New USDA aid for Hurricane Francine's aftermath

Sep 25, 2024
By Farms.com

Emergency nutrition support announced for Louisiana

In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Francine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the approval of the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) for eight Louisiana parishes.

This program is designed to help approximately 40,000 households that might not usually qualify under the standard SNAP guidelines but are now facing exceptional circumstances due to the hurricane.

Tom Vilsack, the Agriculture Secretary, affirmed USDA's commitment to assisting impacted individuals and households, ensuring they receive the necessary food assistance to help them recover.

Eligible households within the disaster zones will be granted a one-time allotment that corresponds to the maximum monthly benefit for a household of their size, which they can use at various authorized stores and online.

From September 25 to October 1, 2024, affected residents can apply for D-SNAP. The state of Louisiana, ensuring readiness through adequate staffing and public information, will also provide supplementary benefits to existing SNAP participants in select parishes and waive certain reporting requirements to ease the process for those affected.

The USDA's swift response through D-SNAP and additional supports underscores its role in promoting food security and supporting recovery in the wake of natural disasters, focusing on both immediate relief and long-term stability for the residents of Louisiana.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.