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Sugarcane Harvesting in
Louisiana Benjamin L. Legendre, Ph.D.
Professor and Department Head
Audubon Sugar Institute
St. Gabriel, Louisiana
HC&S Community Open House, April 15, 2014
TX LA
HI
FL Sugarcane in Louisiana
• 500 family farms
• 11 sugar factories (3 cooperatives)
• 440,000 acres (2013)
• 14,036,000 tons cane (2013)
• 1,557,000 tons sugar (2013)
• No. 1 row crop in LA grossing approximately $3 billion (2013)
Burning is used to reduce trash content
and improve cane quality
100% of the Louisiana sugarcane crop area is
burned either pre- or post-harvest Post-harvest burning of
cane laid on ground
between two rows
harvested by soldier
harvester
(10% of total crop)
Pre-harvest burning
of standing
cane to be harvested
by combine harvester
(20% of total crop)
Post-harvest burning
of residue resulting
from green cane
harvesting
(70% of total crop)
Soldier Harvester
Rear view of soldier harvester in green
cane
Frontal view of soldier
harvester in
green cane
Post-Harvest Burning
Cane harvested by soldier harvester is
burned on “heap” row
(10 % of total crop)
Mechanical loading of whole-stalk cane
Frontal view of combine harvester in
green cane
Green Cane Harvesting
Approximately 70% of the Louisiana crop is
harvested green by the cane combine prior to
burning of the harvest residue
Rear view of combine harvester in green
cane showing harvest residue
Green Cane Harvesting
Harvest Residue Residue left on field from green cane harvesting is
burned off usually within one to two weeks of harvest
(represents 70% of the total crop)
Failure to remove this residue results in a reduction of
15 - 20% in the subsequent stubble crop. Unlike Maui,
note that the terrain is flat in Louisiana.
Pre-harvest Burning in Standing Cane
Approximately 20% of the Louisiana crop is
burned standing prior to harvest by cane
combines
Combine harvesting in burned cane
In conclusion, nearly
100% of the total acres of
sugarcane grown in
Louisiana is burned in
some manner, i.e., pre-
harvest or post-harvest.
Further, at any one time
there might be 100 or
more fires burning at the
same time as each of the
500 farms is an
independent unit.
What are the benefits of burning sugarcane?
• Lower cost of production that benefits growers and consumers
• Allows more efficient harvesting of sugarcane
• Reduces number of hauling units on highways reducing wear
and tear on our highways
• Decreases the volume of material to be processed
• Shortens the harvest season by as much as 10%
• Increases the yield of sugar per ton of cane
• Reduces wear and tear on field and factory equipment
• Reduces energy expenditures in the field and the factory
What are the objectives of smoke & ash management? • Be a good and considerate neighbor
• Minimize the adverse effect caused by open field burning of
sugarcane
• Prevent smoke and ash from being blown across public
highways and airports
• Prevent smoke and ash from affecting public areas, especially
public health facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, etc.
• Prevent smoke and ash from affecting schools at times when
students are present
• Prevent smoke and ash from affecting individual homes,
subdivisions, and other housing facilities
• Minimize ash fallout that may result from burning sugarcane