Producer Profitability

Priority Actions:

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

Education: 

Conclusion: Need to find ways to improve education of consumers and policy makers to expand awareness about where food comes from; what it takes to have a safe, affordable and abundant food supply; current threats to South Florida's agricultural productivity; and the underlying premise that agriculture is a vital part of the infrastructure that is necessary to sustain our lives

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

Consider establishing a public policy that acknowledges the value of agriculture to the economy, the environment, the appearance of our landscape and our very survival. This policy could be the cornerstone of efforts to secure funding, agency resources and directives to carry out actions to improve producer profitability, establish a level playing field for Florida producers, deal effectively with exotics, fund educational efforts and create a conducive business climate (described in the next section).

Encourage all Florida supermarket chains to participate in consumer education to increase public awareness on food safety, stress buying food grown to American standards (in compliance with U.S. laws) and promote local produce when available. The campaign should help each store feature specific products and specials to increase sales (so the store will have a vested interest in the campaign, since it will benefit the store's bottom line). Also, the campaign should give the first chain to participate a public relations advantage over other chains by allowing it to seize a lead in enhancing food safety and food quality by educating consumers about the origins of their grocery products and promoting produce grown to American standards.

Self space is at a premium so, instead, air space should be used for banners, product information and hang-down video monitors. Also, the educational campaign can be combined with cooking demonstrations, cooking classes, and classes in shopping and choosing the best ingredients.

  Provide support and information for all campaigns, including displays, posters, videos, information for an ongoing story of our food: how it's grown, who grows it, how it gets to our tables. 

The same advertising agencies used to stop teen smoking could be recruited to raise awareness of the public about the value of agriculture.

If you want to get people to care, focus on the health/food safety aspects – those are the motivating factors for consumers. Get people to understand why U.S. standards are important to their health – what health problems could result from eating unsafe produce? Advertise this in the supermarket. Need a wide-scale campaign in supermarkets. Get dieticians involved. People care about what they put in their bodies. They just need to know first.

Continue conservation education, with a focus on the benefits of agriculture.
Responsible: NRCS Duration: Short term (1-2 years)

  As Gail C. Stern says: "EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE ... our future depends on a truly informed public. Start at the elementary school levels. Keep in mind what a child learns he brings home to his parents. This also includes more incentives from the ag sector such as contests, scholarships and rewards for understanding ag's importance to everyones' future. This then spills from the public sector, the voting sector, to our politicians.

Barbara Miedema, of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative, notes that: "the University of Florida has a wonderful ag education program going in Palm Beach County. It's called project SOAR (Sharing Our Agricultural Roots). School gardens have been located on several elementary and middle school campuses. This provides hands-on educational opportunity for many students who knew little or nothing about farm activities. I would encourage you to contact Dr. Richard Raid at 561-996-3062 for more details on how the program works and how it can be augmented or used to reach some of your goals."

Rick Roth also suggests that existing programs can — and should — be expanded. As he says: "Education dollars need to be spent for ‘Ag in the Classroom' programs."

In addition, Roth says: "The Cooperative Extension Service needs to move forward to provide some public relations functions; i.e., educate the public as to the benefits of [a] strong ag industry that will remain competitive by recommitting public dollars for ag research to solve society's ‘problems' with ag production and keep Florida ag competitive."

Finally, Sarah Longino, daughter of B.T. and Jane Longino, of Longino Ranch outside Arcadia, says: "I am a high school biology teacher in Orlando. It has long concerned me that students are so unaware of the origins of their food. The old commercial in which the two cute little boys determined that milk ‘comes from Publix' is, unfortunately, too realistic ... People truly don't seem to realize the sources of all of their food -- it does NOT come from Publix." 

Sarah Longino goes on to say: "An area in which to address this is the public schools. The Florida State Standards for science have recently been completed for grades K-12. These include a series of science strands that are to be taught to all students. Specific grade and subject benchmarks (objectives) are being developed within each of these strands. Providing agriculturally-oriented materials that are geared to these benchmarks might be a good way to make some headway with the younger generation. Teachers are usually more receptive to ‘ready to use, already fit the standards' materials than they are to vague suggestions and reams of factual information. Support of Ag programs in schools might be another way to help.

Recommendation:

Who: DOACS, IFAS, USDA, Florida Farm Bureau Federation (FFBF) and other commodity groups and institutions, as appropriate.
What: Need major statewide effort, possibly launched with a prototype program in South Florida. DOACS, IFAS, USDA, FFBF and other commodity groups and institutions should consider cooperating together to develop educational campaigns to improve awareness of and appreciation of agriculture, and create a more informed consumer. The educational campaigns should involve supermarkets, restaurants, schools, food sections of newspapers and all appropriate media. Specific environmental organizations also should be targeted for educational efforts.