Raising cane

By Carrie A. Mizell

Agriculture students at Trenton Middle-High School are raising cane, and learning to make syrup.
Nearly 200 students, in grades five through 12, braved the rain on Monday to grind sugar cane, and boil the juice to make cane syrup.
According to Heather Rucker, ag. teacher at TMHS, the students planted and harvested 6,000 feet of sugar cane, doubling their cane crop from last year.

Nicholas Higginbotham and Jake Reed unload sugar cane stalks off the ag. department’s trailer.

It’s the third year the ag. students have made cane syrup and sold it to raise money for program activities. Bottles of cane syrup will be sold again this year and prices will range from $3 to $8 per bottle.
Just before the Thanksgiving break from school, ag. students cut down the sugar cane last Monday and began grinding the stalks last Tuesday.
They also planted a new crop of sugar cane for next year, since it takes a full 12 months for the stalks to reach maturity.
After a lenghty break, the students returned to school on Monday ready to start making syrup.
The cane was hauled off a trailer and ground by a tractor powered grinder that extracted the juice, which was then boiled to make syrup.

Austin Polk drove the Ford tractor that powered the grinder as his classmates loaded bundles of cane.

Gilchrist County natives Roy Langford and his son, Alvin Langford helped the ag. students get their start making cane syrup three years ago. That year the students boiled cane on the Langford family farm. Since then, Rucker explained that the cane syrup has been grown and produced at the school’s ag. department.
On Tuesday morning, Roy Langford, was at the ag. department to talk with students about making syrup.
“I think it’s important for these kids to learn how to do this; it teaches them to work,” Langford said.
At 78, Langford explained that he has spent much of his life making cane syrup. He grows six to seven rows each year, that are 600 feet long. This year he and his son. Alvin made 30 gallons of syrup.
Langford explained that his family bottles syrup in anything and everything, including a Coca-Cola bottle.
“I give away a lot more that I sell,” Langford said.
Rucker has a number of guests like Langford lined up to attend the cane grinding and syrup making this week.
“I thought it would be nice to ask people from the community, with a background in syrup making, to come in each day this week and talk with students while we’re making syrup,” Rucker said.
Trenton ag. students will continue making cane syrup through Friday. To purchase a bottle or learn more about the project, call 463-3273.