Vic Jaro, the former president and CEO of Amalgamated Sugar—the nation’s second largest processor of sugarbeets—has been named the 2015 Sugar Man of the Year.
Jaro, who has had a distinguished career in the sugar industry for 42 years, was scheduled to receive the Dyer Memorial Award at a Sugar Club dinner in New York City on Dec. 9.
He joined Amalgamated Sugar in 1973 as a mechanical engineer at its Twin Falls factory in Idaho and later became plant manager. In 2002 he became the vice president of agriculture for the cooperative and in 2006 its president, a role he held until he retired last year.
Among many accomplishments, Jaro implemented a five-year improvement plan at three of the cooperative’s factories that bolstered its strength and profitability. He also led an effort to modernize beet pile management techniques, which helped the cooperative avoid millions of dollars in sugar losses every year. He led this effort to demonstrate the value of utilizing the best agricultural practices to significantly increase crop yields.
Jaro played a major role in the introduction of Roundup Ready sugarbeets and the establishment of National Sugar Marketing, a joint venture with Sucden Americas that markets the sugar produced by Amalgamated.
Jaro also served on the board of trustees of the U.S. Beet Sugar Association and as chairman of the Sugar Association.
A graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, he served as an officer in the Merchant Marine and Naval Reserve before joining Amalgamated.
Jaro is the 58th recipient of the Dyer Memorial Award, which is sponsored by the Sugar Club, an international sugar forum.