FFFFAA--44HH CCAARREEEERR DDAAYY The Future Farmers of America/4H Career Day-Young Eagles Event is scheduled for January 12th, 2019 at 0900 at the Belle Glade Airport. This function is designed to draw young folks of 8-17 years old to experience flight and be exposed to the “movers and shakers” in Agribusiness. The objective is to enlighten the youth in the agricultural areas as to the opportunities they might expect after being educated in the agricultural sciences. This has been a huge success the past couple years due to the participation of FFA-4H and the public school ag programs. By offering airplane rides we hope to draw young folks in from all around the agricultural area to be exposed to the leaders in SoFla agribusiness. EAA's Young Eagle program provides support for this function in terms of insurance and manpower. The Florida Cub Flyers, Florida Antique Biplane Association and OFFC will supply the pilots and airplanes. A descripton of the flight path and what you’ll be seeing from the air is attached. Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida Type Agricultural marketing cooperative Founded July 1960 Founder George Wedgworth Headquarters Belle Glade, Florida, United States Area served Florida Products raw sugar Members 54 Website www.scgc.org Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida is a vertically integrated agricultural enterprise that harvests, transports and processes sugarcane grown primarily in Palm Beach County, Florida and markets the raw sugar and blackstrap molasses[1] through the Florida Sugar and Molasses Exchange. The Cooperative is made up of 45 grower-owners who produce sugarcane on approximately 70,000 acres of some of the most fertile farmland in America, located in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). Sugarcane grown by Cooperative members is harvested, transported and processed. The raw sugar is then marketed to one of the ASR Group's[2] sugar refineries. The Cooperative produces more than 350,000 tons of raw sugar annually. http://www.scgc.org/ is South Florida’s oldest and largest sugarcane grower and processor. With state-of-the-art technology for both sugar manufacturing and citrus processing, U.S. Sugar practices the most efficient and progressive farming techniques available in the world. Vertical integration of our farming, processing and packaging operations makes U.S. Sugar competitive while meeting the highest standards for worker safety, food quality and environmental protection. With its headquarters in Clewiston, Florida, the Company farms over 215,000 acres in Hendry, Glades, Palm Beach and Martin counties and operates a state-of-the-art citrus nursery on 80 acres in Gilchrist County. U.S. Sugar has approximately 1700 employees. U.S. Sugar is the country’s largest vertically integrated producer of sugarcane and refined cane sugar and is one of Florida’s major growers of oranges and processors of orange juice products. In addition to the Company’s principal businesses of sugar and citrus, U.S. Sugar also farms fresh Florida sweet corn and owns an independent short line railroad, the South Central Florida Express which connects the agricultural communities around Lake Okeechobee with main line railroads. U.S. Sugar is the only American sugar operation that transports its sugarcane crop from field to factory utilizing its own railroad transportation system. Dependent upon weather, growing conditions and federal market allocations, U.S. Sugar produces more than 800,000 tons of refined cane sugar a year, providing nearly 10% of the sugar produced in America. The annual sugarcane harvest season begins in October and runs through mid-April. The Company’s sugarcane crop (7-8 million tons) is ground primarily at U.S. Sugar’s newly consolidated and automated Clewiston Sugar Factory. The newly enlarged mill, with a capacity of 42,000 tons per day, is now the world’s largest fully integrated cane sugar milling and refining operation. Our citrus company, Southern Gardens Citrus, processes oranges from its own groves as well as from contracted, independent groves. The company owns and/or manages 12,500 net acres of groves containing 1.8 million trees, which provide high quality fruit to the Southern Gardens Citrus Processing Plant. The juice plant, which opened in 1994, has already been expanded several times and can process up to 19 million boxes of oranges a season, producing over 90 million gallons of orange juice. The plant has set many world records in extractor productivity since its opening in 1994. Southern Gardens is one of the largest bulk suppliers of premium, not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice to branded companies as well as the private label grocery trade in the United States. Southern Gardens is a member of the Florida’s Natural Growers Cooperative. Long considered an industry leader in environmental issues, U.S. Sugar has established many on-farm soil and water management techniques that have become models for the industry. Such practices have led to an average 56% reduction in phosphorous, easily surpassing the Everglades Forever Act’s 25% requirements. In addition, U.S. Sugar runs its raw sugar factory and Clewiston refinery on bagasse, the residual cane fiber from the milling process, making them energy self-sufficient. Surplus energy generated from the cane stalk is sold into South Florida’s electric grid. Sugarcane is a clean, green and renewable domestic energy source. As farmers and stewards of the land, U.S. Sugar is committed to Everglades restoration and to continuing efforts to improve the environmental sensitivity of its farming operations. Sugarcane is considered one of nature’s most environmentally friendly crops because it requires little fertilizer or pesticides—particularly as compared to other land uses. Basically a giant grass, sugarcane thrives in South Florida’s sunshine and abundant rainfall. The rich muck soils surrounding Lake Okeechobee provide most of the nutrients needed to produce healthy fields of sugarcane. Likewise, our sugarcane and vegetable fields and citrus groves provide a nurturing and protected habitat for hundreds of species of wading birds—from roseate spoonbills, wood storks and great blue herons to giant egrets and white pelicans. At U.S. Sugar, traditional farming values are successfully combined with modern technology and innovation. The result is farming that is compatible with the environment and with the economic realities of the new millennium. www.ussugar.com EVERGLADES RESEARCH & EDUCATION CENTER The Everglades Research & Education Center (EREC) near Belle Glade is an agricultural and environmental research and education unit of the University of Florida's, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). The seventeen scientists located at the Center are from various academic disciplines (see faculty list) and participate in interdisciplinary team approaches to investigate agricultural and environmental issues. The mission of the Everglades Research and Education Center is to conduct research and extension programs in southern Florida that will explore and promote profitable and sustainable agricultural systems. These systems should conserve and protect our soil, water, and natural resources, and contribute to an improved quality of life for Florida citizens. http://erec.ifas.ufl.edu/ DUDA VEGETABLE FARM From the first 40 Florida acres founder Andrew Duda purchased for a farm in the early 1900s, to the nearly 90,000 acres owned or leased by the company in several states across the country today, land has always been at the foundation of DUDA's strength and success. The key to DUDA's continued success lies in its ability to improve and use its land to its highest and best value. We strive to achieve our mission as a diversified land company through our operating divisions and subsidiary companies in agriculture, real estate development and related businesses. In its fifth generation of ownership by the Duda family, the company is managed by an experienced team of family members and non-family managers. The company is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of members of the Duda family and non- family members from varying business backgrounds. The Duda Family Council provides a connection between family members and the business. Learn more. The company has grown and evolved from its beginnings in 1926 as a fresh vegetable grower and shipper to a diversified land company with a variety of agriculture and real estate operations. Learn more. The company built its nationwide reputation as a quality grower, shipper and marketer of fresh produce. Today, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Inc. continues that legacy as a wholly- owned subsidiary of DUDA. Duda Ranches oversees the company's diversified agricultural operations which include sod, sugarcane, citrus and cattle. The Viera Company manages the development of DUDA's non-agricultural land. The master planned new town of Viera, Florida is its major community development. Viera Realty and Viera Builders provide vertical integration of the company's real estate operations. Duran Golf Club in the community of Viera offers a championship golf course and golf learning center. In recent years, DUDA has further strengthened its portfolio of land assets and business opportunities with the acquisition of qualified agricultural lands and a variety of commercial properties across the country including drug stores, restaurants, retail stores, warehouse distribution centers and office buildings. DUDA's Land Division and the Viera Commercial Properties