BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor and Contributing Writer
Featured Photograph: Farmers and cattlemen from St. Landry Parish were honored Tuesday by the Opelousas Rotary Club included (standing) Chet Sylvester, Floyd Dupre, (siting) Lance Hebert and Kenneth Taylor.
Four individuals and their families who make a living on St. Landry Parish soil and grasslands were recognized Tuesday by the Opelousas Rotary Club.
Club members presented their annual Farmer and Cattlemen of the Year plaques during a regular meeting held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in downtown Opelousas.
Program chairman Mike Ortego said four individuals were honored since the Club did not present the awards last year.
Kenneth Taylor and Floyd Dupre were presented with the Cattlemen awards. Lance Hebert and Chet Sylvester were given Farmer of The Year plaques.
Dupre uses a 800 acres in the Bayou Waxia area for raising a variety of cattle breeds, while Taylor’s acreage is on the Texas Eastern Road north of Opelousas.
Hebert’s farm is located near Leonville, while Sylvester’s crops are planted around Whiteville.
Ortego noted that Hebert is a third generation farmer, while Taylor has worked with cattle his entire life.
St. Landry Parish County Agent Vincent Deshotel said all the men recognized by the club are dedicated to a profession that can be challenging at times.
Sylvester said Deshotel, should be considered as one of the early farmers who developed the crawfishing industry in St. Landry, while Taylor has become one of the top sugar cane farmers in the parish.
Hebert Deshotel said, is perhaps one of the first farmers who have used technology to their advantage, while Dupre’s extensive herds include both pure and mixed-bred cattle.
Deshotel, who also operates a farm in Evangeline Parish, said farming is an occupation which can be both rewarding and disappointing.
“You’ve got to be passionate about what you do. You rarely hear about the good times that come with farming. What you normally hear about are the bad times,” said Deshotel.
The war in Ukraine has cast a worldwide agricultural effect, as grain and fertilizer prices have soared since the outbreak of the conflict, while the prices of grain commodities have increased mainly because of shortages caused by the war.
Russia and the Ukraine each annually grown enormous amounts of wheat and provide ingredient used for fertilizer. Louisiana however continues to be a location that should continue to benefit commercially, since Deshotel estimated 50 percent of all grain grown in the United States goes through New Orleans.
Deshotel said sugar cane production in St. Landry has almost tripled to 30,000 planted acres annually. Farmers in the parish are discovering that much of the soil composition in St. Landry has proven suitable for cane production.
Also sugar cane producers are benefitting from industry incentives in addition to a tropical climate which favors sugar cane growth, said Deshotel.
Ortega said agriculture remains the largest parish industry.
Deshotel said there are between 300 and 400 commercial farmers in St. Landry and soybeans, which cover about 90,000 acres, continue to be the parish’s largest grown crop.
