Alternative crops

Gulf Kist Sod is getting into the sugarcane and watermelon business.

The reason is simple - to keep the business going.

"We will always have sod," said Steve Thorne, regional director of Gulf Kist Sod. "We need to be diversified enough to survive."

The housing downturn has hit the sod business hard. Sales are down 75 percent in the last two years, Thorne said.

Located on Kenilworth Boulevard near Sebring International Raceway, Gulf Kist has downsized from 1,800 acres of sod in production to 800, according to Thorne.

Gulf Kist was looking at an alternative crop, and Thorne said the company did some research. The Sebring farm's soil is muck, which is conducive to growing sugarcane.

Thorne noted that the muck is different in Highlands than in Hendry and Palm Beach counties, where most of the cane is grown in Florida.

Thorne said he doesn't think anyone else in Highlands has grown cane commercially. He added that cane has been planted near Lake Placid to serve as a wind barrier.

Last month, U.S. Sugar Corp. harvested 40 acres of cane for Gulf Kist.

"It was history being made; it was exciting," Thorne said.

Sugarcane is calculated in tons and the first yield was about 42 per tons per acre. Thorne said that was excellent considering the unusually cold weather the area experienced earlier in January.

"Had it not frozen it would have been better," he said.

With the sales of sod down and the fact Gulf Kist has laid off more than half of its staff, things have been "kind of gloomy," Thorne said. He added that seeing the first harvest in January has rejuvenated them.

Gulf Kist has a total of 208 acres of cane planted this year. The Sebring farm plans to have 500 acres of sugarcane in 2011.

U.S. Sugar is interested in having sugarcane production expand in Highlands County and is looking for more growers, according to Thorne. He noted that the sugar giant would like to see 2,500 acres of cane in production in Highlands County.

The company would consider building a rail spur if that were to happen, Thorne said, noting that it would be cheaper than trucking the cane to the mill.

"U.S. Sugar has been good working with us," Thorne said.

John Alleyne, commercial horticulture agent for the Highlands County Extension Office, believes sugarcane can be grown here on a large scale.

"We are convinced it can do well," Alleyne said.

In 2009, Alleyne began a demonstration project at the sheriff's inmate farm on Arbuckle Creek Road. A quarter-acre of sugarcane was planted in Myakka fine sand.

Alleyne said the cane has done well there and is "as good" as the cane grown in muck.

Gulf Coast Sod is a division of Woerner AgriBusiness, based in Foley, Ala. In addition to Alabama and Florida, Woerner has farms in Louisiana and Hawaii.

The company has two other farms in Florida, one in Vero Beach and the other near Panama City.

Thorne said watermelons will be planted on 70 acres of the farm this week. The first crop is expected to be ready by the end of May.

"They did well at the farm in north Florida," he said.

"It's kind of a safety net to bring in a little cash," he added.