Economics
 
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Producer Profitability

Priority Actions:

Profitability | Economic Development | Marketing | Trade | Invasive Species Control | Consolidation | Education  

CONSOLIDATION: 

 Conclusion: Need to find ways to examine the effects of consolidation on small- and medium-size producers and the nation's food security and identify policies that put small- and medium-size producers and South Florida's continued ability to maintain its food production capability at risk

 Suggested Actions: Here are several ways in which this might be done in South Florida:

An interagency mission statement should be established, recognizing that:

Consolidation has occurred, not because of a conscious choice, but because of disparate events, policies and crises.

There has been very little meaningful discussion about what consolidation means to our economy, landscape, environment and national food security, and what we want to do about it.

A lot of our choices already have been made for us.

Now is the time for a thorough discourse. We cannot stand back and pretend that everything will work out for the best, since today's market has been greatly influenced by the policies already in place – and these policies may not be leading us in the direction we wish to go.

A review should be conducted of all policies that lead to consolidation and the agencies responsible for these policies. Prime areas of investigation should include:
Food prices received by producers (and the degree to which governmental policies influence these prices), 

Availability of capital, 

Availability of new technology,

Funding of assistance programs, 

Environmental regulations (see Section 2, Business Climate, and Appendix C - "The Problems with Regulations"),

Land use regulations, especially those regarding development in rural areas (see Section 5, Integrating Agriculture Into the Landscape, and Appendix),

Land valuation (see Appendix B - "How Much are Natural Resources Worth?"),

Farm foreclosure polices, and

Any entrenched large farm bias in:

credit,

price supports,

federal tax policy, including estate taxes (see Appendix G - "The Case for Eliminating Estate Taxes"),

labor laws (see Section 3, Providing Adequate Infrastructure, Labor),

farm worker subsidies, and

other policy areas.

A review should be conducted of existing statistics to identify and quantify the impacts of consolidation on our economy, landscape, environment and national food security;

 An interagency memorandum of understanding should be established setting forth a coordinated vision and plan of action to address consolidation;

 A strategy should be created for implementing changes in the policies that contribute to consolidation; and

 Recommendations should be developed for policy actions that are needed to address this issue in the 2002 Farm Bill.

Recommendation:

Who: South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Group (SFERTG), working with Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DOACS), Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 
What: Need to initiate actions at the state and federal levels. SFERTG, working through DOACS, DCA and USDA should identify all the factors at the state and federal levels that lead to consolidation; investigate the implications represented by consolidation to our economy, landscape, environment and national food security; identify policies under the control of each agency that contribute to consolidation; determine if steps need to be taken to change these policies; and develop a comprehensive, coordinated strategy for addressing consolidation and its impacts.

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