Tropical Storm Olga Came and Went; Left Mud
KADN-TV reporter Philip Boudreaux filed this video report on Tropical Storm Olga and its effect on the Louisiana sugarcane harvest. Here’s how he begins:
Tropical Storm Olga comes at the peak of the sugar cane harvest so it brings challenges for farmers.
“I think our farmers can deal with a 3-4 inch rain, but it’s like anything else. It makes life harder.” said St. Martin Parish County Agent Stuart Gauthier.
Despite the heavy rain, the sugarcane farmers in Acadiana are trucking along to harvest crop.
Gauthier says farmers still have to harvest a certain amount of sugar cane everyday before the season ends in early January.
“Cane farmers are spending more money to harvest the cane. Yet what they are pulling out of the field is also typically going to be lower in sugarcane. That’s kind of the bottom line.” said Gauthier.
This tropical storm is just part of the cycle of adverse weather conditions that have stifled sugarcane farmers within the last three years. WATCH THE VIDEO