FANJUL Will own the world

Now anyone employed by C&H can say, almost, that they work for the world's biggest sugar refining organization.

YONKERS, N.Y., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- American Sugar Refining, Inc., based in
Yonkers, New York, today announced that it completed the acquisition of Ingenio
San Nicolas S.A. de C.V. San Nicolas owns and operates a sugar mill and refinery
in Veracruz, Mexico that produces 75,000 tons of superior quality refined sugar.

Luis J. Fernandez, Co-President of American Sugar commented that "this acquisition is an extension of our strategy to be the premier sugar producer and supplier in North America, as evidenced by our recent acquisitions of Redpath Sugar in Canada and C&H Sugar in California. Our goal is to effectively service our multinational customers whose operations span all of North America. This acquisition furthers our strategy to seamlessly provide our customers with quality sugar products and excellent customer service throughout Canada, the United States and Mexico."

Antonio L. Contreras, Jr., Co-President of American Sugar said, "This acquisition is particularly significant now that the Mexican and United States sweetener markets will merge under the North American Free Trade Agreement effective January 1, 2008. The sugar industry is an important part of the Mexican economy and will play a significant role in the combined U.S. - Mexico sugar market."

American Sugar Refining is owned by Florida Crystals Corporation and Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. Florida Crystals is a subsidiary of Flo-Sun Incorporated, a Fanjul Family company, and Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative is an agricultural cooperative owned by 50 sugar cane farmers. American Sugar Refining owns six sugar refineries in the United States, Canada, and Mexico that collectively
produce over four million tons of refined sugar for sale to the industrial, food
service and retail markets. Its products are sold throughout the United States
under the leading Domino and C&H brands and in Canada under the Redpath
brand.
CONTACT:
Donald
Brainard
914-709-8010

Source: American Sugar Refining, Inc.

The Power of Sugar

I guess I shouldnot be surprized. Sugar rules!

CAMELINA

Better a subsidy for camelina than corn and cane. Just kidding....

Grand Forks Herald: "A plant once called 'Gold of Pleasure' that flourished thousands of years ago in Europe could be a promising new crop - and source of energy - for farmers in the arid High Plains."

Progress

When you read this story, note the references to Florida Crystal and Fanjul. These are C&H owners and lend credence to the rumor that the Crockett operation will become an ethanol producer.

State: Crist mission: enlarge trade with Brazil###: "Crist mission: enlarge trade with Brazil"

CANE the TV Series

Personally, I hoped the series would closely follow the Fanjul family history. It is more interesting than any Hollywood script. (keitho in crockett)


Fanjul lawyers will not sue CBS … for now
Published Sat August 11, 2007 by Publisher in Hispanics.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(original title: Whew! It’s not about us, Fanjuls says of CBS’s Cane TV show)
By SUSAN SALISBURY Palm Beach Post

CANE

The new TV series CANE is about the sugar business, sugar cane, rum, Cuba, family dissension, a bit of the God-Father, political intrigue with ethanol mixed in. If you know a little about the present owners of C&H, one might think this will be based on that family. Tuesday night on CBS.

Domino Lives

Commission Grants Old Domino Sugar Plant in Brooklyn Landmark Status

It is good that these buildings will be recognized for their historic value. Sugar accumulated much of the wealth in New York in the 18th and 19th centuries.

American Sugar Expands

Little by little, American Sugar Refining gains more control over the American sweetner market.

