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…
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…
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…
For Kassi Leger, farming sugarcane was not part of the original plan. After working in sales, she realized the career did not fit and called her father in April 2012 with a proposal: “I think I’m going to come and be on the farm for a little while until I can figure…
Louisiana’s sugarcane growers made their mark in more ways than one at this year’s Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Convention in New Orleans. From important conversations on federal food policy to field-level conservation breakthroughs and a strong showing at the…
As the sugarcane harvest season begins, sheriffs in several south Louisiana parishes are warning motorists to practice extra caution on the roads. Not only will there be an increase in machinery and cane hauling trucks on the roadway, but the forecast calls for foggy…
A coalition of Louisiana’s largest agricultural groups representing more than 150,000 Louisiana residents today sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation urging them to pass The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 now that it has advanced out of…
The Louisiana Sugarcane Industry has now completed 229 years of commercial sugar production. Considering it’s the northernmost sugarcane growing region in the world, that’s certainly something to be proud of. Growing a tropical crop in Louisiana’s temperate…
Chad Hanks can sum up this sugarcane growing season rather succinctly. “Unprecedented,” Hanks said as he stood in a sugarcane field in Lafayette Parish. The field Hanks was in had cane that was barely 3 feet tall when it should have been 7 to 9 feet tall. Conditions…