Louisiana Farm & Ranch

CROWLEY— On a frigid morning in late February, Mexican guest workers Juan Manuel Rico Olalde and Jose David Lopez Velazquez traverse William Hetzel’s 40-acre crawfish pond on Hetzel Road in Crowley, knee-deep in ice-cold water.

Olalde has been coming to the U.S. for the annual harvest from his native Guanajuato, a historic mining town of colorful houses on steep mountainsides and a temperate climate, for more than ten years.

Working through two cold fronts of below freezing temperatures has been tough. “It’s hard, but we continue,” Olalde says. “As long as it’s not frozen, we work.”

Read more here:
https://www.lafarmandranch.com/feature-stories1/farmers-experts-predict-a-strong-crawfish-season-despite-extreme-temperatures

CAMERON PARISH – Hubern Doxey’s family has lived off the land in Cameron Parish for generations. His grandfather was one of the state’s most prolific fur traders. Prior to the 2020 hurricanes that reduced much of the parish to rubble and pushed many of its residents to leave, his family also owned an oyster house in Cameron. Doxey himself is a fisherman who specializes in crabs, shrimp and oysters.

“My kids, when they’re old enough to take over, hopefully I’ll still be in business,” Doxey said of the next generation poised to continue the family tradition.

🦪 To continue reading, visit our website:
https://www.lafarmandranch.com/feature-stories1/long-known-for-its-wild-reefs-calcasieu-lake-now-produces-its-first-farmed-oysters

Easter Sunday on the Heinen farm in Hathaway, LA!