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ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF HARVESTING MECHANIZATION FOR SUGARCANE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

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Date Issued:
1971
Summary:
Cane harvesting is the major operation in sugar production which is not entirely mechanized in south Florida. The introduction of a successful harvesting machine is delayed because of the prevailing soil and climatic conditions which cause an increase in the fiber content of cane to be processed. In turn, this increased fiber content in cane will cause a diseconomy in the sugar output per acre as well as an increase in the cost for sugar processing. The recent concern for air pollution may prevent the burning of cane prior to harvesting in the future. The cessation of cane burning may make the present method of manual harvesting uneconomical and may cause the closing of the sugar processing plants. The introduction of mechanical harvesting together with the cessation of cane burning will cause a less severe drop in earnings per acre. With this system the Florida sugar industry should manage to continue its operation in the short run. Whether the Florida sugar industry could remain profitable in the long run would depend on how fast technological advances are able to produce a cane quality with a sufficiently low fiber (trash) content to warrant an economical sugar production from mechanically harvested and non-burned cane. Support by public funds in the form of an additional taxation on refined sugar is suggested for a limited period so that the Florida sugar industry may survive at the time when an order to prohibit cane burning would be instituted. Survival by the Florida sugar industry in the long run may depend on the successful application of future technology applied to mechanical harvesting so that a cane with a low trash content can be processed. Such an achievement will lower the fixed and variable costs for sugar production. An alternative approach to economic survival and without taxation in the long run is an effort to increase earnings per acre. The introduction of processing methods other than milling may accomodate the processing of green, mechanically harvested cane without an appreciable increase in costs. Also, the production of by-products may offer an approach to obtain such a goal.
Title: THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF HARVESTING MECHANIZATION FOR SUGARCANE IN SOUTH FLORIDA.
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Name(s): LEGRAND, FERDINAND.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Fabian, R.G., Thesis advisor
College of Business
Department of Economics
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1971
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 64 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Cane harvesting is the major operation in sugar production which is not entirely mechanized in south Florida. The introduction of a successful harvesting machine is delayed because of the prevailing soil and climatic conditions which cause an increase in the fiber content of cane to be processed. In turn, this increased fiber content in cane will cause a diseconomy in the sugar output per acre as well as an increase in the cost for sugar processing. The recent concern for air pollution may prevent the burning of cane prior to harvesting in the future. The cessation of cane burning may make the present method of manual harvesting uneconomical and may cause the closing of the sugar processing plants. The introduction of mechanical harvesting together with the cessation of cane burning will cause a less severe drop in earnings per acre. With this system the Florida sugar industry should manage to continue its operation in the short run. Whether the Florida sugar industry could remain profitable in the long run would depend on how fast technological advances are able to produce a cane quality with a sufficiently low fiber (trash) content to warrant an economical sugar production from mechanically harvested and non-burned cane. Support by public funds in the form of an additional taxation on refined sugar is suggested for a limited period so that the Florida sugar industry may survive at the time when an order to prohibit cane burning would be instituted. Survival by the Florida sugar industry in the long run may depend on the successful application of future technology applied to mechanical harvesting so that a cane with a low trash content can be processed. Such an achievement will lower the fixed and variable costs for sugar production. An alternative approach to economic survival and without taxation in the long run is an effort to increase earnings per acre. The introduction of processing methods other than milling may accomodate the processing of green, mechanically harvested cane without an appreciable increase in costs. Also, the production of by-products may offer an approach to obtain such a goal.
Identifier: 13429 (digitool), FADT13429 (IID), fau:10279 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): College of Business
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1971.
Subject(s): Sugarcane--Florida--Harvesting--Economic aspects
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13429
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.