Day 2

Challenges facing agriculture in Florida were explained through speakers and tours on Jan. 30. 

Florida agriculture supports 1.4 million jobs and generates a $100 billion in economic impact on the state. They are No.1 in a production of sugar cane, citrus, sweet corn and winter leaf crops and No. 2 in vegetables. 

The Belle Glade Everglades Research and Education Center began in 1922 as a way to help farmers as several minor nutrients were missing or were too low in the soil leading to crop failures. The deficiencies in the low-quality feed impacted the health of cattle and dairy cows resulting in low calf survival.

Dr. Gregg Nuessly took over in 2014. They have a 740-acre farm and 60 buildings. The scientists have bred new cultivars of celery and sweet corn that will grow well in southern Florida. The soil type is critical for the successful development of the vegetable industry that thrives in the areas. 

"We don't have a lot of bugs, but we have a lot of diseases," Nuessly told our group soils are low in copper and other nutrients. Growers are required to take soil samples and are required to follow recommendation for improvements to fulfill contracts.

Barbara Miedema, VP of Public Affairs and Communications for the Sugar Cane Growers Coop, explained some of the issues sugar cane growers face as far as regulations. After people settled in southern Florida, the value of draining the swamp was recognized and farming flourished. Then the environmental movement started questioning if practices were good for the environment. Regional water management districts were set up across 16 counties. They were given regulatory powers. This encompasses a huge land mass with 8 million people in the area from Orlando to the Florida Keys. 

Management of water is a huge issue. Barbara explained that sugar cane growers are required to pay a $25 per-acre, per-year Everglades Privilege Tax. The tax is aimed at funding public works projects. Areas are set aside to clean phosphorous out water as it slowly drains toward Everglades National Park. Rains dump a lot of water on the state. Since the area is extremely flat and has little slope, the water needs to be directed away from homes and farms.  

Barbara said the levels of phosphorus have achieved the level of 10 ppb through land and concentration reductions. "We've chased every molecule of phosphorus we could find," she said. One publication noted this would be ¼ teaspoon in an Olympic size swimming pool. She advised the group to stay proactive to work together on issues of mutual importance and not to pit one farm group against another. Share information so all can be successful.  

 

Off to the fields!

Barbara took the group to see sugar cane being harvested in fields with custom-made harvesters that cost $800,000. A controlled burn first eliminates excess residue. The truckloads of the cane are hauled to the processing plant where the sugar is released from the fiber, much like soap from a sponge. This site generates about 400,000 tons of raw sugar each year. That is taken via a barge to be processed in Baltimore, Maryland or Yonkers, NY. This sugar is sold to industrial suppliers located in those areas. 

SDARL graduate Jon Nelson was impressed by the coordination of the work that continues seven days a week from sunrise to sunset in the fields and the plant that runs 24 hours a day, with the harvest season lasting 150 days out of a year. 

Stephen Basore and Toby Basore of TKM Bengard Farms of Belle Glade provided a fascinating look into how lettuce gets from the field to boxes shipped to retailers. The blog will share more on that in the next installment.