With British ships blocking Caribbean trade routes, Napoleon Bonaparte found France facing a difficult problem. Sugar, which had become a staple of high-society diet, was in short supply. When French scientists gave Napoleon sugar made from beets, he directed farmers…
Like sugar cane in the late fall, the fate of U.S. farmers facing the threat of increased sugar imports is blowing in the wind in Washington. The 2018 Farm Bill became a political football once again Friday when the House voted it down, 198-213. The defeat,…
The West Baton Rouge Museum is pleased to announce a new exhibition entitled Rural Engineuity which will open on May 19th and run through August 5th, 2018. This exhibition highlights the innovations and people who transformed sugarcane farming and processing in the…
Sugarcane growers across the South stepped up to help their friends and neighbors after hurricanes Irma and Harvey. They delivered food, water, a truckload of sugar and even set up a phone-charging station as communities recovered without electricity and other basic…
MONROE, La. (AP) – Matt Frey admits noticing a few double takes from passers-by in Concordia Parish near Blackhawk when they notice a stand of sugarcane in his field, the first that far north in generations. “Yeah, we’ve gotten some looks,” said Frey, who…
No cost sugar policy benefits taxpayers, consumers and farmers By Judy Clayton Sanchez Critics of American sugar policy are once again orchestrating a campaign against America’s sugar-cane and sugar-beet farmers. It boggles the mind that one of the few — if not only —…
A years-long fight with Mexico over illegal dumping of cheap, subsidized sugar on the U.S. market is emerging as a major issue as the United States looks to tackle a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement. “What I was hearing on Capitol Hill … is…
Louisiana’s sugarcane farmers are among the most efficient in the world so why do they need trade protection? Because the world sugar market is a dump market. Read this story from The Hill about the bold “zero for zero” trade policy proposal. The…
It was a sad day when Hawaii’s sugarcane industry closed up shop last year. Why did Hawaii go out of business? For many reasons but low prices had a lot to do with it. Here is a video report on the United States sugarcane industry from Iowa Public…