February 26, 2024
Have you ever thought about how those sparkly white granules get from a tall, grassy plant to a bag in your grocery store? On Monday, my second, and last full day in Florida, I got up early and joined a large group of people at church. We boarded a plush tour bus for a day's excursion away from the shopping and beaches, and out into the farming community of Florida.
It was quite a long ride, but we were kept entertained by our tour guide. I forgot her name, so I'll call her Lani. Enthusiastic, verbose and engaging, Lani was a wealth of information about all things sugar.
As we made our way out of the city, Pastor Ron, a friend, fellow church member, and relative by marriage, was asked to pray a blessing over our journey together.
Having some years back visited a sugar cane plantation and museum in Hawaii, I knew some of the basics of the growing and processing. For example, prior to harvest, the field is burned to eliminate dead foliage. The high water content of the cane ensures that the final product doesn't taste like crème brulee.
The burns are small, very controlled and quick. Then it's time for the harvester to move in. In days gone by the cane would have been cut by hardworking men, rather than machines. Now, the harvester is moved in and makes quick work of the job. It both cuts and chops the cane before dropping it into a waiting truck. The trucks are on-call, using an Uber type app, so that one is always ready to move into place when the previous one is full. While we did ride through the fields, we were not able to get close to a harvester at work, so I took the liberty of borrowing this photo from the US Sugar website.
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| Lake Okeechobee in the distance |
Most of the tour was seen through the bus windows. Below, we were parked briefly at one of many "water stations", where water from the fields goes through rigorous testing and treatments. US Sugar has committed to leaving any water used in growing and processing a minimum of 20% cleaner than it was when they started using it.
As we headed out down a field road we learned that when planted as a cutting, the cane takes about 12 months before it can be harvested for the first time. It is then left in the field to grow, and will produce four or five harvests before it peters out and needs to be tilled in and replanted. Another interesting fact is that there are no irrigation pipes in the fields, either on top the ground, underground, or overhead. The fields are perfectly flat, and with their system of canals, they simply raise and lower the water table as needed for the plants.
Here we were able to disembark and get a close up look at the cane in the field. A worker cut several stalks, and then chopped them into sections so each of us could have a piece. We were encouraged to taste it, and, if we so choose, we could take it home to plant. It was slightly sweet, but not overly so. I certainly didn't need anything else to haul from train to train, so tossed mine back in the field.
As part of their "best management practices", even the specific plants on the banks of the canal are intentional. On the field road where we stopped there was a canal on one side. Here, a Yellow Prickly-Poppy brightens the roadside.
Below, my seatmate, Shirley stands near the cane, showcasing its height.
Then it was back on the road, heading for the US Sugar Mill. Here we again stayed on the bus, so often battled reflections on the windows, but there was still a lot to see. There were multiple large buildings, as well as many tanks, and seemingly miles of pipes.
The roughly chopped cane is brought in from the fields by rail car. They dump from the side, then the cane goes up on a conveyer belt to be crushed further.
On the mill compound there are three large metal buildings.
Our bus drove right into one of them. Inside this massive building was a tawny mound of sugar, with an excavator incongruously perched atop it. This was our long-promised "sugar mountain".
The excavator was working on piling the recently dumped loads of sugar higher up onto the pile. We were told all three of the buildings would be filled to the ceilings at some point. It was a bit disturbing to see a dirty, greasy machine driving around up there. However, this was only a sugar mill. All this sweetness would be shipped off to a nearby sugar refinery, where it would be brought to the crystal white state that we buy in our grocery store. Below is a graphic that I found online that helps explain the process.
Leaving the mill, our bus took us back to Clewistown and the Chamber of Commerce building. Housed there was an interesting little museum about sugar. In a glass case was this scale model of the mill we had just toured. It even included details like rust on the metal buildings.
Sugar cane hasn't always been machine harvested. In bygone years it was a hand-harvested with long, sharp machetes. Harvesters wore clumsy protection to avoid losing limbs and getting nasty wounds. Examples of their protection was on display in the museum. Metal guards were strapped to their forearm to meet thick gloves. A perforated metal shield was worn to protect the legs.
Our stop at the museum wasn't long, and soon we were climbing back on the bus for our return to the church. As we boarded we were given a cloth bag full of goodies. A nice baseball hat, a big bag of sugar, and an informational book about the process. As with the sugar cane, I couldn't justify hauling this around, so gave it to Gina.
By now it was late afternoon, and most of us just wanted to snooze. But our lively tour guide convinced us to play the game, "two truths and a lie". I feigned sleep as long as possible, but finally caved and took the mic to play along. Below, Ron's sweet wife, Elizabeth, came up from the back of the bus to give it a go.
All in all it was a fun trip. Time well spent with friends and fellow church members, learning something new together.
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