Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau holds annual banquet

The 63rd Annual Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau Federation held their yearly banquet and honored new board members and a new Farm Bureau queen.
The banquet was held Sunday night at the Farm Bureau Office building in Abbeville.
Errol Domingues, the 2013 president for the local Farm Bureau district, addressed the packed room about the state of the parish’s Farm Bureau offices and Farm Bureau members, along with the future of farming in the parish.
Domingues gave his thoughts on what the new 2014 Farm Bill will do to the farm industry in the state and parish.
Domingues, who is a sugar cane farmer, educated those in the room that the price of sugar is at its lowest in 25 years. He said the reason for the low price is because of the large amount of sugar that is in the world market.
Current raw sugar prices are below 20 cents per pound and are below the cost of production for Louisiana sugar cane growers, according to LSU AgCenter’s estimates for typical cost and returns.
Countries such as Mexico are “dumping” sugar in the U.S. market.
The North American Free Trade Agreement allows Mexico to export an unlimited amount of sugar into the U.S. NAFTA was signed into law around 1994 and since then U.S. sugar production has remained relatively flat while the Mexican industry has nearly doubled with most of this new sugar entering the U.S. market.
“[These are] trying times for the sugar industry,” Domingues said.
It was not only farming issues the Farm Bureau members addressed.
A new Farm Bureau queen was crowned by outgoing queen Laura Couvillon of Kaplan.
Anne Catherine LeBlanc, a 17-year-old home school student, accepted the crown from Couvillon. LeBlanc is the daughter of Steven and Manique LeBlanc of Abbeville. She will be graduating from Seton Home Study in May. LeBlanc is the state 4-H president.
Farm Bureau also honored the Thibodeaux family for the work Brady Thibodeaux did for Farm Bureau in Vermilion Parish. Thibodeaux is a charter member of the Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau. He helped found the board in 1951. He served as president from 1954 to 1956.
The Thibodeaux family received the Life Time Achievement Award.
Also honored was John Patrick McClain, who received the Dwayne Zaunbrecher Vermilion Parish Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Memorial Scholarship. McClain is majoring in Agbusiness at McNeese University.
Gabe Marceaux, the parish’s tax assessor, spoke to the members.
New board members were named.
Domingues was elected president of the Farm Bureau district.