Taskforce to Explore Field Burning Alternatives: ‘An Important Moment in Louisiana History’

By Megan Wyatt

Acadiana Advocate

State Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma, Grew up in the Terrebonne Parish Community of Schriever Surrounded by Sugar Cane Fields.

Many Members of Her Family Farmed Sugar Cane, and Her Grandfather Worked in the Thibodaux Sugar Mill. And Each Year During the Burning Season, Amedee Would Lose the Ability to Speak as Her Sinuses Flared Up.

“I Have a Younger Sister With Chronic Asthma and Bronchitis, and I’m Sure That Did Not Help Her Situation,” Amedee Said. “And I Would Spend From November to February Every Year With Chronic Sinus Trouble. I Would Lose My Voice a Few Times Each Winter Because of It, and It Was Always November to February, Which Is the Season That They’re Grinding and Burning.”

That’s Why When One of Her Constituents Approached Her About Drafting Legislation Related to Agricultural Field Burning, Amedee Immediately Got to Work. She’s Currently Writing a Resolution That Would Create a Taskforce to Examine Alternatives to the Practice of Field Burning in Louisiana and Make Recommendations Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session.

Amedee Said She Was Moved by the Impact Field Burning Had on Her Constituent, John Achee Jr., Whose Father Died in a 2008 Assumption Parish Crash Caused, in Part, by Low Visibility Caused by Smoke From a Burning Sugar Cane Field. It Wasn’t Until a Few Months Ago That Achee Decided to Take Action When He Learned About a Similar Crash in October in Vermilion Parish That Claimed the Life of a 26-Year-Old Father of Two.

Achee Recently Created a Nonprofit Called Citizens Against Agricultural Field Burning and Met With Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain. Now, He’s Working on the Resolution With His State Representative.

“We Think This Is an Important Moment in Louisiana History,” Achee Said. “We’ve Been Burning Sugar Cane for 200 Years, and We Think This Will Be a Move in a Positive Direction.”

His Father, John Achee SR., Died Instantly in a Nov. 1, 2008, Crash Involving Seven Vehicles Along La. 308 in Napoleonville That Police Said Was Caused by a Combination of Smoke From Burning Cane Fields and Morning Fog. The Elder Achee Rear-Ended a Pileup of Five Vehicles on the Highway Around 7:30 A.M. That Day Because of Low Visibility of About 2 Feet. His Vehicle Was Then Struck From Behind by a Dump Truck. In Addition to the Fatality, at Least Five People Were Hospitalized as a Result of the Series of Crashes.

“What’s So Ironic About Daddy’s Death Is That Daddy Was Actually Working On Different Alternatives to Burning Sugar Cane,” Achee Said. “He Was Coming up With Different Ways Other Than Burning It Like Bailing It and Using It to Make Electricity.”

The Younger Achee, of Labadieville, Said He Was Inspired to Take Action After Reading a December Advocate Story About the Practice of Agricultural Field Burning in Louisiana and a Series of Crashes in Vermilion Parish That Claimed the Life of Erin Mathew Lapoint.

Lapoint, an Abbeville Police Officer and Lake Arthur Resident, Was Killed in an Oct. 6 Crash on La. 14 in Kaplan When His Car Was Crushed Between a Tanker and a Pick-up Truck. State Police Attributed the Crash to Low Visibility From Heavy Smoke Emanating From a Nearby Rice Field Burn. It Was the Third Crash to Happen on That Stretch of the Highway That Afternoon.

In Addition to the Nonprofit Achee Created to Lobby for Legislative Change, He Also Created a Sister Nonprofit Called the Johnny Achee and Erin Lapoint Foundation.

Achee Said He Hopes to Find Alternatives to Field Burning That Will Benefit Farmers, the Environment and the Public at Large.

“The Two Age Groups That Are Affected the Most by Aggravated Respiratory Issues When They Burn Are Our Children and Our Elderly,” Achee Said. “That’s Unsustainable and Just Not Right, so We Have to Do Something About It. That’s Why We Started What We’re Doing.”

The Legislative Taskforce Will Include People Who Work in the Farming, Fire Safety, Medical and Scientific Industries.

Farmers Generally Oppose Alternatives to Field Burning Because It Is More Expensive and Time-Consuming. It Costs Virtually Nothing to Light Agricultural Waste on Fire, but It Takes Time and Money to Invest in the Machinery and Workers Required for Alternatives, Such as Shredding and Sweeping Debris Into the Middle of Field Rows or Harvesting and Transporting It to a Facility for Processing.

Strain Said Industrial Technology Is Being Developed and the Necessary Infrastructure Will Hopefully Be Constructed Within a Few Years in Louisiana to Make It Economically Valuable for Farmers to Harvest, Transport and Sell Agricultural Waste to Be Converted Into Chemical Energy.

European Countries With Limited Access to Petrochemicals Have Found Ways to Utilize Natural Materials for Energy in the Same Way, the Commissioner Said. He Plans to Work Closely With Amedee, Achee and the Task Force to Find Solutions That Are Beneficial to Everyone.

“Farmers Are Some of the Greatest Innovators in the World,” Strain Said. “They Continue to Innovate Rapidly in Order to Increase Production and to Maintain a Positive Bottom Line, so if You Look at the World of Agriculture, It’s in a Constant State of Innovation, Science, Technology and Growth.”

And for Amedee, Who Represents Farmers and Those Closely Linked to the Industry, the Hope Is to Keep the Lines of Communication Open When It Comes to the Resolution She’s Working On.

“When Farmers See My Name on This, I Imagine They’re Going to Get All Mad and Say ‘What Are You Thinking? What Are You Doing?’ but We’re Just Studying the Possible Alternatives. Don’t You Want to Know if There Are Some?” Amedee Said.

“This Is Nothing Against the Industry. It’s Certainly Not Trying to Harm the Industry. This Is Trying to Help the Industry Improve So It Can Continue Into the Future.”