It’s planting season for sugarcane farmers in Louisiana as they replenish fields that are older than three years and no longer yielding as much sugar.
When President Donald Trump said he wanted Coca-Cola to use sugarcane in its signature drink, instead of high-fructose corn syrup, it brought a lot of attention to the industry.
Patrick Frischhertz is the son-in-law of an eighth generation sugarcane farmer. He’s been in the business for close to 16 years, and he oversees St. Louis Planting in Plaquemine. The company farms sugarcane and soybeans. When Trump boasted he’d convinced Coca-Cola to use natural sugar, Frischhertz said it was welcome news.
“It seems to be getting everybody talking about sugar cane in Louisiana and our natural product. And as farmers we're really appreciative of it,” Frischhertz.
Israel Huerta is originally from Mexico, and he’s been a U.S. citizen since 2013. He’s worked on the farm in Plaquemine for even longer. He admits he’s biased when it comes to comparing the high-fructose corn syrup in Coca-Cola to the one made with sugarcane.
“Actually, I think in Mexico they use that already. They use sugarcane and it tastes better. And it's, it is more, uh, it's not, I'm not, I'm not gonna say healthy, but it’s better, you know? Yeah. It's better,” Huerta.
According to the USDA, Florida produces the most sugarcane in the country–more than 17 million tons annually, followed by Louisiana, which produces 13.8 million tons.
So if there is an increase in demand, farmers here are likely to see it. I asked Frischhertz if he’s noticed this.
“ No, no. Our farm has not heard anything from any distributors or beverage manufacturers about trying to increase sugar, by any means. For us, it's business as usual and working hard out in the field to produce the best crop that we possibly can,” said Frischhertz.
Coca-Cola has stated they plan to release a line of their signature beverage sweetened with sugarcane in the U.S. this fall.
In the meantime, Frischhertz said he’ll watch and wait, see if the demand for sugarcane in soft drinks increases, and plant accordingly.