sugarcane harvesting in...

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