Erath police juror/sugar cane farmer said sugar cane industry gets 'beat up'

Vermilion Parish Police Juror Errol Domingues, who is also a sugar cane farmer, asked his fellow jurors to help defend the sugar cane industry in Vermilion Parish when people or social media users complain about its presence.
In the past 20 years, the sugar cane industry has grown steadily in the parish and is now Vermilion’s top crop. Planting started in the Erath and Delcambre areas and has gradually moved west toward Gueydan.
It is now almost impossible to find rice fields east and north of Kaplan, since sugar cane has replaced them. Sugar cane is more profitable for both landowners and farmers.
As the sugar cane industry has grown, local residents have voiced more criticism. Some complain about heavy 18-wheelers damaging parish roads or sugar cane debris from trucks blocking the roads.
In the past 20 years, Domingues and other sugar cane farmers have heard both praise and criticism about the industry.
At last week’s police jury meeting, Domingues shared his concerns about the complaints he has heard regarding the sugar cane industry. He warned that if these complaints continue, the industry might leave the parish.
“We do not have many industries left in Vermilion Parish,” Domingues said. “Our rice industry has left us. We do not have a rice mill. The market is tough on rice farmers. The oil field has left our parish, and there is no drilling in deepwater.
“As a sugarcane farmer, we get beat up.”
Sugar cane covers 44,000 acres across the parish. This means more than 60,000 sugar cane trucks travel on Vermilion Parish roads during planting and harvesting seasons. The Erath farmers said the sugar cane industry generates close to $50 million a year, which is spread among the landowner, the farmer, and parish businesses. Over the years, Domingues said one of the complaints he has heard from parish residents is why should the parish care about sugar cane farming because it does not generate tax dollars that go back into the parish.
Domingues reminded the other jurors that sugar cane trucks use diesel, so they often refuel in Vermilion Parish or Acadiana. When trucks break down, owners sometimes buy parts or refuel locally. Another plus to having the sugar industry in the parish is that it provides jobs for residents who live in the parish, he said.
“Everywhere we go, as an industry, we are getting bashed,” said Domingues. “I am pleading to the police jury, when you hear people bashing the sugar cane industry, help us a little bit. We want to be goods stewards in the parish, and I think we are, but we have problems. Every industry has problems.”
Domingues was not holding back. Erath Mayor Taylor Mencacci was in the audience because he sits on a police jury committee. Domingues addressed Mencacci about how sugar cane trucks have to travel extra miles in order to avoid driving on new paved roads through the town of Erath. He also complained that sugar cane trucks had to make more turns onto different roads to avoid downtown Erath.
“We have to do that, every day, all day, because certain people did not want the noise through town (Erath),” said Domingues. “They did not want the trucks to go through town. Nobody wants the trucks, no one wants the industry, but everyone wants our tax dollars.
Taylor, imagine what it would do to the town [Erath] if we had an industry that got together and said, ‘You know what, you do not want our trucks, and we have to bypass everything, now we are not buying anything in town (Erath) anymore. Think of that!”
There are certain farmers who will not shop in Abbeville because it has a higher sales tax than other cities in different parishes, he continued.
“It is the industry of what it is. I hope it stays. It is my livelihood.”