U.S. Sugar approves sale of 181,000 acres to Florida

The board of directors of U.S. Sugar voted Monday to approve a $1.3-billion deal to sell 181,000 acres to the state for Everglades restoration.

"After a lengthy day of discussions, the contract was signed, sealed and delivered unanimously by our board of directors," U.S. Sugar vice president Bob Coker said.

The company's vote sets the stage for the deal's final approval by officials of the South Florida Water Management District, scheduled for a meeting next week.

In approving the deal, the board of the sugar giant turned aside an offer from a Nashville company. The Lawrence Group sought to buy full control of U.S. Sugar by offering shareholders a bid of $300 per share — cash. That translates to about $588-million, far less than what the state was offering.

But in its appeal to the shareholders, the Lawrence Group contended its offer was better than the state's because it's in cash and it's immediate. The state buyout wouldn't happen for at least seven years and could be deferred longer.

Coker said the U.S. Sugar board did not regard that as a formal offer to be considered, only an expression of interest.

The Lawrence Group has tried before to buy U.S. Sugar. Headed by Gaylon Lawrence Sr. and son Gaylon Lawrence Jr., the company twice offered U.S. Sugar $293 a share. Both bids, in 2005 and again in 2007, were rejected by the company's board.

The 60-page contract that the sugar board approved calls for the water district to pay U.S. Sugar $1.34-billion at closing and, in exchange, get title to more than 180,000 acres of land — but not the company's mill, railroad, buildings or other facilities, which were supposed to be part of the buyout when Gov. Charlie Crist originally proposed it in June.

The water district will borrow the money and pay off the debt using a special property tax that applies only in its South Florida region.

In return, U.S. Sugar will lease that land back at $50 an acre and continue farming it until the state needs it for restoring the flow of water from Lake Okeechobee south to Everglades National Park. The lease is for seven years but could be renewed.

The leaseback is expected to bring in more than $50-million in revenue for the state and save it $40-million more in costs to hire someone else to manage the property, according to state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole.

U.S. Sugar has agreed to pay more than $21-million to clean up any pollution left behind on its property.

Sugar farming south of Lake Okeechobee has long been considered a major obstacle to the $10-billion plan for restoring the Everglades. Restoring the long-lost link between the lake and Everglades National Park seemed impossible as long as sugar cane grew there.

Then environmental groups sued to challenge the sugar companies' practice of back-pumping farm runoff containing phosphorus, pesticides and other chemicals into the lake. After a judge ruled for the environmental groups, the water district board voted in August 2007 to end the practice.

U.S. Sugar dispatched lobbyists to ask Crist for help. Instead, he proposed the state buy all the company's assets: 187,000 acres of land, plus its sugar mill, citrus operation and railroad.

Craig Pittman can be reached at pittman@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8530.

source: tampabay.com

link to the original post:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wetlands/article930877.ece


Fort Lauderdale Blog and Real Estate News
Rory Vanucchi
RoryVanucchi@gmail.com

http://waterfrontlife.blogspot.com
www.FortLauderdaleLiving.net

Thousands of Florida softshell turtles end up on dinner plates in Asia

Fishermen pluck softshells from Florida's waters to satisfy Asian appetites

By David Fleshler South Florida Sun-Sentinel

November 19, 2008

Hauled from canals and marshes around Lake Okeechobee, turtles arrive in the late afternoon at Jones Fish House, a corrugated metal structure on the Palm Beach County side of the lake.

A truck sent by Tamarac seafood broker Wan To Ho pulls up every few days and takes the turtles to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for a journey that will end in the soup bowls of Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.

The international trade in Florida softshell turtles has become a significant business in Florida and other southeastern states, as Asian countries scour the globe for savory meats that have become rare at home. In September the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission imposed an 20-turtle daily limit on commercial fishing of softshell turtles, but it's unclear whether that will have much effect because no one knows how many fishermen there are and how many turtles they've been catching.

Distinguished by its large size, tubular snout and flat, leathery shell, the Florida softshell turtle is the state's most popular turtle for eating and export, although other kinds are caught for food or the pet trade. While softshells historically have been abundant, many scientists say it's risky to allow a massive, market-driven catch of the largest, most reproductively active turtles without a careful assessment of the effect on Florida's lakes, rivers and canals."The real problem is we have no idea how many people are fishing, we don't know how many they're taking," said Peter Meylan, professor of biology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, who was among 32 scientists who signed a letter urging the state to impose a one-turtle-a-day limit. "Two guys fishing together can catch 40 turtles in a day. You're talking about a lot of biomass being taking out of ecosystems all over Florida."

Related links

• Florida's endangered and threatened species Photos

• About the Florida softshell turtle

• Top turtle importers

• Prices for turtles

• The problem

  Having depleted their own turtle populations, many countries have begun importing large numbers of Florida softshell turtles. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently cut the commercial catch limit to 20 turtles per day per person, but many scientists say this won't be enough to prevent the species' decline.

Ken Haddad, executive director of the state wildlife commission, issued a statement Tuesday saying the scientists' concerns "registered with us loud and clear," describing the 20-turtle limit as "interim" and promising to adopt a new strategy by June.

At Jones Fish House, just north of Pahokee, a town struggling with poverty and drugs, a sign announces We Buy Softshell Turtles. The fish house pays up to $1.20 a pound, but the sign warns it will reject turtles that are bleeding or smell bad.

As men cleaned fish at tables in the back, manager Lasonda Jones said she sells about 1,000 pounds of turtles a week to Chinese buyers, starting about a year ago. The new catch limits will harm people in an impoverished part of the state, she said.

"Those people are going to be out of a job," she said, seated near a sign listing prices for frog legs, alligator, shrimp and catfish. "Those people work hard; sunburned from having to be outside for 12 hours."

