South of the Lake
It was so exciting to gather with 1/3 of Class XI in Belle Glade this past Thursday. There have been many difficult situations that we have all encountered throughout this pandemic, however missing out on seeing our classmates is close to the top of that list.
We were slated to meet at the Belle Glade Marina. As you drive down West Canal Street, North you may wonder if you are in right spot as you wait at the stop light to cross the one-way bridge to the marina, but alas, we arrived. Keith Wedgworth (from Wedgworth Farms and alumni of WLI Class VII) was there to greet us for our first adventure of the day, a gorgeous airboat ride around the Southern part of Lake Okeechobee. Just a few weeks ago the lake was much lower, but today it was around 14 feet. The southern portion of the lake has areas where lily pads and hydrilla grow and the most beautiful birds you have ever seen! Our airboat captain took us to an amazing tree house in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. There is a lot of history here, the land where the tree house stands used to be a farming community decades ago.
Once we got back to the Marina, we had the most amazing chicken lunch provided by Wedgworth Farms and delicious cupcakes provided by Florida Crystals and of course only served with drinks made from REAL sugar!
Dr. Samira Daroub (professor UF/IFAS Soil & Water Sciences) shared with us about the EAA, Everglades Agricultural Area, and the Best Management Practices (BMP’s) that have been mandated for all farmers in the area to comply with since 1995. The primary goal of these BMP’s is for each farm to reduce the level of phosphors in the soil by 25% with soil testing for nutrients, water management and sediment control in turn ensuring the protection of our most sensitive resource, the Everglades. Most farms exceed these standards and take extreme pride is being the best stewards of the land.
There is huge misconception in relation to Lake Okeechobee and agriculture, and sugar is most heavily credited with this misconception. Agriculture has been long to blame for the algae blooms and fish kills that devastate our costal waterways. To set the record straight, the water in Lake Okeechobee flows South, the sugar farming takes place SOUTH of the lake and farms do not regularly back pump water into the lake. Obviously, there are other contributors who are not agriculture.
Keith Wedgworth and Caroline Villanueva from Florida Crystals and WLI Class X, shared about the coalition of farmers that have banded together to fight the bad press related to the falsities of Sugar and Water. It is disheartening to hear how much hate is thrown towards an entire industry that I assure you people do not want to live without. They were joined by Jeffery Willis (Muck City Angler) who is a lifetime fisherman of the area and an educator for the community. Jeffery’s opinion is that education is the key to canceling the misconceptions of agriculture and the lake, and that farmers need to continue sharing their story.
Read MoreResiliency and Innovation
These are two words were that were spoken about multiple times at our last Wedgworth in the Field at Butler Oaks Dairy and at Lykes Brothers’ newest project, the Brighton Valley Water Project.
Both businesses and families are doing their best to be both resilient and innovative for their industries and with their land use.
Mr. Ben Butler (Class IX) was gracious enough to show us around his family dairy. If you are familiar with the location of his dairy it is right along the Kissimmee River that flows into Lake Okeechobee. Ben and his family have not only been resilient to the pressures we all know the dairy industry has faced in recent years, but they also have been innovative with their water projects continue the family’s operation. In total, Ben stated that the family has participated in 7-8 projects that has led to total confinement of the water from the dairy. No water leaving the dairy is untreated.
Continuing our trip further South, our next visit was to Lykes Brothers’ newly finished Brighton Valley Water Project. Mr. Noah Handley (Class IX) and Mr. Joe Collins (Class VII) showed us around the newly completed pump station. Brighton Valley is an 8,200-acre stormwater storage and treatment area on a canal that runs from Lake Istokpoga from the north and runs to Lake Okeechobee to the South. This land was previously used for their cow calf operation. This is the third project that Lykes Brothers has completed. Among their three water projects, they make a measurable difference in the phosphorus load into Lake Okeechobee.
Both businesses are being resilient and innovative in their own ways and scales to be able to continue to be successful in production agriculture and to ultimately do their part in the reduction of contaminates Lake Okeechobee.
Read MoreMoving Citrus Forward
Aaron Himrod, a third-generation grower from Himrod Citrus Nursery took time with several members from Class XI and WLI staff to give us a tour of his facilities. This was the third “field” trip that members have had the ability to participate in during our MaXImize Sessions. Mr. Himrod’s family has been in the greenhouse business since the 1980s and over the years things have drastically changed. He is leading the way in cutting edge and innovative methods to help sustain the citrus industry as a continuing viable Florida crop.
In the nursery, they are growing the new trees to replace those older, non-producing trees. If you are not planting new trees in your grove when needed, the grove will not last. It takes eighteen months from seed to be ready for planting. When they graft a tree, it takes 12 months from the grafting process to be planted. Grafting is when you take a part of two distinctly different yet related citrus species and fuse it together. The nursery houses 10 different scions, 25 root stock with the hope that these new varieties will increase the juice flavor of an already world-renowned Florida juice—just making it that much better.
