The 52nd St. Martin Parish Sugarcane Field Day is set for July 25

The 52nd annual St. Martin Parish Sugarcane Field Day has been scheduled for this Friday, July 25.
The program will begin with registration 1-2 p.m. at the Levert St. John tractor shed near St. Martinville, followed by a field tour.
Highlights of the field tour stops include an agriculture drone demonstration, a sugarcane variety trial, a sugarcane weed control plot, and a new experimental billet planter demonstration.
Upon completion of the field tour participants will gather at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Parks. The indoor program is scheduled to begin around 4 p.m.
This year attendees will be addressed by Guy Cormier, St. Martin Parish president, and Jim Simon, general manager of the American Sugarcane League.
They will be followed on the program LSU AgCenter and USDA sugarcane specialists.
The 52nd annual Sugarcane Field Day is dedicated to the memory of farmers and agribusiness people that have passed away in 2013-2014, including Noonie Viator.
A detailed agenda of the field day is as follows:
•Registration and equipment displays starting at 1 p.m. at Levert St. John tractor shed, St. Martinville.
•Welcome by Stuart Gauthier, county agent, at 2 p.m., followed by the blessing of the crop by the Rev. Richard Fabre, St. Rita Catholic Church.
•Drone demonstration by Randy Price and Jimmy Flanagan of the LSU AgCenter.
•Sugarcane varieties presented by Ed Dufrene, agronomist, USDA.
•Planter demonstration by Brian Ball, agronomist, AMSCL.
•Weed control at planting, Dr. Al Orgeron, LSU AgCenter.
•Disease control at planting, Dr. Jeff Hoy, pathologist, LSU AgCenter.
•Insect control at planting, Dr. Julien Beuzelin, LSU AgCenter entomologist.
•General assembly in the Knights of Columbus Hall, Parks, with the call to order at 4 p.m. by Charlie Levert, chairman, Sugarcane Advisory Committee, and welcome by Stuart Gauthier, county agent.
Guest Speakers:
•Guy Cormier, St. Martin Parish president.
•Jim Simon, general manager of the American Sugar Cane League, with an industry update.
• Ed Dufrene, USDA agronomist, on new sugarcane variety releases.
•Dr. Kenneth Gravois, LSU AgCenter sugarcane specialist, with 2014 sugarcane variety recommendations.
•Dr. Al Orgeron, LSU AgCenter, with 2014 Sugar Ripener Recommendations.
County agent Stuart Gauthier reports that in 2013, St. Martin Parish sugarcane growers produced a record 240 million pound of sugar on 31,347 harvested acres of land. This accounted for a gross farm value of nearly $34 million.
The 2014 crop is estimated to be 15 to 20 percent less than last year. Cold wet winter weather damaged some sugarcane stubble. A lingering cold spring did not accelerate needed crop growth and left fields lagging behind the expected average growth measurements.
Sugarcane acreage in the northern part of the parish bore some of the most extensive damage. This caused an increase in acreage that was plowed out this spring. However, many fields along Bayou Teche have made good growth in the last month and may end up making a good yield provided that favorable growing conditions continue into the fall.
Anyone interested in sugarcane production is invited to attend the field day. For more information, contact Gauthier at (337) 332-2181 or at sgauthier@agctr.lsu.edu.