In his 33 years of farming sugarcane, Ricky Gonsoulin had never had as good of a crop as the one he saw growing in his fields in 2022. And in 33 years, he had never lost so much as a stalk of sugarcane to a freeze.
But that unlikely scenario came to pass in late December when an arctic blast sent temperatures below freezing for three days across Louisiana.
Read MoreAvery Claire Hebert has ridden or attended many parades over the last 21 years. But on Monday, Hebert road in a unique parade.
Hebert, a 2019 Vermilion Catholic graduate, is the Louisiana Queen LXXIX of the Sugar Cane Festival in Iberia Parish.
I have had a few questions about the soil temperatures during the low temperature event we experienced on December 22, 2022. Note that the American Sugarcane League funded us some new temperature sensors and these were installed in an actual sugarcane field at Dean Lee. The data from these sensors is given below. The blue line is for the 2-inch depth. Note that soil temperatures stayed sufficiently warm that no damage should not have occurred. If you do think you had any damage, please let your ANR agent know.
Read MoreMonday marks the start of the first work week in the New Year — and for Acadiana's sugarcane farmers, it's a busy one.
Read MoreLSU Ag Center experts say the recent freezes were disruptive to the sugar cane industry. Sugar cane specialist Kenneth Gravois the crops now being harvested experienced what he calls a killing freeze.
“We’ve bred some cold tolerance into sugar cane but nothing that can withstand the 16, 17, you know mid-twenty-degree nights that we’ve had,” Gravois said.
Read MoreAvoyelles Parish is one of 11 parishes in Louisiana designated as disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture due to excessive rains in the second half of 2022.
The potential financial aid that farmers, especially local ones, can receive could be crucial for some families already anticipating a significant loss.
Read MoreFor the better part of a decade, people in the drinks industry predicted—at times with breathless enthusiasm—that fresh cane spirits were poised to become the next big thing.
Olivia Stewart, president of Oxbow Estate Rum, recently added an agricole-style rum to the operation’s lineup. She hopes to create an A.O.C.-style designation for Louisiana sugarcane and spirits. The goal is not just to release notable cane spirits, she says, but to support the Louisiana sugarcane industry overall.
Read MoreA severe freeze is forecasted beginning on December 23, 2022, and for a series of nights afterwards. At the time of the December 23rd freeze, the industry will be about 83% harvested. All sugarcane remaining in the industry will be damaged to some extent. Every freeze event is different and forecasting the extent that harvest can be completed is impossible. Deterioration following a freeze is temperature dependent – higher temperatures will increase deterioration and lower temperatures will reduce deterioration.
Read MoreAs sugar cane trucks line Lafourche Parish roads this month to gather the 2022 harvest, local farmers have something to celebrate – sugar cane crops this year may go down as being one of the best the state has ever seen.
According to industry trade group American Sugar Cane League, the state’s greatest harvest on record is considered to have been in 2016, when Louisiana sugar cane farmers produced about 251 pounds of sugar per gross ton of sugar cane.
Read MoreLouisiana cotton production and yields were both higher in November while sugarcane production and yield were both down.
Read MoreOne of the reasons the American Sugar Cane League has been so successful in improving the sugarcane industry is its ability to collaborate.
We’ve partnered with several groups over the last 100 years. Among them are the United States Department of Agriculture, Louisiana State University AgCenter and the American Sugar Alliance but we’ve especially enjoyed a close relationship with the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.
Read MoreTwo centuries of sweet, sweet history make up Louisiana’s sugarcane industry. The American Sugar Alliance shares more about the industry’s resilience and success.
Read MoreWhen Wenceslaus “June” Provost Jr. comes out to the sugarcane field in New Iberia, Louisiana, the first thing he does is open up a window. Not a house window, but a window through the sugarcane field, an opening that he creates using a tractor.
Read MoreAs you sit down with family and friends this Thanksgiving, you may not realize how key our nation’s Land-grant Universities are to making sure you have a bounty of food to enjoy. Since 1887, researchers at these public institutions have been conducting research to improve the nutrition and quality of the food we eat. Learn more about NIFA-funded research on foods that may be on your Thanksgiving menu.
Read MoreFor most of the country, November is the month that agricultural activities are winding down and producers start planning for next year. It’s a time for reflection and thanksgiving.
But on this November 24 Thanksgiving Day, Louisiana’s sugarcane farmers and millers will be hard at work harvesting and milling cane into raw sugar. Yes, they’ll manage to squeeze in a hearty meal with their families, but sugarcane doesn’t recognize any holidays. Producers are under an unknown deadline to get the crop in before a potential killing freeze descends upon south Louisiana. A freeze, even a light freeze, can lessen sugar content.
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