PRECISION AGRICULTURE

U.S. Sugar Is Home to the Largest Contiguous, Privately Owned Wi-Fi Network in America

- HEATHER MACHOVINA

U.S. SUGAR WAS BUILT on innovation. In the beginning, the key to its continued growth was the Clewiston Sugar House, which could process 1,500 tons of sugarcane per day. Since the 1940s, it has been adapted, changed, and enlarged; setting records for being one of the most efficient single-tandem mills in the world. Now, U.S. Sugar’s mill can grind up to 42,000 tons of sugarcane daily, during the busy harvest season. Furthermore, U.S. Sugar became the first refinery in the United States to completely integrate the entire sugar making process. Their focus on technological innovations in agriculture has led US Sugar to build and own the largest private Wi-Fi network in precision farming today.

U.S. Sugar’s Wi-Fi network is the largest, contiguous mesh, privately owned Wi-Fi network in the country. It spans a 270-squaremile-area of its South Florida farmland. It plays an integral role in the operation of U.S. Sugar’s advanced precision agriculture technology.

“Across our farmland, our fleet of stateof-the-art ‘smart’ harvesters, tractors, and other equipment uses our wireless network to transmit and share real time data to help make our process of farming sugarcane, citrus, and fresh vegetables more sustainable, efficient, and agronomic,” says Carl Stringer, the Vice President of Internet Technology at U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Florida. Using advanced practices allows U.S. Sugar to easily maximize their crops in both quality and quantity.