There's also a link to The Sugar Bulletin, the League's monthly magazine, and its advertising rates and subscrption information. The Sugar Bulletin has been published since 1922 and you can research the sugar industry archives by clicking here or in the drop list to the left. The American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists archives are also available.
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,” said St. Mary Sugar general manager David Thibodeaux. “June 14, 1946 this place…
Al Landry Jr. has been chosen to serve as King Sucrose LXXVIII at the 2019 Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival. In the eyes of Alton (Al) Landry Jr., all the past kings of the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival are in the pantheon of sugarcane industry leaders. “I’ve always looked up to the men who were the past kings of the…
Sugarcane producer Paul Schexnayder doesn't call a lot of attention to his farming operation in Pointe Coupee Parish. He’s just concentrating on getting the most sugar out of the land. Like many farmers, he keeps a low profile and seemed a bit surprised that the Sugar News wanted to do a story on a country farmer. His mailing address…
Dan Duplantis Jr.’s job search pretty much ended the day he was born 51 years ago. It seems he was destined to work in the sugarcane industry and it’s no surprise he ended up being the general manager of Raceland Raw Sugar, the sugarcane mill in Lafourche Parish just north of the town of Raceland. “My father (Dan Duplantis…
The Lacours of Pointe Coupee George and cour; Gertrude Lacour Hawkins Pointe Coupee grower George Lacour is essentially a first-generation sugarcane farmer. Yes, his family has been in farming for generations in Louisiana but George only began to grow sugarcane commercially in 2002. Nevertheless, the Lacour family has been in Pointe Coupee Parish since 1782 so George has a…
Pierre Simeon Patout came to Louisiana from France with a dream of becoming the premier vintner of the South. He started his vineyard in 1825 in the community which came to be known as Patoutville. He quickly learned that Louisiana, despite sharing the same French language as the Loire River valley, did not share the grape growing climate. Thanks…
Retire sugarcane farmer Harold Schexnayder Sr, 85, of White Castle, has been a public servant for his country, state, parish and community for a good portion of his life. After his tour of duty with the Air Force as a captain, Harold left the service and took his father’s place on the sugarcane farm in 1959. Story by Sam…
It was planting time when the Sugar News visited with Ronald R. Hebert Jr. He was supervising planting activities at a field just south of Highway 182 (the old U. S. 90) in Jeanerette. The soldier harvester and hand planters were dodging the August rains but Ronald was in good spirits. Photos: Ronald Hebert Jr. (above); Todd Morris and…
This is the story of four brothers, Dudley, Wilson, Roy and J.C. Viator, who started their farming careers in Iberia Parish in the 1940s. They were the sons of Abara and Mae Viator, descendants of Antonia Villatore, one of the original Spanish families who settled New Iberia in 1779. This story is available in a podcast. HEAR THE PODCAST…
The Bain family of Bunkie, Louisiana has always been known for their progressive attitude toward farming. Sterling Bain Sr., the deceased patriarch of Bain Farms in Avoyelles/Rapides, was always at the forefront of technological innovation. You can ask any of his sons and grandsons who followed him into the fields. “He was leveling his land before that ever became…
Economy of scale has always played a role in Louisiana’s raw sugar industry and sugar mills have consolidated over time to maximize production and profit. Lula-Westfield is one success story. The Lula Sugar Factory in Belle Rose and the Westfield Sugar Factory in Paincourtville were destined to merge as the families who owned them were already connected by marriage and…
L. J. Carmouche Progressive Down the Bayou Leonce J. Carmouche Jr. of Belle Rose doesn’t know exactly how long his family has been growing sugarcane in Assumption Parish but it’s a long time. He’s not really too concerned about genealogy. What’s on his mind is harvesting his sugarcane fields as quickly and efficiently as possible. "I don’t know the…
