Cutting edge technology protects the environment as well as the fruit throughout the Company’s 16,500 acres of orange groves that supply fruit to the processing plant and juice to the packaging plant.

• Trees receive precise amount of nutrients through low-volume, micro-jet irrigation systems that apply appropriate fertilizer and water directly to the root zone of each tree, minimizing runoff.
  
  
• Any drainage that does occur is held in retention ponds.
  
  
• Groves are checked vigilantly for insects.
  
  
• Natural methods like specially bred predator insects are the first choice for pest control. If needed, chemical insecticides are sprayed only on the targeted trees.
  
  
• Creation of the groves turned barren pastures into forests with wetlands, ponds and hammocks.
  
  
• Our groves provide wildlife habitat to many varieties of wildlife, including birds, fish and deer.
  
  
• SGC’s 2.5 million orange trees absorb 613,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. Southern Gardens Citrus' state-of-the-art processing plant produces superior orange juice using energy-efficient technology that recycles every part of the orange.
  
  
• No part of the orange is discarded. Orange pulp, skin and oil become useful byproducts.