Louisiana's sugar cane farmers see decent yields in 2015
LAFAYETTE- Farmers and industry experts say Louisiana's 2015 sugar cane harvest was a wet, muddy mess. The state's 11 sugar mills finished grinding for the season last week.
Jim Simon, general manager of the American Sugar Cane League, says despite the challenges, this year's crop yields have been decent, and the going 24 cents per pound sugar is getting now is decent, too.
Simon says the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated Louisiana's 465 cane growers would produce 1.45 million tons of raw sugar from the 2015 crop. However, he estimated that 10 percent to 15 percent was lost because of the weather.
Kenny Gravois, a sugar cane specialist with the LSU AgCenter, says farmers were helped by low fuel costs this year.