Chr Hansen continues refocus activities with US sale: "The company's global refocusing strategy has involved a number of divestitures and investments in recent years. In 2006, Chr Hansen sold its specialty sweetener division to American Sugar Refining, saying that sweeteners were not within its core product areas. The transaction included the specialty sweetener product line of molasses, malt, rice syrup, oat extract, honey, and invert and fondant sugar, as well as production facilities in Louisiana and Illinois. "

Ethonol from Phillipeans

As ethonol demand grows it becomes profitable to increase sugarcane acerage in various parts of the world. Still in the longrun, the required investment in sugar mills, may eventually need to go dark or to process sugar again when a better source of ethonol is found. In the meantime


"Quezon City (1 September) -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) has already validated a total of 60,250 hectares of new sugarcane areas that can produce a combined 274 million liters of bioethanol, which is more than enough to meet the requirement under the Biofuels Act on the blending of crop-based alternative fuels with gasoline by 2009. "

The Waterfront That Sugar Built

The Waterfront That Sugar Built

This article provides a good summary of sugar refining in New York. People like me, living in the shadow of the massive C & H Refinery, should read it with the knowledge that the C & H brand and the Domino brand are now owned by the same company.

The Havemeyer family began refining sugar in Manhattan in 1805. Many of the
firms that made up Brooklyn's industrial waterfront originated in Manhattan, and
moved across the river when they needed more and cheaper space. Frederick
Havemeyer and his brother William, the once and future mayor of New York City,
moved the family business to Williamsburg in 1857. The firm became Havemeyer
& Elder in 1863, when Frederick's son-in-law, Joseph Elder, joined. The firm
eventually passed to Frederick's son, Henry Osborne Havemeyer, who became, in
effect, the John D. Rockefeller of sugar, forming the Sugar Trust and becoming
the most powerful person in the global sugar trade. The plant on the
Williamsburg shore served as Henry's flagship. Before the federal government
broke up the Sugar Trust in 1922, New York City had refined as much as 70% of
the raw sugar in America.
Domino's closing in 2004 meant that 2005 was the
first year in 275 years that no sugar refinery operated within the present
boundaries of New York City.
With the trust, the Havemeyer & Elder name
disappeared. The company became American Sugar Refining in 1891, and registered
Domino as a trade name in 1902. In 1970, American Sugar became Amstar, then
Domino Sugar Corp. in 1988, and in 2001 American Sugar once again.

Cane Sugar Coke at Costco SF - San Francisco Bay Area - Chowhound

There was the day that Coke was a major customer of C and H Sugar.



Cane Sugar Coke at Costco SF - San Francisco Bay Area - Chowhound: "Cane Sugar Coke at Costco SF Yesterday, I bought a case of 24 glass bottles of Coke bottled in Mexico at the Costco at 10th and Harrison in SF. There was a sign posted with the Coke that said that it was made with pure cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. I haven't tried it yet, because I'm letting the bottles chill in the fridge. I'll report back when I taste it. --NancyB Permalink Reply Nancy Berry May 01, 2007 06:31PM "

GO BARRY!

ESPN - Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants Preview, August 6 2007 - MLB

Despite not being a baseball fan, I am excited about Bonds breaking the homerun record.

Domestic Fuel » Archives » North Dakota Gets “e” for Ethanol

Domestic Fuel » Archives » North Dakota Gets “e” for Ethanol: "North Dakota Gets “e” for Ethanol "

Corn was never a real big crop in ND. Maybe they can find a way to convert alkali weeds to ethanol. Actually sugar beets can be used for this purpose too.

Green cane flames

Fire damages 40 acres of sugar cane: "WAIKAPU – An unscheduled fire Thursday night burned about 40 acres of sugar cane in a field along Kuihelani Highway near the Dunes at Maui Lani golf course, officials said.
Kahului Airport tower personnel contacted Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. at 6:45 p.m. with information that field 718 was on fire, according to HC&S harvesting Superintendent Mark Lopes."

This is one of the two plantations providing Hawaiian raw to C & H. It will be interesting to see the impact in Crockett.

"Processing unripened cane produces far less sugar for the same handling expense. Although plantation workers planned to salvage the cane, the premature harvest reduces the quality of the raw sugar, Howe said.
“The impact includes the danger to the community presented by arsons such as this and the disruption to HC&S’ carefully coordinated two-year-long schedule of planting, cultivating, ripening and harvesting the dozens of fields that cross the plantation,” she said.

