The River Road African American Museum in Donaldsonville holds important pieces of Louisiana history. The organization maintains a former Rosenwald school and one of the first sugarcane planting machines created by two Black men.
In the early 1900s, education wasn’t easily accessible for everyone. By the middle of the century, two prominent Black men had created dozens of schools in the South, one of which is now in Donaldsonville.
Read MoreThe American Sugar Cane League’s annual meeting will feature guest speaker Robert Johansson, the director of economics and policy analysis of the Washington-based American Sugar Alliance.
Johansson will make his remarks at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 6 at L’Auberge Hotel & Casino in Baton Rouge. He will speak on renewal of the farm bill and national sugar policy.
Read MoreWhen considering a sugarcane soil fertility program, follow these guidelines. The number one priority should be the soil pH. Soil pH that is outside the optimum ranges will adversely affect the availability of all other applied nutrients. The second most important component of your fertility program should be nitrogen, followed by potassium, sulfur and phosphorus. Soil testing should be a regular part of your soil fertility program. Periodic leaf tissue analyses can verify midseason plant health
Read MoreThe Louisiana Sugarcane Industry has now completed 229 years of commercial sugar production. Considering it’s the northernmost sugarcane growing region in the world, that’s certainly something to be proud of.
Read MoreBe sure to mark February 6-7 on your 2024 calendar. Those are the dates of the annual meeting of the American Sugar Cane League. The League, founded in 1922, depends on the continued support of the sugarcane industry’s growers, millers and landowner members and we’d like everyone to be there.
Read MoreLouisiana Sugarcane Cooperative located in St. Martinville processes sugar from nine parishes. Ag. Division Manager John Hebert said the sugarcane yield from the summers crop were the effects of the drought.
Read MoreDespite losses of $1.69 billion in Louisiana agriculture and forestry from the statewide drought, only portions of Iberia Parish are affected and as farmers strive to overcome it, industry continues to move into the region.
Sugarcane profits in Iberia Parish dropped by 30% because of the drought affecting much of the region, according to local farmer Ronnie Gonsoulin.
Read MoreRecently, big corporate candy executives have been pushing a false narrative that there is a domestic sugar shortage. According to a recent report from the United States Department of Agriculture, not only are these reports totally false — there is actually a plentiful supply of sugar, assuring American families they will once again enjoy another holiday season with all their favorite treats.
Read MoreThe Mississippi River levee in front of retired sugarcane farmer George “Scrap” Hymel’s Gramercy, Louisiana home has been the site of a Christmas Eve bonfire for 53 years. Hymel saw his last bonfire in 2022; he passed away on December 30, 2022.
But for the Hymel family to not participate in the annual tradition of building the holiday bonfire was out of the question.
Read MoreGiambri’s candy canes are made almost entirely of sugar — and all are made by hand.
To find out more, we went to the land of Mardi Gras and jazz bands. Why? Because Louisiana is also the home of sugarcane. We drove an hour and a half west of New Orleans to visit one farm.
Read MoreThe worst drought Louisiana endured in decades brought concerns of significant declines in sugar tonnage this year at Cora Texas Manufacturing Co., but prospects now look brighter.
Rain and mild weather in mid-October fueled growth of sugarcane and a better outlook for the 2023 harvest, said Charles Schudmak, chief operating officer/secretary for Cora Texas in White Castle.
Read MoreThe USTR’s reallocation of 223,740 tonnes, raw value, of unused raw cane sugar TRQ allocations for 2023-24 was one of the earliest reallocations on record and should help ease tight raw cane sugar supplies. US raw cane supply is tight because of drought- reduced output in Louisiana and Mexico and a sizeable TRQ shortfall mostly due to the Philippines designating all of its production for domestic use this year.
Read MoreAs of December 1, Louisiana upland cotton production is forecast at 210,000 bales, down 30,000 bales from the November 1 forecast and down 148,000 bales from last year. Yield is expected to average 877 pounds per harvested acre, down 125 pounds from last month and down 27 pounds from 2022. Harvested acreage is estimated at 115,000 acres, down 75,000 acres from 2022.
Read MoreSugarcane farmers, like the rest of Acadiana, have been experiencing a record-breaking drought.
Eddie Lewis III, the operator of Eddie Lewis Cane Farm, LLC, said that the harvest season had started rough. He said he started harvesting in September and October, and the cane was coming out 15 to 20 tons to the acre, which is below average.
Read MoreThis year’s Louisiana sugarcane crop will fall short of last year’s record crop, but it isn’t as bad as many believed when the harvest started at the end of September. LSU AgCenter reporter Craig Gautreaux has this report from south Louisiana.
Read More
