Nostalgia & History > USSC additional shots, burning fields and unloading

Shots of USSC on 11/16/2008 at dumper Vaughn 2. Burning fields at Weather 1. They have to burn the cane fields before they go in and harvest the cane.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

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Do you know the reason why most sugar cane trailers and railcars are screen-sided?  Is it just because it's very low density, or is moisture control a factor, too?

Ray 

     A more important question is why are they burning the cane crop before it is harvested ???  Many farmers burn the stalks after harvesting wheat especially, not so much for corn or milo. The reason in the past for wheat was that there is some fertilizer residue left in the stalks but it was unknown how much. So, they burned it every year and started over so they knew how much fertilizer they were adding and not over treating. At least that was one reason. Many now plow the stalks in and let them rot, adding to the soil for the next crop. And there is 'no till' farming too where they plant right into the undisturbed stalks of the last crop.

The way to approach this question is you google "why are sugar cane fields burned" .  And the answer is to reduce the amount of folage so only the stalks are hauled.
Roger Beckett

Thanks for the explanation Roger.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL