Cane Harvest Reaches 30.8M Tons

WASHINGTON - Jan 11/08 - SNS -- Sugarcane production for sugar and seed in 2007 is forecast at 30.8 million tons, of which 29.1 million tons are expected to be for sugar and 1.73 million tons are for seed, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) final crop report for 2007.

Production of cane for sugar and seed is up 1% from the December forecast and 4% above 2006 production. Sugarcane growers intend to harvest 883,500 acres for sugar and seed during the 2007 crop year, 2% less than last year. If realized, this will be the lowest area harvested for sugar and seed since 1990. Yield is forecast at 34.9 tons per acre, up 0.5 ton from December and up 2.0 tons from last year.

Expected harvested area is down from last year in Florida and Louisiana but up in Hawaii and Texas. Yields are up from last year in all States except Texas. Florida weather has remained dry in the sandland sugarcane growing area around Hendry County, allowing harvest of the sugarcane crop to progress normally.

The absence of major weather events in 2007 helped harvest run smoothly in Louisiana. Louisiana farmers are expecting the second highest yield on record behind 1999 when the State set a record yield of 32.7 net tons per acre. Texas sugarcane harvest began in early October after being delayed due to unseasonably wet conditions during the summer.

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