Finally - Something Other Than Gasoline

Dow and Crystalsev Announce Plans to Make Polyethylene from Sugar Cane in Brazil:

There may be more hope than ever that we will get over the need to support sugar prices abd imports.

"The Dow Chemical Company, the world's largest producer of polyethylene, and Crystalsev, one of Brazil's largest ethanol players have announced plans for a world-scale facility to manufacture polyethylene from sugar cane.The Dow Chemical Company, the world's largest producer of polyethylene, and Crystalsev, one of Brazil's largest ethanol players have announced plans for a world-scale facility to manufacture polyethylene from sugar cane."

Seeking Change

Since starting this blog, less and less have items of interest to the sugar refining process in Crockett have been posted. It may be because my interest is flagging (how about that). Its time to "fish or cut bait."

SUGAR SHIPS

Sugar ships come and go. Wonder if this is a Homeland Security issue? Or if it is a setup to ge the bunch of "lefties" populating Crockett? Read the article.

How About That

"The ethanol distillery unit of a sugar factory in Karnataka. case for reform "

Preservation Online: Today's News

This article covers nicely the possible loss of Zane Grey's place on Santa Catalina Island. If the fires don't get it, maybe a developer will preserve it.

Here We Go Again

: "Dry winter brings drought to Bay Area
By Dogen Hannah
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched:04/12/2007 06:24:23 AM PDT

Although spring storms still could douse California, the state's water suppliers and firefighters are bracing for the consequences of an unusually dry winter.
Drought conditions gripping much of the West have now spread to the Bay Area, National Drought Mitigation Center officials are expected to announce today.
'The situation is serious right now,' said climatologist Brian Fuchs of the Lincoln, Neb.-based center. 'We're starting to see potential problems, as far as voluntary water restrictions.'
The last drought to hit the Bay Area, and the rest of the state, began in 1988 and lasted four years. "

After the deluge

Do you think excess carbon caused this?

U.S. and Brazil Seek to Promote Ethanol in West - New York Times

U.S. and Brazil Seek to Promote Ethanol in West - New York Times: "WASHINGTON, March 2 — President Bush, hoping to reduce demand for oil in the Western Hemisphere, is preparing to finish an agreement with Brazil next week to promote the production and use of ethanol throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, according to administration officials."

Sugar Companies in Dominican Republic Begin Ethanol Project | Biodiesel and Ethanol Investing

Ethanol continues to change the world' sugar industries!

Sugar Companies in Dominican Republic Begin Ethanol Project Biodiesel and Ethanol Investing: "DominicanToday.com reports that the Central Roman Corporation and the Vicini Group began a new project to develop ethanol plants using Dominican sugar cane as feedstock. Executives form the companies met with President Fernandez to talk about the new project. If approved, the project would provide the first fuel made from something other than petroleum in the Dominican Republic."

Bay Area Towns

Byron is smaller than Crockett but a great place to live.

