Raising Cane in Acadiana

Cajuns are raising a lot more cane in Acadiana, and not just in the "passing a good time" partying sense. Sugarcane farming has gradually become a dominant part of the agricultural scene in south Louisiana.

During its bicentennial anniversary in 1995-96, the cane industry was highlighted by Louisiana State University's library collection of historic photos and artifacts. Also, a museum exhibition entitled "Raising Cane: 200 Years of Sugar Production in Louisiana" was presented for public viewing that year by the Historic New Orleans Collection.

The history of sugarcane farming in Louisiana began about 1750, reputedly when Jesuit priests grew plants from Santo Domingo in the Jackson Square area of New Orleans. Pieces of the chewable stalks were first sold as an exotic candy, but more serious botanical exploitation was being pursued by 1795.

Large cane-growing plantations were established along the lower Mississippi and bayou regions; navigable waterways were initially a necessity for transporting the crop. In its early years, the sugarcane industry was not a Cajun pursuit but was mainly associated with rich Creole planters who used slaves and immigrant laborers. Until the late 19th century, the back-breaking work of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and processing was done almost entirely by hand. There were primitive mule-drawn rollers to squeeze the juice by crushing the stalks. The sweet liquid was then heated and converted into molasses or other cane products.

Processes were developed to granulate sugar from the cane juice. About 700 sugar houses were operating on Louisiana plantations by 1827, but less than 200 survived after the Civil War. Increasingly, sugar factories became more centralized and only two commercial refineries now remain for intrastate sugar production.

Other Louisiana entrepreneurs learned to make syrup products from cane. In 1910, the C. S. Steen Syrup Mill began as a small family business on the banks of the Vermilion Bayou. It continues today as a multi-employee economic leader and unique tourist attraction in the area. The name Steen's has a worldwide reputation for pure ribbon-cane syryp produced by an old-fashioned open-kettle process. Residents of Abbeville associate "football weather" (the year's first cool spell) with the enticing sniffs of hot syrup vapors in the autumn air. The sound of a long whistle from the mill traditionally signals the end of the grinding season: it is reminescent of plantation days when "roulaison" celebrations were held after the last load of cane was done.

Technological and scientific advances after World War II pushed the cane industry toward its current level of large-scale agribusiness. An increasing number of Cajun farmers with the "courage to change" from old ways are opting to invest in cooperative sugarcane enterprises.

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