Michael Harper’sfamily has been farming in Cheneyville, a town of about 600, since right after the Civil War. He’s a sixth-generation grower at the northern tip of Louisiana’s sugar country, farming today with his father, uncle and cousin-in-law. In the 153 years…
Traditionally, the harvesting of sugar cane has always been finished by Christmas, but several recent years have pushed the end of harvest well into January. This is one of those years, as experts from the American Sugar Cane League and Buckley “Buck” Kessler,…
Lafourche Sugars Changing with the Times Lafourche Sugars, the sugarcane mill in Thibodaux, represents the changing nature of Louisiana’s 224-year old sugarcane industry. Many folks in the industry are the latest in a long line of sugarcane growers and millers, but…
Louisiana’s sugarcane industry has been a top economic driver in the state for more than 221 years and is celebrating the family farmers who have been farming cane for generations in a series of television ads this harvesting season. The ads will feature three farming…
In medieval times, noble families had specific rules for inheritance. The oldest son inherited the noble title, and more importantly, all of the lands. The best bet for the second son was to become a scholar and learn to make a living by his wits. The third son was…
A lot has changed in southeastern Lafayette Parish since Eddie “Boss Man” Lewis Sr., 72, was a young man. Pinhook Road east of the Vermilion River was a two-lane highway all the way to Broussard. Sugarcane occupied the real estate populated by oil field support…
Each year, the Louisiana sugarcane harvest tells a story. Sometimes that story is defined by adversity. Other times, it is shaped by resilience and a little bit of grace from Mother Nature. This year, the preliminary harvest data shows several records were set with…
November is a season of gratitude, a time when most farmers across the country have wrapped up their harvests and turned their attention to winter and next year’s plans. It is very different in the cane belt. For Louisiana’s sugarcane producers, November means one…
A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect Conditions continue to become more favorable for widespread fog including dense fog. A greater concern is the possibility of Super Fog developing. Numerous fires mainly due to burning of agricultural fields like Sugar Cane…