Louisiana Farm Bureau News: The Federation, Its Media, Leaders and Readers
Profile updated November 2026
Louisiana Farm Bureau News is the member publication of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation (LFBF), the state's largest general farm organization, with a listed circulation of 160,000. It reaches farmers, ranchers, landowners and rural residents in a state known for sugarcane, rice, cotton, cattle and crawfish.
| Publisher | Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation |
|---|---|
| Federation founded | 1922 |
| Headquarters | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Listed circulation | 160,000 |
| Membership | More than 148,000 member families |
| Sister media | This Week in Louisiana Agriculture (TWILA), since 1981 |
| Official website | Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation (Wikipedia) |
History of Louisiana Farm Bureau News
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation was founded in 1922, three years after the American Farm Bureau Federation. State Senator Norris C. Williamson of East Carroll Parish was among its founders and served on the first board. The federation grew into a private nonprofit advocating for agriculture at the local, state and national levels, with an affiliated casualty insurance company also based in Baton Rouge.
Its leadership has been remarkably stable. St. James Parish sugar grower James Graugnard was followed in 1989 by cattle producer Ronnie Anderson, who served 31 years, sat on the American Farm Bureau board and the LSU Board of Supervisors. Delegates then elected Jim Harber, a Rapides Parish grain, crawfish and sugar farmer, as the first new president in more than 30 years.
Media has long been part of the mission. In 1981 Regnal Wallace created This Week in Louisiana Agriculture, a television program that now reaches about 500,000 viewers and airs nationally on RFD-TV.
Louisiana Farm Bureau News Today
Louisiana Farm Bureau News carries the federation's advocacy and member news to a broad audience of farmers, ranchers, landowners, rural residents and agricultural lenders, while TWILA brings Louisiana farm stories to television each week.
The publication reports on the federation's policy work in Baton Rouge and Washington, where LFBF members regularly lobby their congressional delegation, and on partnerships with the LSU AgCenter's 4-H program, Louisiana FFA and Agriculture in the Classroom.
What Louisiana Farm Bureau News Is Publishing Now
Advocacy
State and federal policy on farm programs, trade, coastal and water issues and rural infrastructure.
Commodities
News for sugarcane, rice, cotton, soybean, cattle, crawfish and forestry producers.
Youth and leadership
Young Farmers and Ranchers, Women's Leadership, 4-H, FFA and Ag in the Classroom programs.
Louisiana Farm Bureau News Editors and Staff
LFBF leaders and editorial contacts on record include:
- Jim Harber - President
- Neil Melancon - Editorial contact
- Avery Davidson - Editorial contact
- Ronnie Anderson - Former President (31 years, from 1989)
- Regnal Wallace - Creator of TWILA (1981)
Officers elected alongside Harber included Marty Wooldridge, Scott Wiggers, Richard Fontenot and secretary-treasurer Mike Melancon, all working farmers from around the state.
Who Reads Louisiana Farm Bureau News
Readers are LFBF member families, more than 148,000 of them, from Delta cotton and soybean farms to Acadiana rice and crawfish operations, sugarcane parishes along the Mississippi and cattle ranches statewide. Louisiana parish-level crop and livestock statistics are available in USDA's Quick Stats.
Nationally, the 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 1.9 million farms, 95% of them family farms, averaging 463 acres.
Louisiana Farm Bureau News readers are the only farmers in America who rotate rice with crawfish and consider it perfectly normal. For a laugh between harvests, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor about bayou-country farming, sugarcane grinding season and hurricane prep, plus ranch humor for the cattlemen up north. Its farm jokes come seasoned, never bland.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
Louisiana Farm Bureau News Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Wikipedia: Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation - history, leaders and TWILA.
- KATC: Farm Bureau elects first new president in 30 years - Jim Harber's election.
- Louisiana Farm Bureau News data card - circulation and audience.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - Louisiana crop and livestock statistics.
- USDA NASS: 2022 Census of Agriculture - national farm structure data.
Louisiana Farm Bureau News FAQ
Who publishes Louisiana Farm Bureau News?
The Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, founded in 1922 and based in Baton Rouge.
How many members does the Louisiana Farm Bureau have?
More than 148,000 member families.
Who is president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau?
Jim Harber of Rapides Parish, who succeeded Ronnie Anderson after Anderson's 31 years in office.
What is TWILA?
This Week in Louisiana Agriculture, the federation's TV program created in 1981 and aired nationally on RFD-TV.
From the sugarcane parishes to the Delta, Louisiana Farm Bureau News keeps the state's farm families connected to their federation.