Grower Profile Joby Beaud It’s late February and sugarcane grower Joe Beaud III, of New Roads is standing under his farm shed looking out at his cane field south of LaBarre Service Road. The shed is immaculately clean and his tractors and equipment boast a spit-polish…
Sugar News
Alfred Todd Landry
By all accounts, Loreauville sugarcane farmer Todd Landry is a great farmer. Loreauville Harvesting, his farming operation, manages more than 2400 acres along the Teche valley bottomland. He farms alongside his younger brother, Patrick, who also owns an interest in…
Mark Patout: Stalwart and Stoic
Sugarcane farmer Mark Patout might be more comfortable in the cane field than anywhere else. He is absolutely and positively dedicated to his sugarcane crop and holds himself and his employees to a high work standard. In early December he was a little more than a…
A Common Goal
If you ask Denise Wright how she found her way into agricultural research and consulting, she won’t tell you it was part of some carefully planned career path. She’ll simply tell you she grew up in Bayou Jacque, loved being outdoors and loved agriculture….
Field Days: Where Research Meets the Row
Sugarcane field days have long been a summer tradition across Louisiana’s cane belt, providing growers an opportunity to see research firsthand and hear directly from scientists, extension specialists and fellow farmers. Six years ago, leaders in Pointe Coupee…
Louisiana Emerges as Nation’s Leading Sugarcane-Producing State Despite Industry Challenges
New Orleans – Louisiana’s sugar industry continues to demonstrate its resilience and economic importance, now being recognized as the nation’s leading sugarcane-producing state despite ongoing challenges from labor shortages, global market pressures,…
Finding a Window in a Dry Season
For much of the spring, Louisiana was feeling the strain of drought. For many farmers, the lack of rain made an already challenging planting season even tougher, especially for crops that depend on timely moisture to get established. In some cases, fields planted just…
Louisiana Sugarcane Grower: Congress Must Act to Support American Farmers
Louisiana sugarcane grower Chad Hanks recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to share firsthand with lawmakers the challenges farmers face today, from labor shortages to rising production costs. In this guest column, he explains why policies that support American…
From Record Harvest to Winter Uncertainty, Sugarcane Faces the Next Test
Last winter, Louisiana sugarcane farmers watched a historic snowfall do something few expected. It helped protect the 2025 crop from widespread freeze damage. The snow acted as insulation, shielding the roots and preserving the buds that would fuel the next growing…








