# Louisiana’s bagasse supply chain gets $74,975 in technical-assistance funding

> A USDA grant will support work with farming, transport and biofuel businesses in Lafourche Parish, focusing on opportunities around the sugarcane side stream.

URL: https://foodradar.org/louisiana-bagasse-supply-chain-technical-assistance
Language: en
Author: FoodRadar Editorial
Published: 2026-10-07T10:08:21.870Z
Updated: 2026-10-07T10:08:21.870Z
Source publication date: 2026-10-02
Category: Investments
Türkçe: https://foodradar.org/tr/louisiana-bagasse-supply-chain-technical-assistance

## Funding the work before an investment

USDA Rural Development awarded $74,975 to the South Central Planning and Development Commission to strengthen the sugarcane bagasse economy. Announced on 2 October 2026, the grant will fund technical assistance for businesses connected to the supply chain in Louisiana’s Lafourche Parish.

The recipient is the regional planning and development commission, rather than a single processing company. It will use the support to help companies examine opportunities and upgrades across the bagasse supply chain.

## Agriculture, transport and biofuel manufacturing

The announcement identifies three groups expected to receive assistance: the local farming sector, transport businesses and biofuel manufacturing companies. Bringing those activities into the same project reflects the supply-chain scope of the award, from agricultural activity to movement and use of the material.

The funding comes through the Rural Business Development Grants programme. USDA describes that programme as supporting targeted technical assistance, training and other activities intended to help small and emerging private businesses develop and expand in rural areas.

## What has—and has not—been announced

The confirmed commitment is a technical-assistance grant. The release does not identify a new commercial plant, a bagasse-processing technology selected for installation, or a contracted production volume. It also gives no quantified forecast for additional biofuel output.

For the food and agricultural sector, the relevance lies in the attention paid to a sugarcane side stream and the businesses needed to move and use it. The next concrete developments would be the opportunities and upgrades identified through the funded work; the announcement itself does not establish that those investments have already been made.

## Sources and rights

- [USDA Rural Development Awards Grant to South Central Planning and Development Commission to Strengthen Bagasse Supply Chain](https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/news-release/usda-rural-development-awards-grant-south-central-planning-and-development-commission-strengthen?utm_source=foodradar.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=louisiana-bagasse-supply-chain-technical-assistance-en). U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture. PUBLIC-DOMAIN.

Adapted by FoodRadar.

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