Wet summer results in lower sugar cane production

BELLE GLADE, Fla. (AP) - A wet summer is resulting in lowered production for sugar cane farmers.

The Palm Beach Post (https://bit.ly/1o0gw1t ) reports the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative and Florida Crystals Corp. are reporting a 9 percent drop in sugar cane production over last year.

Cooperative spokeswoman Barbara Miedema says the crops were hurt by heavy rains during the summer’s “grand growth period.”

The rain also flooded Florida Crystals farms and caused delays. But spokesman Gaston Cantens says the company’s teams worked hard to mitigate losses.

Sugar cane is the largest crop in Palm Beach County. According to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office, sugar cane fields make up 400,000 acres of the county’s 461,000 acres devoted to agriculture.

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Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, https://www.pbpost.com