When Dr. Matt Foster steps into a sugarcane field, he’s not just checking rows of cane, he is on the lookout for anything that might threaten the crop that defines South Louisiana. Foster grew up in Vidalia, Louisiana, where his first job in agriculture was working…
Each year, sugarcane and sugarbeet farmers, millers and refiners set aside their daily work, swap their muddy boots for dress shoes and step into the historic halls of Capitol Hill. Again, this year the American Sugar Cane League joined forces with the American Sugar…
Unmanned aircraft, also known as drones, have several uses in farming operations. One use that continues to increase is the application of pesticides and plant growth regulators. Drones can apply crop products precisely in areas where aircraft travel is difficult….
An agriculture expert says this year’s Louisiana sugarcane crop had great growing conditions although Hurricane Francine’s strong winds damaged some crops. An estimated two million tons of sugar is expected to be produced from this year’s crops. “Acreage increased…
Despite 2023’s drought, Louisiana’s landowners, sugarcane producers and millers continue to have confidence in sugarcane in 2024. Kenneth Gravois, the LSU AgCenter sugarcane specialist, is not surprised. “There are two factors for the continued increase in sugarcane…
The sugarcane crop is ready to harvest, and Louisiana’s 11 sugar mills are grinding cane 24 hours a day. About 15.5 million tons of cane is expected to be harvested this year. Based on past performance, the United States Department of Agriculture’s World Agricultural…
In yet another sign that our society is inching back to a pre-pandemic “normal,” the LSU AgCenter hosted a sugarcane field day in Pointe Coupee Parish the first week of June. It was the first in-person field day for sugarcane since the pandemic began. More than 60…
Louisiana Sugar Cane Co-Operative: Planning for the Future It is said that prosperity is a great teacher, but adversity is a much tougher taskmaster. Those opposing ideas faced the management of the old Breaux Bridge Sugar Cooperative and the St. Martin Sugar…
When farmers put their mind to something, the work gets done. That’s how St. Mary Sugar Co-Op sugarcane mill got started. “The growers got together then and decided they wanted to control their own fate and destiny, so they invested and built their own sugar mill,”…