Fields in Santa Rosa that were once filled with rows of sugarcane now sit bare.

In 2024, the Santa Rosa sugar mill closed its doors because farmers didn't have enough water for their crops.

“From 2020 to 2021 — and as we got to 2022 — the water supply behind the dams was going down,” RGV Sugar Growers Inc. Chairman Tudor Uhlhorn said. “The acreage started to dwindle to the point that by February 2024, there was not enough acres for the mill to be sustainable."

According to Uhlhorn, nearly 3,000 people lost their jobs when the sugar mill closed, and the state also lost $100 million in annual income.

On Sept. 26, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the revival of the sugar mill through the company Santa Rosa Sugar LLC.

READ MORE: Santa Rosa sugar mill reopening in effo

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