BRUSLY — Sugarcane farmers across Louisiana are grappling with the aftermath of Hurricane Francine, which left fields battered and cane stalks bent in its wake.
In Brusly, Drew Masciz expressed optimism despite the visible signs of damage to their fields.
“If this were 30 years ago, it would have been very, very difficult,” Masciz said. “But today, with the technology, the harvester can handle it. It just may take a little longer.”
Masciz, president and CEO of Harry L. Laws & Company, a holding company for agricultural land in West Baton Rouge and Iberville Parishes, says that the modern machinery they use can still retrieve the tangled cane with minimal delays.
“With drier conditions forecasted, the cane will naturally want to grow back up toward the sun, so the machines will be able to get right underneath it. We should be just fine,” he added.
However, Heath Morris, a sugarcane farmer in West Baton Rouge Parish, offered a more cautious outlook. While he believes the crop remains largely intact and that harvesters will be able to collect most of the cane, he raised concerns about harvesting cleanly. The damage, he noted, could make it difficult to remove the tops of the cane, where much of the sucrose content is concentrated.
“The cane is kind of weathered and shaken up,” Morris said. “It’s not flat like a steamroller ran through it, but we’ll see a little bit of a quality loss. We’re not going to be able to cut those tops off of the cane… and that really helps give us a good quality product to send to the mill.”
Despite these challenges, Morris remains hopeful. “All in all, we still think it’s going to be a good year,” he said.
Both farmers plan to begin harvesting next week. Masciz confirmed that their sugar mill is set to begin processing cane on September 16 as scheduled, while Morris will send his cane to White Castle later in the week.
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