U.S. Sugar to sell land, wind down operations - Business First of Louisville:

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"This is a watershed eventf in national conservation and a paradigm shift for the Evergladesz and the environment inFlorida -- one that woul have been inconceivable in years past," said Richard president and chief executive officer of Clewiston-based U.S. Gov. Charlie Crist said the deal sets a frameworkk for negotiationsbetween U.S. the state and the South Floridas Water Management District to acquire upto 187,000 acrews of canefields south of Lake Okeechobee for $1.7 The deal would preserve an area abour three times the size of Orlando.
Crist calledr the plan "a strategyt to save America's Everglades" that will "renew the natural flow of America's River of "This represents the largest land conservationb purchase in the history of the statdof Florida," he said. The watere district is to acquire the land through the stat e with cash and certificatesof participation. U.S. Sugar hopes the land deal with allow remaining Everglades AgriculturalArea farmers, which are mostly tied to competito , to continue operations. "Even as the governoe has announcedthe district's plannedd acquisition of the assets of U.S. we remain proud of our farmintg history inSouth Florida," U.S.
Sugar said in a news "The majority of our stockholders have held this investmeny formany decades, and many of our employees ' families have worked on our farms and in our sugaer factories for generations." The company said the deal will enabls it to fulfill its long-term existintg business obligations. During the transition period, will act as financial adviserto U.S. Sugar. The six-year period will also allow employees and communities around Lake Okeechobeeto adjust. Buker said the companhy was keenly aware of the struggles four Floridwa governors made to balance agriculture andEverglades restoration.
"The results of these struggles have been a series ofpartiao fixes, sometimes effective, but invariably But this governor [Crist] had the vision to look more deeply into the problem and to see a more systemic solution," he said. U.S. Sugar, a 1,700-employee, privately held says it produces 10 percent ofthe nation'sz sugar. The $8 billion comprehensive approvedin 2000, provides a frameworok and guide to restore, protect and preservs the water resources in central and southern including the Everglades.
The goal of the plan is to capturw fresh water that now flows unused to the ocean andthe gulf, and redirect it to areas that need it Environmental groups said the land deal was historic and wouldr result in great progress for restoring clean, natural water levelw to the Everglades, which should have a positive impacg on wildlife, water supplies and wildfires. "Today's announcemen t by Gov. Crist to purchase approximatelyg 185,000 acres of the Everglades agricultural area is terrifid news for the future ofEvergladea restoration," said John Adornato, regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association.
"Securing farmland souty of Lake Okeechobee will help improv e water quantityand quality, and increase water flow to Evergladesa National Park and out into Florida Historically, much of the sugar cane fields provided a way for water to flow southn from Lake Okeechobee before canals were dredged and the Herbertf Hoover Dike was built around the Environmentalists have expressed concern that fertilizer runofv from sugar cane fields also affect wated quality. Government support for the sugar industry is also controversial becaus detractors say it resultse in consumers payinghigher prices. The majorityt of the water in the restoration plan will be devoted toenvironmental restoration.
The remainingt water will be used for municipal wate r suppliesand farmers. The water district is chargede with the responsibility of acquiring the real estate needed for the monitoring and operation of the Evergladesrestoration projects. U.S. Sugarf has recently invested heavily in a new processing plan near Clewiston and won approvals for rock mining expansiomn in the EvergladesAgricultural Area. U.S. Sugar finished a harves t of about 163,000 acres in May.