Florida sugar farmers to be featured on episode of Mike Rowe’s ‘How America Works’

An upcoming episode of Mike Rowe’s “How America Works” will spotlight Florida sugar farmers as they grow, harvest and process sugarcane at U.S. Sugar facilities.

“Like many rural towns in America, Clewiston provides the muscle for ensuring staples of our food supply like sugar are affordably and widely available on store shelves, in restaurants and in some of the many favorite foods American families consume daily,” Rowe said in a statement promoting the show.

“This episode will provide viewers with an up close and personal look at the hard and oftentimes complicated work that goes into producing your food every day.”

Rowe’s show airs through the Fox Business Network. Rowe has made a name for himself with his “Dirty Jobs” show and other productions looking to highlight blue-collar work across the country.

The U.S. Sugar episode will first air on Monday, June 13 at 8 p.m.

“The episode on Florida sugarcane farmers will showcase some of the many challenges employees face on a daily basis as they help to sustainably grow, harvest, transport, mill, refine and ship cane sugar from Clewiston, Florida to customers around the country,” read a release from U.S. Sugar detailing the episode.

“The episode will additionally feature U.S. Sugar’s co-generation plant, which is powered by bagasse, or sugarcane fiber, and generates enough surplus electricity annually to power up to 25,000 homes in South Florida.”

U.S. Sugar gave permission for Rowe’s crew to follow employees for a day and witness the process of harvesting, transporting, refining and shipping the product, moving it from Clewiston across the U.S.

The episode will feature five U.S. Sugar employees: production supervisor Jay Baez Jr., mill worker Leonard Sampson, roll welder Phillip Ford, Assistant Refinery Manager of Operations Billy Dyess and Team Leader Orlando Martinez.

“In addition to growing fresh fruits and vegetables millions of Americans depend upon during the winter months every year, our employees are dedicated to sustainably providing sugar that is commonly used in a variety of food products,” said U.S. Sugar spokeswoman Judy Sanchez. “We’re excited at the opportunity to have Mike Rowe share our employees’ stories with a national audience.”