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PROFILES

Ben & Ben Becnel Father and son farming team Ben Becnel Sr. and Ben Becnel Jr. are the fifth and sixth generation to work their family-owned farm. The two have been in business together for over 40 years, since the younger graduated from high school. The secret to their success, they say, is in their soil. The Becnels manage 250 acres in the rich delta soil along the banks of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Their land — 250 acres of fields and trees — lies roughly fifteen miles downriver from the tunnel, around Jesuit Bend. This gives their satsumas, oranges, grapefruits and Meyer lemons a uniquely rich and sweet flavor. Ben & Ben Becnel also provides Rouses with Creole tomatoes during that season. Butch Millet Fruit trees grow everywhere in Paulina,Louisiana, in St. James Parish, on the north bank of the Mississippi River. Robert “Butch”Millet has been farming citrus in Paulina’s delta soil for over 40 years. His citrus orchards produce satsumas, oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit. “Nearly 600 acres of Louisiana oranges, grapefruits and lemons are planted every year. Seedless, sweet, easy-to-peel satsumas turn fromgreen to yellow as they ripen and to orange at full maturity. We’ve been sourcing satsumas from Butch for nearly a decade. He grows entire fields just for Rouses.” —Patrick, Rouses Produce Director Opelousas Is Sweet on Gumbo We asked Marcelle Bienvenu, the Queen of Cajun Cooking, about the tradition of serving baked sweet potatoes with gumbo instead of potato salad. “A perfectly baked sweet potato hits a high note with my taste buds when I’m having a thick (almost stew-like) chicken and sausage gumbo. The combination of sweet and savory makes me groan with pleasure. Of course, around Opelousas, home of the annual Yambilee Festival, there is no question as to what they like with their gumbo.” You might also find sweet potatoes in gumbo in Avoyells Parish.

Sirmon Farms The Sirmon family has spent over a century farming the same Baldwin County, Alabama, landscape. For the past 30 years, Joel Sirmon and his father, Gordon, and brother, James, have been growing sweet potatoes. They are sold at Rouses Markets all over the Gulf Coast. The tubers are raised from sprouts, or “slips,” the green shoots from mature sweet potatoes, that were selected and stored at the end of the previous planting. Sirmon’s sweet potatoes are exceptionally sweet and perfect for traditional sweet potato casseroles. Sirmon Farms also provides Rouses with hydroponic lettuce. Bergeron Pecans More than five million pounds of Louisiana pecans are shelled each year at H. J. Bergeron Pecan Shelling Plant in New Roads near False River. The family business started much smaller with a much smaller harvest. H.J. — Horace Joseph Bergeron — began selling pecans in 1909 at his small general store in New Roads. The pecans were shelled by hand. A decade later he came up with the idea to have his customers help hand shell the pecans and sell the meat to local candy makers. Hand shelling is an arduous process. In 1941, a second generation, Lester and Bennett Bergeron, built a shelling plant right next to the general store. Today their children, Lester Jr., Steve, and Andre Bergeron,oversee the family business.Along with their family- owned orchards, they buy pecans from over 90 Louisiana growers. farm to fork We work closely with local farmer partners all over the Gulf Coast. Garber Family Farms Michael, Matt and Wayne Garber carry on an Iota, Louisiana, farming tradition started in 1881. Michael manages the farm crop production. Matthewdeals with the storage,packaging andmarketing of sweet potatoes and other crops. And Wayne handles the day-to-day administrative management of the business. Their 5,000-acre farm sits on a sandy ridge between Bayou Nezpique and Bayou Des Cannes in the heart of South Louisiana’s Cajun Country. The gentle, moist breezes from the Gulf of Mexico, along with their rich sandy loam soil, provide an ideal natural environment for their sweet, golden Louisiana yams (sweet potatoes). “There’s a difference between sweet potatoes grown in northern states and those grown on the Gulf Coast. Our sweet potatoes

are soft, because they are grown in rich soils commonly found in the South, which means they are higher in natural sugar, more moist and have a bright orange flesh color. This soft type of sweet potato is often referred to as a yam.” —Patrick, Rouses Produce Director

Matt Garber, Garber Family Farms photo by Frank Aymami

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