Western Sugar, a company now owned by farmers, closed its Goodland, Kan., sugarbeet factory in 1985. Sugar prices were low, the cost of doing business was climbing, and tough decisions were made that hurt workers and farmers.
The Kansans who lost their jobs weren't alone. From 1985 to 2008 low sugar prices remained stagnant as costs continued their upward march, 53 sugar-producing facilities across the country closed their doors, and more than 100,000 sugar related jobs were lost.
But things are turning around in Kansas and elsewhere, and sugar again seems to be at the center of it all.
Earlier this month, the American Farm Bureau Federation held their annual convention in Hawaii—a state that is synonymous with sugar production.
Brazil’s agricultural empire has 
