Photo by Bruce Garrison

In 1512, Ponce de Leon introduced the sugar cane crop to the United States when he landed in Florida’s St. Augustine area. The arrival of sugar cane was so vital to this area that Cape Canaveral got its name from the Spanish word canaveral which means “cane field”.

However, the development of the sugar industry was delayed by the American Revolution in the 1700s, and inclement weather and unsuitable soils in the 1800s. Sugar cane farmers were forced to move to south Florida during the late 1800s and early 1900s and it wasn’t until the 1920s that the sugar cane industry began to flourish around the southeastern shore of Lake Okeechobee and at the edge of the Everglades.

Two factors contributed significantly to the expansion of the industry. The first was the development of specific species of sugar cane that were able to grow in the semi-tropical climate of South Florida. The second factor was the construction of water management systems, designed to remove flood waters from agricultural lands during the rainy season.

The production of sugar has continued to expand throughout the 20th century and into the present. Today, the Florida sugar industry produces more than half of the country’s domestic sugar generating both revenue and jobs, making it a major component of the state’s agricultural economy.


Further information about this article can be found at the following sites:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/  
http://www.evergladesplan.org/
http://www.ussugar.com/

NewsVision package on the Sugar Industry