Louisiana Sugar Cane in Flooded Fields

Muddy sugar cane harvest in southern Louisiana. Photo by Abby Tabor, DailyComet.com.

Record rain in December left many sugar-cane farmers out in the mud, their machines straining through flooded fields as they harvested as much as they could, reports Lloyd Nelson III for the Daily Comet of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana.

For some local farmers, the end of a muddy grinding season that saw more than 11 inches of rain fall in the Houma-Thibodaux area can’t come soon enough.

Early results have been mixed, said Mike Hebert, agent with the LSU AgCenter. Hebert said this year’s tonnage will be greater than last because of the mud and debris. However, the yield, or sugar per ton, will be around 20 pounds lighter than last year because the mud has made processing difficult.

Lafourche Parish has 25,000 acres of sugar-cane fields.

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