PERSPECTIVE May 17, 2024
OKFB members learn about Louisiana agriculture in the heart of Cajun country during 2024 OKFB Ag Tour ore than 60 Oklahoma Farm Bureau members learned about the spicy, savory and sweet Louisiana agriculture industry during the 2024 OKFB Ag Tour May 6-9 to Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. The tour featured two days of stops and visits to farms, agribusinesses and cultural destinations in southwest Louisiana near Lafayette. Members arrived on Monday, May 6, with a welcome dinner and meeting with Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau members and leaders at the parish Farm Bureau office. The local Farm Bureau planned the tour stops for OKFB members with numerous visits at local Farm Bureau members’ farms and ranches. The first full day of visits kicked off on
Tuesday, May 7, with a tour of the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station. OKFB members learned about the class-leading rice breeding program the station has developed over decades along with an overview of the Louisiana rice industry. Members toured the research farm where they saw rice in various stages of growth along with crawfish ponds where the station studies integrated rice and crawfish agricultural production programs. Tuesday afternoon featured tours of local farms including a stop at a sugar cane field farmed by Vermilion Parish County Farm Bureau President Bryan Simon, who showed OKFB members farm equipment used in sugar cane
production along with an overview of the crop’s growing season. OKFB members heard from rancher Raymond Fontenot of Crescent Bar F who raises grass-finished beef that he sells directly to area chefs for use in their restaurants. The Duhon family showed OKFB members the heart of their haying operation where they take round hay bales and re-bale and bundle them into small square bales for sale around the region. The evening featured a tour of L’Terre at Live Oak Plantation, a 6000-acre farm that includes managed marshlands, rice and crawfish fields, cattle and hay Continued on next page ...