Sugar Cane – Tightening Our Belts 2014 Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

1. Sugar Cane – Tightening Our Belts 2014 Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

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3. Organic Soils

4. Palm Beach County has 5 Sugarcane Belts. Delineation Is based on proximity to Lake Okeechobee, soil quality, temperature variations attributable to the warming influence of the lake, sugarcane tonnage production numbers and market value derived from sugarcane land sales.

6. Seed Cane Cutting • Machine-cut whole-stalk • Hand-cut whole stalk

7. Seed Cane Loading • Whole stalk seed cane is loaded on wagons using a “Grab Loader”

8. Furrowing for Planting • 3 or 5 furrows made in one pass • GPS guided – auto-steering • Furrows 4-6” deep

9. FertilizingBeforePlanting • Custom blended fertilizer • Primary nutrients applied: P, K, Mg, Cu, Zn, Mn, B, N – on sand • Fertilizer can be Broadcast or Banded in the furrow

10. Hand Planting Sugarcane • 8 or 9 person crews • 4 droppers • 4 choppers 15 – 20 acres/day • 2 – 6 crews depending on size of operation • 30 – 120 acres / day

11. Machine Planting Sugarcane

12. Covering Sugarcane After Planting

13. Sugarcane Cultivation • Weeds controlled mechanically and chemically • Herbicides used: • Atrazine • 2,4-D & dicamba • Ametryne (Evik) • Asulam • Glyphosate (Roundup) • Metribuzin (Sencor) • Pendamethalin (Prowl) • Mesotrione (Callisto) • Mostly early post • 2 applications • Lay-by mid-May

14. Weed Control • Both aerial and ground applicators

15. Pre-harvest Sugarcane Burning • Burn permits issued daily by zone • More restrictions in easterly zones

16. Sugarcane Harvesting

18. Loading Cane Cane is loaded into trucks or rail cars via conveyor or dump wagons

19. Cane Receiving • Each load is tracked from the field. • Each trailer makes about 2 loads a day. • Independent contractor hauling fleet. • Each driver makes 7 – 10 loads per day • Driver has electronic keycard for load tracking and fueling

20. Feeding the mill 3 minutes / load 24 hr operation

21. Cane Milling • Cane is carried by conveyor through sets of knives • Prepared cane is passed through sets of mills in a tandem • Each mill presses cane with a force of about 2200psi

22. Cane Milling • 6 – 7 mills in a milling tandem • Water is added • Cane is crushed repeatedly • 98% of sucrose extracted

23. Juice Processing • Sucrose content determined for payment • Clarified by removing mud and fine fiber • Juice quality is monitored • Water evaporated off under vacuum

24. Sugar • Sugar separated from molasses by centrifugation • Trucked to warehouses until shipped to refineries • Storage for up to a year without problems • Shipped to refineries by ocean-going barge

28. Sugar Cane – Tightening Our Belts 2014 Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

30. “River of Grass” Restoration In 2008, the SFWMD voted to accept a contract with US Sugar Corp. to acquire 187,000 acres of agricultural land for Everglades Restoration. The purpose is to store and treat water for the benefit of the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers. In 2010, SFWMD purchased 26,800 acres, including 10,000 acres of prime sugarcane acreage in PBC. Now they are selling 8,700 of the 10,000 acres to Florida Crystals. Clearly, the EAA acreage is at the mercy of the SFWMD.

31. A recent mining study prepared by the FL Dept. of Transportation shows the EAA as one of the prime areas in the state with potential for rock mining. As a result, during the past few years more than 20,000 acres have been approved for mining, in addition to three commercial rock mines that were approved prior to 2006. Currently, there is 1,592 acres already mined and 25,153.60 acres approved to excavate. The duration of mining is up to 75 years.

32. For more information contact Diane Pendleton – dpendleton@pbcgov.org