Louisiana’s largest agricultural production is actually not on land, but on the water, in the seafood it catches. However though it is still a big producer of cotton, soybeans and cattle.
According to the Economist magazine, parts of rural Louisiana have seen a 50-75% decrease in population over the last 60 years.
According to agricultural economist Michael A. Deliberto from LSU, the state’s farm economy shifted, like it did across the rest of the country, in the 1970s. Louisiana went from 74,438 farms employing 101,880 workers, to 27,386 farms and just 23,019 workers.
With over half the state’s population (55.5%) living in or near a small town then, the farm labor combined with the additional residents afforded rural areas to survive, and even thrive. As of 2017, Louisiana’s population living in or near a small town was down by half to 25.5%.
Lost Americana is about telling the stories of the people who live in rural America.
•Have you lived in the same rural area since the 1970/80s?
•Were you the last class to graduate from a rural school before it closed its doors forever?
•Do you know of a small town (under 2,000 people) that is a shell of it’s former self?
•Do you just what to give me some feedback on the topics we cover?
Don’t be shy, go to the “Connect” page and drop me a line. Also don’t be afraid to reach out to me via social media, links are at the bottom of each page.
