U.S. Sugar in Florida: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
U.S. Sugar is a Clewiston, Florida farming company founded in 1931 that grows sugarcane, citrus and more than a dozen fresh vegetables on land south of Lake Okeechobee. It is owned mainly by charitable foundations and by its more than 2,500 employee-owners through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and it sits at the center of a state where sugarcane covers 397,583 acres.
| Location | Clewiston, Florida; land south of Lake Okeechobee |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1931, by Charles Stewart Mott |
| Sectors | Sugarcane, sugar, citrus, vegetables, cattle, renewable power |
| Scale | More than 2,500 employee-owners; acreage not stated on the company page |
| Why it is elite | A leading Florida sugar producer in the state's top field crop, with citrus, vegetable, cattle and power co-products |
| Ownership | Charitable foundations and an employee stock ownership plan |
| Official website | U.S. Sugar official site |
History of U.S. Sugar
Charles Stewart Mott, a farmer, businessman and philanthropist, founded the company in 1931 during the Great Depression. The company says all its land holdings are in Florida, mainly south of Lake Okeechobee, and its current board chairman is Mott's great-grandson.
Ownership evolved so that charitable foundations and employees through an ESOP, with more than 2,500 employee-owners, hold the company. The citrus groves of Southern Gardens Citrus were built on former cattle pastures, a good illustration of how the company has diversified from its sugar base.
What U.S. Sugar Grows and Raises
Sugar is the primary business. The company grows sugarcane and also produces sweet corn, green beans, broccoli, squash and more than a dozen other fresh vegetables, along with citrus from Southern Gardens Citrus orange groves. Brahman cattle come from the Sugarland Ranch operations.
Co-products matter. Cane molasses is sold as liquid cattle feed under the Sugalik brand, and the company generates renewable electricity from sugarcane stalks, enough to power roughly 25,000 to 30,000 South Florida homes a year, according to its own description.
How U.S. Sugar Makes Money
Sugar
Refined sugar is the primary business, supplied from a cane crop that the 2022 Census shows is Florida's leading field crop by acreage.
Citrus and vegetables
Citrus groves and fresh vegetables such as sweet corn, green beans, broccoli and squash add crops with different markets and seasons.
Co-products and power
Molasses feed, renewable electricity and Brahman cattle turn byproducts and pasture into additional revenue streams.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from U.S. Sugar
The first lesson is to use everything you grow. Stalks make electricity and molasses feeds cattle, so waste becomes revenue.
Second, ownership structure can support long-term thinking: an ESOP and foundation owners align employees with the company's survival. Third, a diversified land base, with citrus and vegetables beside cane, spreads weather and market risk.
Sugarcane is the only crop that gets harvested, boiled, burned for electricity and fed to cattle in the same family tree, which is more efficient than most of our weekend plans. If the cane fields leave you wanting something sweeter, farm.FM has farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes with no processing required.
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How to Contact U.S. Sugar
Website: https://www.ussugar.com/
Address: 111 Ponce de Leon Ave., Clewiston, FL 33440
Contact details as published on the company's own website, November 2026. Confirm before visiting.
U.S. Sugar Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- U.S. Sugar official site - The company's own website
- An American Farming Company - Company page on crops, ownership and co-products
- U.S. Sugar purpose - Company page on its mission
- FDACS summary of the 2022 Census of Agriculture - Florida sugarcane and farm statistics
- USDA NASS Florida 2022 Census report - State crop and livestock tables
U.S. Sugar FAQ
Where is U.S. Sugar?
It is based in Clewiston, Florida, with land mainly south of Lake Okeechobee.
When was it founded?
In 1931 by Charles Stewart Mott.
Who owns it?
Mainly charitable foundations and its employees through an ESOP, with more than 2,500 employee-owners.
What else does it produce?
Citrus, vegetables, molasses feed, Brahman cattle and renewable electricity.
U.S. Sugar shows how a single crop can anchor a diversified Florida farming enterprise. Read the Florida farms guide for the state-level numbers and the other operations profiled alongside U.S. Sugar.