Because sugarcane varieties are the lifeblood of the Louisiana sugar industry, variety selection is one of your most important decisions on the farm. That decision has long-term consequences. The goal is to maximize profitability on every acre of the farm for each year of a long crop cycle.
Read MoreOn a recent family vacation, I saw that a pretty good chunk of America is biting off a pretty big chunk of renewable energy. From wind and solar power, to alternative fuels like biodiesel - diversifying our sources of energy seems to be the wave of the future. Luckily, Louisiana seems to be on board with the next stage of evolution in the energy world. We've already started to get electricity from Oklahoma wind farms in Caddo Parish via SWEPCO - but the next step includes cooking up a little home-grown alternative fuel ourselves, Louisiana style.
Read MoreIn yet another sign that our society is inching back to a pre-pandemic “normal,” the LSU AgCenter hosted a sugarcane field day in Pointe Coupee Parish the first week of June.
It was the first in-person field day for sugarcane since the pandemic began. More than 60 producers, consultants and other interested parties were hosted by producer Joby Beaud at his shop on Labarre Road near Morganza. Beaud farms 3,000 acres
Read MoreThe American Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ASSCT), will hold its 50th annual joint meeting June 15-16 online. Researchers and industry experts will give presentations beginning at 8:30 a.m. June 15 covering topics ranging from sucrose content to management of pests and successes in the industry.
Read MoreTwo pieces of legislation that could slow solar development in Louisiana moved forward at the State Capitol Wednesday. A House resolution and Senate bill both advanced out of committees without opposition.
Read MoreRight now, the next generation of Louisiana sugarcane producers is getting their start as farmers, milling professionals, and researchers. It’s the circle of life in the sugarcane world.
Read MoreThere was great concern among Louisiana sugarcane farmers that the record cold temperatures at Mardi Gras would cause significant damage. It doesn’t appear the crop suffered any long-term effect from the freeze, but a cool, wet March and April has limited growth.
According to Kenneth Gravois, LSU AgCenter sugarcane specialist, damage was limited to a few isolated fields.
Read MoreSpring is the time when gardeners are busy preparing their rows and getting the soil ready for seed planting. It’s a rite of spring, a time for rebirth and new growth.
Some of you nurtured tomato plants in a protected spot hoping to get a head start on your tomatoes. With a successful garden, you become the most popular person in the neighborhood because you have too many tomatoes, eggplants and cucumbers and you are proud to give them away.
Across Louisiana, soybean, corn, and cotton farmers are doing the same thing.
Read MoreThe vernal equinox, aka spring equinox, came and went Saturday, March 20, marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
As all good aggies know, that means the economists at the Food and Agricultural Policy Institute (FAPRI) at the University of Missouri just published their new 10-year baseline for agricultural production and programs.
Read MoreAfter a year-long fight, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on a number of businesses and industries — but agriculture in Iberia Parish not only survived, it thrived.
Growing crops and harvesting them is a way of life in Iberia Parish. From corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, grain sorghum, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables and even to cattle, the Teche Area’s agriculture is one of the most profitable businesses in Louisiana.
Read MoreSugar executive Randy Romero of Abbeville was elected president of the American Sugar Cane League by the organization’s membership.
He is the 51st president of the League, which was founded in 1922 by Louisiana’s sugar interests. He has been a League director since 2009.
Read MoreThe US Department of Agriculture, in its March 9 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, lowered from February forecast sugar imports from Mexico as expected but also raised US sugar production and lowered deliveries, resulting in a higher-than-expected ending stocks-to-use ratio of 15.1% for the current 2020-21 marketing year.
Deliveries for food were forecast at 12,125,000 tons, raw value, down 75,000 tons from the February forecast and down 191,000 tons, or 1.6%, from 2019-20. Other delivery categories were unchanged from February, with total use forecast at 12,265,000 tons, down 75,000 tons from February and down 284,000 tons from a year earlier.
Read MoreLouisiana farmers grow many of the annual staple crops found across the United States, including corn, soybean, cotton and grain sorghum. However, Louisiana’s No. 1 valued row crop is sugarcane, a perennial that is only grown in two other states, Florida and Texas. Sugarcane was grown on 500,000 acres in 2020, adding more than $3 billion to the state’s economy.
Read MoreDue to the COVID - 19 virus, the 2021 Mid South Agricultural Labor Seminar will be conducted this year as a Zoom Virtual Seminar on Tuesday, March 9, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. There is no registration fee to attend. This year, with new employer responsibilities due to the COVID virus, this year’s topics will focus on important current issues such as COVID pay, OSHA Regulations and Reporting Requirements and Housing.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction inducted three new members during a ceremony March 4 at the L’Auberge Hotel in Baton Rouge.
The new inductees are former Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation President Ronnie Anderson, of Ethel; sugarcane farmer John Gay, of Plaquemine; and Paul “Jackie” Loewer, of Branch, a rice farmer who has been a strong advocate for the rice industry in state and national organizations.
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