(12/10/24) ST. GABRIEL, La. — Growing up on a farm in St. Martinville, Brayden Blanchard knew he wanted to make a living doing something related to sugarcane — the crop his family has cultivated for five generations. As a senior in high school, Blanchard tagged along…
(11/06/24) BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction is still accepting nominations through Nov. 18 for its induction ceremony, which will be held March 6, 2025, in Baton Rouge. The nomination form can be found online at…
The American Sugar Cane League has been providing research, governmental and public relations guidance for the Louisiana sugar industry for 102 years. Our partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture and Louisiana State University has produced positive…
The vision of the 1922 founders of the American Sugar Cane League was to seek out the best scientific research available. They forged a partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture and Louisiana State University. Louisiana’s sugarcane industry found…
Dr. Michael Grisham, Research Leader of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma, Louisiana has retired. Grisham first came to Louisiana in 1984 to work for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Unit as a plant pathologist. After 37…
Sugarcane producer Keith Dugas of Assumption Parish loves farming. He loves everything about it. He remembers watching his father, the late Lloyd Dugas, on the tractor and he couldn’t wait for his turn. “My father came from a family of ten brothers and one sister,”…
Right now, the next generation of Louisiana sugarcane producers is getting their start as farmers, milling professionals, and researchers. It’s the circle of life in the sugarcane world. One of these young producers is 24-year-old Lee Hymel of Vacherie, a…
In Louisiana’s sugarcane fields right now, not everything is picture perfect. As the weather warms and the crop begins to green, some farmers are seeing something they don’t like; shoots that should be thriving instead dying back. Not across every field, not in every…
By the time this column reaches you, most of our growers will be back in the fields, watching that first green push through the soil. Pre-emergent spraying will be underway. Ruts will be worked. Equipment will be checked and rechecked. It will be all hands-on deck….