staff members led White to the back offices of the storefront along Airline Highway that sells supplies for
contractors. There, he questioned one of the company’s supervisors, Derek Jones, about the purported complaints. Holden Schneider, another comic posing as Agent Ratliff’s OCDA sidekick, stood beside White as he rattled off the anonymous em-
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ployee grievances. A cameraman who accompanied the two filmed the encounter. White accused Jones of “always digging in his nose,” having a foul odor, engaging in racial
ä See COMIC, page 4A
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