Louisiana Sugarcane Crop Hit by Frost in Fresh Blow to US Supply
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Louisiana’s sugarcane fields have been hit by the cold blast covering a large swath of the country, and the exposure might erode the yield outlook for next year’s harvest, according to World Weather Inc.
The state and Florida are the top US producers of sweetener made from cane. Temperatures reached the upper teens and low 20s Fahrenheit Friday morning and are expected to drop to similar levels throughout the weekend, which could imperil the plants. Depending on what type of weather they receive in the spring, older plant yields could be impacted in the 2023-24 harvest, Drew Lerner, president of the weather service, said by phone.