From left: Zippy Duvall, Jamison Cruce, Kane Webb, Peter Bachmann, and Richard Fontenot
Jul 02, 2024
NEW ORLEANS, LA – On Sunday, fourth-generation rice farmer Richard Fontenot of Ville Platte was elected the 13th president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau.
Fontenot, who in addition to rice farms soybeans and crawfish, succeeds Jim Harper of Cheneyville, in leading the more than 100-year-old organization.
Fontenot has been very active within USA Rice, serving on both the USA Rice Federation Board of Directors as well as on the USA Rice Farmers Board of Directors and various committees and subcommittees. He is also a past chair of the Louisiana Rice Research Board.
“On behalf of USA Rice, I want to wholeheartedly congratulate Richard on his election as Louisiana Farm Bureau President,” said USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann. “We have long enjoyed a productive and successful relationship with our state Farm Bureau partners in the south and look forward to continuing this important work with Richard in his new role.”
Bachmann, along with Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, and Director of LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station Dr. Adam Famoso addressed the Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Rice Committee during their annual convention last Saturday.