ABSTRACT
Sugarcane is a tropical crop that is processed into raw sugar and molasses. In the U.S., sugarcane is planted and harvested in Hawaii, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas (Table 1). Sugarcane is a perennial crop that can be harvested 4 to 5 times before reseeding. Sugarcane production in the U.S. is reported on a fi scal year basis, as the harvest season in Florida, Hawaii and Texas generally runs from October through April. The harvest season in Louisiana,
the northern most growing U.S. area, generally runs from late September through late December or early January. In the 2009 season, the U.S. grew 877,700 acres (ac) of sugarcane (Table 1). U.S. sugarcane production has trended downward in recent years, down from 1.02 million acres in the 2001 season due mainly to weather problems, i.e., hurricanes in Louisiana and Florida.