Stuck in country time: Byron's rural roots are here to stayBy Barbara E. HernandezCONTRA COSTA TIMES
BYRON - Once a playground of Crockers, Spreckels and silent-film stars, this town of 960 people is best known as Contra Costa County's country corridor, where its rural residents reap what they sow.
"People who choose to live in Byron want a spot in their backyard. They want a horse and they don't want to have CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions)," said local historian and seventh-generation Byron resident Kathy Leighton. "They want a rural lifestyle."
With big stretches of land, farmhouses ranging from Craftsman practicality to faux-Tuscan manors and residents comfortable with the scents of wineries, livestock and earth, Byron's bucolic setting is unlike the suburban communities of Brentwood and Discovery Bay that surround it. Barbed wire and chain-link fences surround homes, holding in dogs, goats, donkeys, horses and cattle.
"It's still very much a farming community with a dairy, vineyards and corn-packing sheds," said Contra Costa Supervisor Mary Piepho, whose district includes Byron.
Byron was known mainly for its historic Byron Hot Springs, a destination resort in the early part of the 20th century. The 160-acre salt springs were developed by Lewis Ridson Mead in 1865 as a spa resort, which stayed popular until they fell out of favor around 1950.
The property is now owned by East Bay Associates, which plans to develop the 160-acre site as a spa resort with a golf course, tennis courts, stables and a winery, said historian Carol Jensen.
The first hotel, built in 1878, the same year Byron was founded, burned to the ground in 1901. The second had a similar fate in 1912. By 1914, a brick structure was built that still stands today. The resort was used as an interrogation camp during World War II and closed shortly after.
But the key to Byron is not in its past, residents said.
"I think it's a prime spot for a wonderful little future," Leighton said.
Insiders' view
Although Byron and neighbor Discovery Bay share a ZIP code and school system, the two communities have what has been called a tense relationship.
Leighton said the Discovery Bay versus Byron feud is exaggerated. "We certainly have more in common than tearing us apart," she said. "It's imperative for the communities to get along."
Most of the problem stems from growth echoes in Byron, such as increased traffic and impacts on the school system.
"There is a feeling that Discovery Bay will come into what Byron has perceived as our land," she said.
With home building halting, that threat has diminished, Leighton said.
"I think the feeling from the county is that there was some error in judgment in Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley, so they see us as the perfect opportunity to take advantage of open space," Leighton, 60, said.
Piepho, a Discovery Bay resident whose husband is director of the Discovery Bay Community Services District, said Byron is "a very small community with limited potential."
Piepho said little infrastructure in the unincorporated community caused residents to rely on wells and an antiquated wastewater treatment facility that can't allow any more hookups. It will cost $2.3 million to build a new plant, a hard pill to swallow for fewer than 1,000 residents.
Nearby Discovery Bay has a modern sewer and water system that allowed growth, but past disagreements seem to make it impossible for the neighbors to work together.
Although some development could be possible near the Byron Airport, Piepho is pessimistic about the narrow line of buildings that make up Byron's downtown changing. Growth restrictions passed by a countywide vote have limited development and the urban limit line, she said.
Byron is the end of the proposed eBART line, a 24-mile $394 million rail line that follows Highway 4, for 2010. However, because of high costs and outdated estimates, the price is likely to be more than $1.3 billion. After cutting the project into two phases with the Oakley-Byron segment second, Byron still may get a stop on the line after 2010.
Rural living
Because Byron is unincorporated, it has few services and amenities. There are no fire hydrants, so several fires have destroyed the town's oldest buildings, and the town relies on the county for all public safety.
The nearest grocery stores and big-box retailers are in Brentwood, and the town's main drag, Highway 4, can alternate from speedway to traffic jam depending on the time of the commute.
And there will be a commute for most new residents. The average commute for Byron residents is about 30 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Housing stock
Housing stock is mostly older farmhouses with clapboard homes and small yards near downtown, as well as larger parcels with custom homes on the outskirts of Byron.
Richard Pontes, a real estate broker and owner of Realty World Delta Country for the past 20 years in Byron, said he makes most of his money selling homes outside town because of the low turnover.
"It's kind of a limited market," he said. "There's not a lot happening."
Pontes said that most people who come into his office are looking for an acre parcel with a house and are shocked to find the price is $650,000.
"They find out it's not cheap here anymore and it's difficult to find small parcels," he said. "There are $1.5 million homes going up on 5-acre parcels."
In a recent look at homes for sale, the least-expensive home was a 1,664-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home on 0.17 of an acre for $419,000. The highest price was $2.1 million for a 3,811-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath, three-story home on 35.54 acres.
Report card
Students in Byron attend public school in the Byron Union School District. On the Academic Performance Index Growth Report, students at Discovery Bay Elementary scored 767 and Timber Point Elementary scored 800 out of 1,000 points. Excelsior Middle School scored 739. Students attend high school at Liberty Union in Brentwood, where students scored 718.
Story Sources: Byron Union School District, state Department of Education, Realtor.com, Realty World Delta County and the U.S. Census Bureau
Barbara E. Hernandez covers real estate. Reach her at 925-952-5063 or bhernandez@cctimes.com.
HOME VALUES
1990 . . . $310,000
1995 . . . $254,000
2000 . . . $327,250
2005 . . . $610,000
2006 . . . $710,000
Source: DataQuick Information Systems, median sale price of detached, resale homes.
Some comments posted below may be reviewed before they are displayed, including submissions with hyperlinks