William Shockley, an Okeechobee fisherman, catches turtles on lines with about 250 hooks baited with chicken or bacon. He said the turtles remain plentiful, particularly because most of the state's lakes are off-limits to commercial fishing. And as the restoration of the Everglades creates new marshes and open-water areas, he said, Florida softshell turtles will see their habitat expand.

"I was born and raised in South Florida, and I don't want to see any of our turtles go extinct," he said.

Driving the business is the rising wealth of China, Vietnam, Malaysia and other Asian nations, where the desire for exotic meats and traditional medical ingredients has increased demand for such items as turtle and shark fins.

"In China and Vietnam, freshwater turtle and tortoise meat is a delicacy," said Barney Long, a wildlife biologist with the World Wildlife Fund.

A law enforcement bulletin by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimated in March that 1,600 to 3,000 pounds of turtles were shipped to Asia every week from each of the airports of Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, with additional shipments going by refrigerated trucks.

One Fort Lauderdale seafood exporter buys 15,000 pounds a week, or 1,000 to 1,500 turtles, according to another state report. Kevin Enge, the biologist who wrote the report, confirmed that it was referring to Wan To Ho, president of Mr. Sushi Catering, of Tamarac.

Reached by phone, Ho said he buys only a "few thousands pounds" a week. He agreed the business needs more study and regulation, but said his business puts money in a lot of pockets.

"I think I'm not doing anything wrong," said Ho, who emigrated from southern China more than 30 years ago. "I help export. I help the fishermen."

David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4535.

source: sun-sentinel.com


link to the original post:
Thousands of Florida softshell turtles end up on dinner plates in Asia



Fort Lauderdale Blog and Real Estate News
Rory Vanucchi
RoryVanucchi@gmail.com

http://waterfrontlife.blogspot.com

www.FortLauderdaleLiving.net

Revised U.S. Sugar deal could be sweet for Florida Crystals

Mechanical problems with his plane forced Gov. Charlie Crist to scrap plans to come to South Florida, where he was to announce a scaled-down version of the state’s deal with U.S. Sugar Corp.

However, the revised deal was outlined in a press release issued by U.S. Sugar. It indicates that the state will now purchase 181,000 acres from U.S. Sugar, instead of the original 187,000 acres, for $1.34 billion. The original price tag was $1.75 billion. The new deal includes a leaseback of land for $50 an acre until 2016.

U.S. Sugar will not be selling its mill, refinery, citrus processing facilities, railroads, office building and equipment to the state, according to the press release.

“After months of negotiations, it became clear that the best transaction was for the state to buy the land and for U.S. Sugar to keep the assets,” said Robert Coker, U.S. Sugar’s senior vice president of public affairs. "This is a good deal for the state, U.S. Sugar and our shareholders."

The new deal will allow the South Florida Water Management District to purchase all of the land needed to move forward with the restoration of the Everglades, Coker noted. And it can be done at a cost less than originally anticipated. In addition, he said, the company "will be able to continue farming to ensure that jobs are safeguarded for the next seven years."

The deal was revised because "the financial and real estate world has changed" since it was announced in June, according to a fact sheet issued by U.S. Sugar.

"It made more sense financially for both parties to carefully consider terms that would be fair to both sides — for the state to purchase land for environmental restoration and for U.S. Sugar to keep its industrial assets," it stated.

The buyout plan has been evolving during negotiations among the governor’s office, U.S. Sugar, the water management district and the Everglades Coalition of environmental groups.

Everglades Foundation CEO Kirk Fordham applauded the downsizing of the buyout expenses.

“I think it’s the same great deal for the people of Florida at a lower cost," he said. "The goal was not to own the facilities, but to get the land so you can store and move the water to the Everglades."

Matt Schwartz, of the Sierra Club's Broward County group, said he was surprised the state hasn’t tried to include Palm Beach County in the negotiations. The county has recently been moving ahead with land use permissions for rock mining in the sugar-growing areas.

One of the biggest issues in the buyout plan is what will become of U.S. Sugar’s new processing mill in Clewiston, which is in the proposed buyout area.

Gaston Cantens, Florida Crystals vice president for corporate relations, said his company might be interested in purchasing the mill.

“We’re certainly open-minded about this,” he said. “The caveat we’ve always had is how much land will you have to grow sugar cane to put into the Clewiston mill? If you have no sugar cane, what will you do with the mill?”

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Cantens said Florida Crystals could be interested in owning the mill if there was sugar production around it.

“Would we be interested in the mill? Absolutely,” he said. “But, it would depend on how much land and sugar is available. Our mill in Okeelanta is state of the art. It’s not brand new, but it has been updated and upgraded, and it’s basically computerized. We have no interest in scrapping Okeelanta, where we have a processing plant, distribution center and power plant.”

Florida Crystals and U.S. Sugar share the cane fields of Central Florida almost equally. Any plan to buy out U.S. Sugar to create a flow-way for Everglades waterways would have a big impact on Florida Crystals, and could require its cooperation.

Sugar grower Ardis Hammock of Clewiston, who came to hear the governor speak, was disappointed Crist didn't show – and even more disappointed he hasn't visited Clewiston since announcing the sugar buyout plan. She said she might sell out her land for the right money, but she is not happy about the government buyout in general.

"I feel very much in limbo," Hammock said. "A mill can't stay viable for long without land to support it."

Crist, whose plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Sarasota, has rescheduled the press conference for Wednesday morning.

Web Editor Susan R. Miller contributed to this report.

source: south florida business journal

link to the original post:
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/11/10/daily11.html

Fort Lauderdale Blog and Real Estate News
Rory Vanucchi
RoryVanucchi@gmail.com

www.LasOlasLifestyles.com
www.FortLauderdaleLiving.net