The Louisiana Sugar Cane Cooperative (LaSuCa) mill here is set to crank up for the 2023 harvest on Thursday, Sept. 28.
Mike Comb, general manager, is projecting an 87-day grinding season that would wind down around Dec. 23 after harvesting a projected 1.6 million tons of cane.
The near record drought conditions experienced through most of this year's growing season will make the 2023 harvest fall short of the 202223 crop by about 20 percent.
"There are some areas where the cane is so short it might hardly be worth harvesting," Comb says.
Last year's grinding went on for 130 days and ended on Jan. 21 with the St. John mill processing just under 1.9 million tons of cane.
Comb says the mill crew has been busy taking care of last minute issues necessary to prepare for the start of he harvest.
There was some concern that repairs to a stretch of LA 353 Prairie Hwy, which is a major access road to the mill for cane being hauled from farms along I-49 in central Louisiana, would require a detour through Breaux Bridge. But John Hebert, LaSuCa supervisor of grower relations, said Monday that DOTD officials report that the work on the roadway itself is complete and contractors are finishing up shoulder work and driveway entrances.
