AGRICULTURE MUST BE PROFITABLE
AGRICULTURAL LAND EQUITY MUST BE MAINTAINED

OUTLINE OF ISSUES

I.  Critical Issues that Threaten the Future of Agriculture in Southern Florida

A. Offshore competition with Mexico, Central and South America (unequal economic advantages of importers)

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C. Policy makers at the Federal level do not see a need for a National Food security Policy

D. State and Local policy makers generally put development and housing ahead of agriculture (except in cases where agriculture is operated by large corporations where the commodity is to the greater extent money and political clout tends to be greater as well) and where land speculation plays a larger role than it does with individual farmers

1. The actual costs of living in southern Florida are subsidized for new residents by previous residents (i.e. new housing accommodations for infrastructure development and planning are not borne by the new developments)

2. Federal (e.g pesticide limitations), State (e.g. SFWMD water permitting requirements) and Local (e.g. Dade Country Tree Ordinance) regulations and permitting requirements place a heavy burden on local farming, particularly specialty crops

3. Individual farmers tend to farm because they want to farm and will be more likely to maintain land in agriculture and while they must be profitable are not driven almost entirely by profit incentives

4. Corporate agri-businesses are typically producers of commodities and are driven almost entirely by profit incentives and where long-term land uses are significantly less meaningful

5. The development of strategies for sustainability must be different for these two very different types of agricultural production

6. Vegetable growers generally do not own their land and must rent from absentee land owners who are essentially land speculators

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E. General lack of organization within the farming community and failure to organize by specialty or commodity

1. Tropical Fruit Advisory Council has been quite successful

2. The Avocado and Lime Commission has been reasonably successful

3. The Florida Nursery Growers Association has been quite successful

4. The Mango Forum has been unsuccessful

5. The vegetable farmers have never organized

6. Others?

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F. If agriculture is left entirely to free market forces then agriculture in southern Florida will fail

1. Sugar production has price supports and is largely protected from market forces

2. Specialty Crops have no legislative support or protection from import competition or price supports

3. Marketing costs are too large a portion of the product cost. Need more effective marketing development and organization to help lower market costs

4. Large grocery chains have almost monopolistic bargaining power that inhibits profitability to farmers

5. Support for research and development of crops (except for major crops like corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans) and markets falls far short of the changing competition and need

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G. Legislation has generally been developed to increase free market competition and not protect the kinds of agriculture found in southern Florida.

1. NAFTA, while Improving trade in some areas, has been especially detrimental to local specialty farming crops

2. If some crops (like sugar with price supports and import restrictions) are protected from NAFTA (and similar legislation) other crops will have to be protected as well if they are to survive

3. Consumer awareness benefits of locally grown produce should be increased

4. Consumer awareness of the hazards associated with offshore produce needs to be enhanced

1. Product safety and health Issues

2. Pesticide Issues

3. Lack of labor regulation (child labor, worker safety, etc.)

4. Video of tomato growing in Mexico as example of educational information

5. Country of Origin labeling needs to be a Federal law and should require appropriate labeling standards (e.g. Publix small labels)

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II. Critical Issues Supporting the Future of Agriculture in Southern Florida

A. Benefit of open spaces and the concomitant development of Agri-tourism

1. Long heritage of farming in southern Florida

2. 100th Anniversary of farming

3. Examples like the Napa Valley can be used

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B. Natural Resources

1. Good climate with warm winters

2. Good soils

3. Abundant rainfall

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C. Specialty crops unique to the mainland US

D. Already have well developed organizations in place that if properly coordinated are able to provide extensive support and research

E. Large Research Community already geared for these issues if sufficient funding Is available

1. Crop improvement genetics, hybridizing, graft development. etc.)

2. Pesticide development

3. New crops and new markets

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F. Many crops available and possible that can be grown with high net return per acre

1. Lychee

2. Longan

3. Nursery

4. Etc.

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G. Good infrastructure (transportation, packing_, banking, etc.)

H. In Dade County we have many smaller farmers who prefer to continue farming and are not large corporations and land speculation may not play a major role

I. We have the private_, NGO and government support for developing a sustainable agricultural community in southern Florida