206 CHAPTER 14 Florida Crystal SugarCaneGrowersCooperativeofFloridaisaverticallyintegratedagriculturalenterprise thatbringssugarfromcanefieldsinSouthFloridatodinnertables,restaurantsandfood manufacturingfacilitiesthroughoutAmericaandaroundtheglobe. The Cooperative is comprised of 45 small to medium-sized member farms that grow sugar cane on approximately 70,000 acres of what is among the most fertile and productive farmland in America, located in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). Sugar cane grown by its members is harvested, transported and processed, and then the raw sugar is marketed to one of the ASR Group’s sugar refineries. The Cooperative produces more than 350,000 tons of raw sugar annually that once refined, is enough to serve the average annual demand of more than 9 million people. CHAPTER 14