Michigan Sugar Company is a grower-owned cooperative founded in 1906 that processes sugar beets into about 1.3 billion pounds of Pioneer Sugar annually. Headquartered in Bay City, Michigan, the cooperative operates factories in Bay City, Caro, Croswell and Sebewaing and employs around 1,000 year-round and 1,100 seasonal workers. With 865 grower-owners farming 140,000 acres of sugar beets, Michigan Sugar is the third largest sugar beet processor in the United States and generates an estimated $700 million in annual economic impact. The company sells refined white and brown sugar to industrial, commercial and retail markets under the Pioneer Sugar brand.