General

Q: I’ve heard that sugar is a ‘subsidized’ crop. How does that work? Do they pay you not to grow sugar?

A: Unlike other crops that are supported by various federal programs, sugar is NOT subsidized and there is NO incentive not to grow crops. In theory, the Federal Department of Agriculture has set a minimum price per pound (a floor) at which they commit to being willing to purchase sugar from any U.S. grower; to be attractive to growers, you’d have to assume the government’s (floor) price is higher than the market price. However, that floor price for raw sugar has not increased in decades, and actually has decreased. Various trade agreements have created demand pressures on prices—forcing them to drop below the floor price. For every one cent change in the #14/lb sugar price, HC&S is impacted by $1 million.

Q: Why don’t you replace sugarcane for an energy crop, like corn?

A: Sugarcane is one of the most efficient converters of sunlight energy into chemical energy and some believe it is the ultimate energy crop because you get two potential sources of revenue from one plant: edible sugar (a high value product) and at no additional cost, the fiber for producing energy.

Sugarcane has a very high biomass yield, a portion of which already is being converted into energy. That biomass fuel is bagasse, the fiber left over after the sucrose is squeezed from the cane. Decades ago, Hawaii’s sugar industry began producing steam and electricity, known as cogeneration, making Hawaii a world leader in production of renewable energy from biomass. On Maui, electricity was originally produced by HC&S using sugarcane bagasse, just distributed by Maui Electric Co.

Fermentation, the basic process for ethanol production, uses sugar as its feedstock. Complex carbohydrates such as starches must be broken down to basic sugar units to achieve fermentation. Sugarcane in its natural form already contains high levels of sugar making it a most efficient feedstock for ethanol.

Q: Why don’t you grow other crops?

A: Reference is often made to other crops that can be grown. Despite having year round sun, day-lengths in Hawaii are relatively short, with the longest day less than 14 hours. Crops such as hemp are temperate, meaning they need long hours of sunlight for maximum growth. Therefore, hemp will flower before reaching significant size, detrimental to achieving maximum biomass yield. Additionally, without a higher value co-product to share in growing costs, all production costs will need to be attributed to the energy product, making it a potentially high cost source of energy.

Field

Q: What crop protection chemicals does HC&S use? How is ‘biological control’ more desirable than using insecticides?

A: Beginning in the 1800s, the sugar industry committed to controlling pests via biological control: using insect predators and genetic selection. Occasionally, a crop-damaging insect or disease has appeared, such as smut in the 1970s and the lesser corn stalk borer in 1986. It may take several years to identify a natural predator that does not harm other flora and fauna, or to develop disease-resistant varieties in necessary quantities but HC&S accepts the interim losses as preferential to the regular use of insecticides or fungicides. The only exception is material used for mosquito control. We work with the Department of Health to monitor mosquitoes; if populations of mosquito larvae are identified, spraying is done to keep them under control.

Sugarcane grows for 24 months in Hawaii and is grown by planting cuttings of immature cane. These ‘seed cane’ pieces are dipped in a fungicide to prevent fungus growth on the cut surfaces, and increase the likelihood of germination. Herbicides or weed killers are used early in the crop to keep competing weeds from slowing or stopping the cane growth. Application at the correct stage of growth is emphasized to minimize the amount of material needed for control. All applications are done using ground equipment or hand sprayers. After 4 to 5 months, the tall sugarcane stalks cover the ground surface, and thereby out-compete the weeds for growth.

Other “chemicals” used are primarily nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium) that are either applied directly to the root zone through the drip irrigation system or spread on the field, as we do with sand to add calcium. Finally, at 6-10 weeks before harvest, a growth regulator is applied to the crops to maximize sugar storage. This is done using a helicopter as it must be absorbed through the cane leaves.

Q: How much water does sugarcane use compared to other crops?

A: All crops require replacement of water that is transpired. Other than cacti, which require much less water, most plants transpire 200-1,000 lbs (90-450 kg) of water for each pound of solid material added to the plant. Under Hawaii conditions, when grown for two years, sugarcane uses about 160-200 lbs of water for each pound of cane produced, which translates to about 500 lbs of water for each lb of dry matter. This compares favorably to corn, which needs 664 lb of water and to wheat, which uses 1,100 lbs of water for each pound of dry matter. In the plant kingdom, sugarcane is one of the most efficient converters of sunlight energy to biomass, making it a natural as a source of renew able energy. In summary, most green plants use the same amount of water. However, sugarcane can survive periods of no water or irrigation with brackish water, which would kill most other plants.

Q: Why can’t HC&S simply use water from its wells, rather than surface water from East and West Maul sources?