Ethonol Strikes Again

Seems to me the 51 cent subsidy ought to go.

SALT LAKE CITY - From corn fields to Wall Street, enthusiasm for ethanol is at an all-time high. But not everyone is enthusiastic.
Demand for the corn-based fuel is driving up the cost of feed corn, making it more expensive to feed cows, chickens and pigs.

"It's hard to see where the future is, if corn keeps going up," said Kerby Barker, a cattle rancher in southwestern Wyoming. "Any time you jack up the price of fuel, any time you jack up the price of corn, it just drives up our bottom line."Long-term, it could drive up the cost of food, which is alarming to meat producers and food companies. Like many ranchers, Barker questions the 51-cent-a-gallon tax credit created by Congress to encourage growth of the ethanol industry.
"The feeling in our area is that all the subsidies going to support ethanol production is really hurting livestock production," Barker said. A potential split is in evidence this week during the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation this week in Salt Lake City. Farm Bureau is the country's largest general-interest agriculture group. Its members still are trying to understand the consequences of the nation's rapid expansion of ethanol.

"We have a bull on the loose here, and it's going to have a lot of implications for American agriculture and our population," Keith Collins, the Agriculture Department's chief economist, told Farm Bureau members Sunday morning. Enough plants are under construction or being expanded to more than double the nation's ethanol production, from around 5 billion gallons now to 11 billion gallons, according to industry estimates. Production will probably keep expanding even if prices rise higher, Collins said. Prices have climbed above $3 a bushel, the highest level in more than a decade. Strong returns mean plants could cover costs even above $4 or $5 a bushel, depending on prices for ethanol byproducts, he said.

The ethanol boom has been good news for grain farmers and rural communities, where new plants are opening at a breakneck pace. Although big agribusiness companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Cargill Inc. produce the most ethanol, many new plants are farmer-owned cooperatives.
But the boom has put the squeeze on those who produce beef, chicken and pork.
High corn prices are affecting the margins for meat producers such as Smithfield Foods Inc. and Tyson Foods, which have seen earnings fall.
Eventually, sustained high corn prices will probably lead to higher grocery bills. If corn prices increase by $1 a bushel, within a couple of years, grocery shoppers should see the price of pork increase 3 percent to 3.5 percent, Collins said.
The demand for ethanol, however, doesn't mean there is less corn for people to eat -- field corn for livestock and fuel is different from sweet corn, the source of fresh corn on the cob and canned or frozen corn.
But food companies say the impact still goes beyond meat and milk. High prices prompt farmers to plant corn in place of other crops, such as wheat, driving up the price of things like wheat flour, said Cal Dooley, who heads the Food Products Association, an industry group.
"We wouldn't have a concern with this if this was strictly the result of market forces, but what is driving a lot of this use of corn for ethanol is a fairly generous subsidy for production of ethanol," Dooley said in an interview.
Not that the food companies he represents want to eliminate the subsidy, Dooley said.
Rather, there is interest in tying the subsidy to market forces, raising it when prices are low and lowering it when prices are high, he said.
The question is whether the industry has grown enough to survive without the subsidy, said Collins, the Agriculture Department economist.
There have been periods in the past year where ethanol was profitable without the subsidy, and periods when it was not, he said.
"You could argue it's still in a critical period, with a huge amount of production under construction," Collins said.
That is what the industry and its supporters believe.
Although the subsidy expires in 2010, lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would make it permanent.