Don't stop growing cane, simply stop burning it.
Check out the website sugarcane.org, it is a real eye-opener. Why not on Maui?
The Brazilian sugar cane industry employs modern agronomic management practices to enhance productivity and protect the environment. Key features of Brazil's sustainable approach to cultivation and processing include low soil erosion. Brazilian sugar cane fields have relatively low levels of soil loss due in part to the semi-perennial nature of sugar cane. The same plant will grow back many times after it is cut and its cane juice is extracted. In fact, sugar cane is typically only replanted every six or seven years.
The Brazilian industry also emphasizes farming techniques that preserve soil stability while yielding approximately 85 tons of sugar cane per hectare.
Check out the website for the rest of the story.
George Crawford
Kihei