A: HC&S does not have enough well water available to meet the needs of the plantation. In fact, hydrologists believe that the brackish water lens that exists under the otherwise dry central Maui fields is due to irrigation practices by HC&S—nature’s way of ‘recycling’ the irrigation water. Therefore, without continued irrigation with surface water, the non-potable lens would ultimately disappear. The availability of surface water from East and West Maui sources is essential to the plantation’s survival; while much of HC&S has access to well water, nearly 5,000 acres of cane fields are totally dependent on surface sources from East Maui.

Q: What should we make of claims that your plantation is 'de-watering' streams on Maul?

A: HC&S is dependent on stream water for its survival. The elaborate collection and transportation systems that were built—completely at private expense—to convey these waters to the plantation were the very basis for the plantation’s existence and survival over the past 136 years. The last ditch was constructed in 1923 (over 80 years ago) and, since then, EMI has done only maintenance and repairs to the system to protect its integrity. Yes, we do use significant quantities of stream water to irrigate our cane fields, to process our cane into sugar and to generate power from clean, renewable resources. We use, however, only a portion of the total water available in these watersheds and we believe we put them to good use—uses that benefit the entire community—enabling 37,000 acres of cultivated green, open space; over 800 well-paying jobs for local residents; clean renewable energy for the community; and, importantly, water for Upcountry Maui residents and businesses.

Q: What constitutes trespassing and why is it a bad idea for the public to use the cane haul roads?

A: New laws enacted by the State Legislature have clarified and increased penalties related to trespass on private agricultural lands, which includes the cane haul roads; the mere presence of a crop (the cane) is deemed sufficient warning that the land is used for agricultural purposes. It’s also imprudent to be walking, riding a bicycle or motorcycle, or driving a car on private roads that are used by large vehicles that assume they have the right of way. HC&S has cooperated with the Maui Police Department on many occasions, allowing public use of cane haul roads in situation of emergency. During these times, HC&S will halt or delay its usual large vehicle traffic.

Harvesting

Q: Why does HC&S burn the cane fields?

A: Pre-harvest burning of sugarcane fields is done primarily to get rid of the dried leaves, or “trash,” as it is called, which has accumulated over a growing period as long as 24 months. Where sugar has been the primary product from our fields, Stephanie A. Whalen of HARC (Hawaii Agricultural Research Center) said, “Harvesting cane without burning off the trash…increases the amount of labor and equipment needed to harvest cane, haul it to the mill and process it into raw sugar”. The quality and quantity of the sugar is also negatively impacted if the leafy trash is not separated from the cane stalks before the cane is milled. HC&S is carefully evaluating technologies that will convert this “trash” into energy. However, the renewable energy produced must exceed that which is used to create it, in order for the project to have a positive energy balance.

Q: Why is an unscheduled burn/arson different from a pre-harvest burn?

A: An unscheduled burn is either an act of arson or, rarely, a pre-harvest fire that escaped its intended boundaries. Scheduled burns are very structured and HC&S makes every effort to minimize the impact on the community. They follow roughly 18 months of growth, punctuated by a six-month period of ripening when the cane plant is depleted of nutrients that promote growth and denied water which induces a stress forcing the plant to store sucrose rather than grow. Without ripening, sucrose content can be low. Pre-burn precautions include field preparation such as pushing cane away from and watering adjacent fields, irrigation equipment, and other structures such as utility poles. HC&S also contacts nearby residents who have requested pre-burn notification and written notices are distributed in advance to homes and businesses possibly affected.

Q: I’ve heard that you burn the irrigation tubing?

A: HC&S utilizes a black polyethylene drip tubing that is buried between, and irrigates, two rows of cane. As it is underground, the majority of the tubing is not exposed to the cane fire. Where it is exposed, the heat from the fire may cause it to melt, rather than “burn,” as this tubing has a chemical composition similar to candles. If burned, it gives off an odor similar to candle wax and its byproducts are carbon dioxide and water. Our operating practice is to replace the tubing after each harvest, expecting that it may be damaged by harvesting which utilizes push rakes and bulldozers. This differs from our expectations that the rest of the irrigation system remains intact—and that includes the small, white PVC pipes (known as ‘risers’) to which the drip tubing is connected, each serving one acre, and the larger PVC pipes buried deep underground, to which the risers connect. Our harvesting crew makes every effort not to damage those as they are costly to replace.

Click here for more facts about cane burning.

Q: Why is some cane harvested using ‘chopping’ machines, while most cane is not?

A: The sugarcane you may see being cut by chopper machines is ‘seed cane’—immature stalks that are cut at 6-8 months of age destined for use to plant fields of ‘commercial cane’ that will be grown to maturity, for as long as 24 months. The young cane is still erect, which makes it suitable for these choppers; the fields generally utilized for growing this seed cane are flat and with minimal rocks to accommodate the harvesting equipment that uses saw blades to cut the cane. Despite extensive trials during the previous five years in hopes of a conversion to chopper-suitable cane, HC&S has regrettably concluded that these machines cannot handle Maui’s rocky fields, or steep slopes which, unfortunately, is what comprises a large part of HC&S.

