Sugar in the raw

To the casual observer, the swift-burning fires at U.S. Sugar Corp.’s 200,000-acre sugar cane farm in Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area are an ominous sight. But the burning fires belie what’s really happening—the growth of natural sweeteners.

As consumers have started to scrutinize artificial sweeteners and seek out healthier alternatives to refined white sugar, a variety of natural sweeteners from honey and agave to stevia (a sugar substitute extracted from a plant) and cane sugar are helping to satisfy the growing demand.

Although refined white granulated sugar is still a go-to sweetener for 55 percent of consumers surveyed by research firm Mintel, natural sugars are closing the gap, according to Beth Bloom, a food and drink analyst for the company. 

“There’s a consumer trend toward more natural products, and sugar is the premium natural sweetener,” says Judy Sanchez, senior director of corporate communications and public affairs for U.S. Sugar Corp. “We are seeing some [manufacturers], and consumers, make the decision to replace high fructose corn syrup with natural sugar.”

Florida's bumper crop

In Clewiston, Fla., where U.S. Sugar is headquartered, the vertically integrated grower, producer and distributor produced 750,000 tons of raw cane sugar during the October 2013 to April 2014 harvest season. That’s up from 620,000 tons produced during the 2010-11 season, and accounts for nearly 8 percent of the nation’s production, Sanchez says. 

Like all crops, sugar cane is dependent on the weather. “That means any type of drought, flood or hurricane can impact your crop,” Sanchez says. In the past few years, ideal growing conditions in Florida—a balance of sun, heat, lots of precipitation (an average of 60 inches of rain a year) and moist soil that is well-drained—have helped create a hearty supply of the ingredient, she says.

The sugar cane plant, a perennial tropical grass with sharp leaves, can grow up to 13 feet tall.  “When most of the leaves die off, it means the plant is ready for harvest,” Sanchez says.

U.S. Sugar’s fire crews need only about 20 minutes to burn a 40-acre swath of sugar cane field. After the burn, the company, which employs about 1,700 people, operates auto-steer tractors equipped with GPS to pinpoint coordinates to make sure the harvest is complete.

“We have a very large private Wi-Fi network that supports GPS and enables real-time data to be collected as we grow, harvest and transport picked sugar cane,” Sanchez says.

The fibrous sugar cane stalks are then crushed to extract the succulent juices. “The fires allow us to extract the stalks, which are rich in sugar. This sugar accumulates in the stalk internodes,” Sanchez says.

It takes approximately 7½ hours to complete the process of harvesting sugar cane in the field and transporting it to the mill. During harvest season, the factory can grind up to 38,000 tons of sugar cane each day.

“We can get four annual harvests from one planting,” Sanchez says, “And we typically have to replant 40,000 to 50,000 acres per year.” 

By the numbers