Producing Sugar Sustainably | Sugarcane Research at LSU

I've been surrounded by the Louisiana sugar industry all my life, so it's just something that I grew up with and I guess it's in my blood. Dr. Kenneth Gravois is a sugar cane specialist at the LSU AgCenter. Surrounded by trays of tiny plants and acres of mature crops, he works to improve sugar cane varieties. As the son and grandson of farmers, he enjoys learning and being outside while making a difference in an industry that is at the heart of his community. A career in agricultural research was a match made in heaven. The AgCenter's new varieties have meant record-setting crops for growers and sustainability through reduced use of pesticides and fertilizer. Developing a new variety doesn't happen overnight. It takes 12 years of intensive teamwork across several agencies. Over the course of 12 years, you're collecting data, boots on the ground. The goal is to increase yields with varieties that provide more tons of cane per acre with higher sucrose levels or protect yields with varieties that are disease and insect resistant. We're spraying a whole lot less insecticide today than we were 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago. The research helps farmers with the bottom line by increasing yield or cutting the cost of raising crops by reducing inputs like pesticides and fertilizers. Little by little, piece by piece, you're just assembling a game plan for that grower to make money and to be a good neighbor. Being a good neighbor means growing a crop that is socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Being a good neighbor just falls into that big term we call sustainability. We want our growers to be economically sustainable. Our markets want a crop every year, so they have to be economically viable. We need to be environmentally sustainable. We want to take care of the land, the air, and the water around which we live and work. I think we do a good job of that in Louisiana. America's sugar farmers and workers continue to build a brighter future by producing sugar sustainably.