Florida Sugarcane

Florida Sugarcane. . Sugarcane is a crop that can be grown throughout Florida. In most areas of the state it is grown only as a hobby crop for syrup production or as a source of "chewing cane"., In south Florida, along the shores of Lake Okeechobee, sugarcane is grown commercially for the production of crystal or "white" sugar. Florida is the nation's largest producer of cane sugar accounting for one in every five teaspoons consumed. The Florida sugar industry has a $2 billion economic impact and generates tens of thousands of jobs., Each stalk of sugarcane contains 30 teaspoons of sugar, six teaspoons of molasses, a quart of water, and six ounces of solid fuel called bagasse. Every portion of the sugarcane stalk is used. It takes roughly 205 stalks of sugarcane per year to fulfill one person's intake of sugar., At 30,000 stalks per acre, one acre would supply sugar for roughly 146 Americans for a year.