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TropSun is a leading grower and distributer of fresh citrus products with three large citrus groves scattered around central Florida in the cities of Orlando, Eustis, and Winter Haven. TropSun currently has 275,000 bushels of citrus at the grove in Mt. Dora, 400,000 bushels at the groves in Eustis, and 300,000 bushels at the grove in Clermont. TropSun has citrus processing plants in Ocala, Orlando, and Leesburg with processing capabilities to handle 200,000, 600,000, and 225,000 bushels respectively. TropSun contracts with a local trucking company to transport its fruit from the groves to the processing plant. The trucking company charges a flat rate for each mile that each bushel of fruit must be transported. Each mile a bushel of fruit travels is known as a bushel-mile. The following table summarizes the distances (in miles) between the groves and processing plant.
 | Distance (in miles) Between Groves and Plants |
Grove | Ocala | Orlando | Leesburg |
Mt. Dora | 18 | 51 | 39 |
Eustis | 34 | 33 | 20 |
Clermont | 52 | 22 | 37 |
TropSun wants to determine how many bushels to ship from each grove to each processing plant to minimize the total number of bushel-miles the fruit must be ship. [ Another way to put it, MINIMIZE the TRANSPORTATION costs of the bushel-miles from the groves to the Plants] (30 Points) HINT: What decision variables can change.
1. Define the decision variables.
2. Define the Constraints
3. Implement and Solve the Problem in Excel
4. Analyze the Solution, what is it telling the decision maker?