Q: Why do HC&S haulers get to stop traffic to cross Maul’s highways?

A: Primarily for safety reasons. The haulers and their load together weigh more than 80 tons and it’s hard to move that much weight as quickly as would be necessary if they had to wait for a break in the traffic and ‘dash’ across. As Maui’s highways grow wider and wider, it makes the ‘dash’ across impossible. Know, however, that police officers hired to assist HC&S are paid by the company. HC&S has consistently asked for underpasses or other forms of crossing that would not impede traffic, as new highways have been built and have intersected plantation roads.

Factory

Q: What causes that smell near the mill?

A: Ever since its construction in 1902, the Pu’unene factory was designed so all of the process water it uses would be used to grow more sugarcane. This water contains soil, as well as sugars. Every effort is made to keep the water moving, however, distances from the factory, and soil-loading can result in biological growth in the water—some of which is sulfur forming—causing that ‘rotten egg’ smell. Timely use of this water, and adding deodorants as needed, is part of day-to-day operations that keep odors at a minimum.

Q. How does HC&S generate power from renewable and recycled sources?

A: HC&S uses biomass (bagasse) and surface water to generate power. HC&S generates electricity by burning bagasse (residual cane fiber), which accounts for a majority of electricity used at HC&S and sold to MECO.

The amount of energy produced each year from bagasse alone results in an estimated 600,000 barrels of oil not being imported to Maui. Water from several of the East Maui Irrigation ditches can first pass through our hydroelectric plant, generating clean, renewable power. HC&S generates sufficient energy for internal needs, and sells excess power to MECO. HC&S is authorized to use two types of “waste” oil—available locally—that may have otherwise been shipped away for disposal. Recycled motor oil is used for two power plant boilers instead of No. 6 fuel oil, amounting to about 10% of HC&S’s total need for oil. Recycled cooking oil is also utilized at HC&S, however, at lesser quantities than the preferred used motor oil.

Q: What is really coming out of the HC&S stacks? There used to be five stacks; where did the other two go?

A: Burning of the residual cane fiber (bagasse) is similar to burning wood. If the amount of air or moisture is not right, sooty smoke will result. HC&S stacks are all equipped with “wet scrubbers” which “wash” the boiler exhaust before it exits the stack. Therefore, most of the time, the white plume is simply steam. Occasionally, upsets due to high-moisture bagasse will cause the plume to turn black, as the particulate matter overwhelms the scrubbers; however, power plant computer equipment and personnel monitor and promptly institute corrective measures. The company must monitor its emissions and is required to self-report, to the Department of Health, opacity violations that exceed a certain length of time. In the last few years, the two oldest stacks were dismantled, out of concern for the safety of employees and the public.

Q: Is Pu’unene a power plant, a mill, or a refinery?

A: Pu’unene is a sugarcane mill with its own power plant. And though raw sugar is made at the mill, it is not refined on Maui; rather, the raw sugar is shipped in bulk to C&H Refinery in Crockett, California. There is some ‘food grade’ sugar made on Maui, at Pu’unene: Maui Brand Raw Cane Sugars. A separate production area is utilized to make and package the Plantation White and Turbinado Sugars.

Q: Are sugarcane workers unskilled, poorly paid laborers?

A: No. Many workers deal with highly sophisticated technology and equipment and must be thoroughly trained in order to operate it. In fact, HC&S’s apprenticeship program, which has been in existence since the 1960s, has offered extensive training to hundreds of people in their preferred trade—several dozen journey workers are ‘graduated’ each year by HC&S. Field equipment operators are cross-trained to operate several machines, and often are trained to do maintenance (but generally, not repairs). Chemical, mechanical and process engineers are important to HC&S. Computer technicians and electricians are important to HC&S as there are more than 5,000 electronic sensors that help monitor and control the computerized factory and power plant processes.

Fieldworkers earn wages that are competitive and exceed most entry level jobs in the open market.

Q: What does HC&S contribute to the economy?

A: HC&S purchases more than $60 million worth of goods and services from local vendors as well as supports a payroll of well over $40 million dollars. The company’s large-scale purchases of agricultural goods helps lower the cost of those goods for other Maui farmers. In addition, HC&S and EMI, its sister company, employ over 800 people throughout Maui, 70% of which have been with the company for over 10 years. Finally, the company’s charitable giving, accomplished through the A&B Foundation, directs roughly $400,000 in grants to Maui’s charities each year and employees are generous with donations of their personal resources, both time and money.