The regulations for facilities changed in 2007 and with the onset of new rules they were able to retrofit the building and fully enclose it. The current nursey will hold 215,000 trees. They also have a newer facility several miles from the old one that will hold 75,000 trees. The most valuable trees in the nursery are the bud wood trees, they have 200 and 95% are just three varieties. These trees were originally planted in 2006. Mr. Himrod expressed how important it is to make sure that the cuts from these trees are clean an issue in the bud wood trees could potentially cause problems in the entire facility.
There are currently only about 50 nurseries left in the citrus industry. Thanks to the forward thinking and innovative approaches, the Himrods’ have transformed their nursery into one of the best in the area.
After a delicious lunch generously provided by Andrea and Steve Johnson, class members, Christy and Brian were able to have a chance to reflect and discuss how the pandemic has affected our businesses. It was a nice to be able to reconnect even it was as a safe “social” distance.
Opportunistic Obstacles
We were hosted by Brittany Lee (Wedgworth Class IX) at Florida Blue Farms. Ms. Lee gave us an overview and history of the blueberry industry in Florida, as well as a tour of her farm.
Ms. Lee gave us the history of how her family started Florida Blue Farms. They were in the real estate business and decided they wanted to turn this tract into agricultural production. After deciding hay farming wasn’t in her future, they settled on blueberries. She immediately began using all her resources to track down and speak to experts at growing blueberries.
The farm is located in a drainage area of a 3,000-acre swamp. This created a challenge for growing blueberries that need a dry, sandy soil. Ms. Lee and her father went to work creating ditches and drainage that would make the land suitable for growing berries. I was most impressed with the determination of her family to create a successful farming operation on a piece of land that most people would not see the potential opportunity. They decided they wanted to farm on the property, and they made it happen.
Growing blueberries over the last decade has come with many challenges. The competition from foreign imports has drove the price of berries down, while labor costs continue to rise. Florida blueberry growers are competing with foreign companies that are paying their labor less in a day than domestic producers are paying per hour. We are now importing more than 30 times more foreign berries than we were 15 years ago. The resiliency of blueberry growers in the state is what makes producers like Ms. Lee special.
Before leaving, we had a discussion with Ms. Lee about the importance of building relationships. She had story after story of how connections made through the years have impacted her career. Every Wedgworth alumni I’ve spoken with recognizes the true value of the program lies in the relationships built with class members and alumni.
The question I kept coming back to after leaving Florida Blue Farms is: “What obstacles in my life are actually opportunities for growth?”
Ms. Lee’s family turned the challenge of building their farm into an opportunity that has propelled her to becoming a successful grower and President of the Florida Blueberry Grower’s Association. We can see obstacles as a disadvantage or a chance to grow – the choice is ours.
Highlights from Florida Blue Farms
On July 9th, a collection of fellow class XI members convened at FL Blue Farms in Waldo, FL just Northeast of Gainesville. The group was hosted by Brittany Lee, Class IX alumna and manager of her family’s blueberry farm. By traditional standards the Lee’s are relatively new to agriculture. Their family was involved in commercial real estate sales and development, until the recession of 2007 forced them to rethink their long-term strategy. They had begun to reacquire some contiguous pieces of land that they had previously sold portions of, and with no future development potential in sight, they decided to look for alternative uses. After nearly settling on the now infamously glamorous lifestyle of a hay farmer, a family friend who was farming row crops in GA convinced them to partner up on a berry farm on the Lee’s land. A year or so later, right before beginning to plant their first bushes in 2010, the friend had to back out, so it left Brittany and her family, with no agricultural experience, to plant a grow a relatively high maintenance crop alone. Today, they have about 60 acres in production (managed by Michael Hill’s care taking business), and another 40 acres that they have some tough decisions about whether to replant or not.
Some of the highlights that stuck out to me from the trip are the following:
- For only having been in ag for less than 10 years, not only was Brittany well versed in the history of blueberries, cultivars, consumption trends, market challenges, environmental hurdles, etc., but she could recite it all to a group and give you both the challenges and the needs of their industry in a way that stuck with you.
- The above ties into her obvious success as a leader. While it is a family-owned business, and her title was manager, she appeared to be the clear spokeswoman for the farm industry wide. She is also currently the Executive Director of the Florida Blueberry Growers Association, and there were numerous awards on the wall of various accolades within the industry and her community. She also repeatedly mentioned picking up the phone to speak with various state and national representatives to discuss trade issues etc. All of these things can be attributed to her intimate knowledge of her industry and what it needs (her personality helps a little too I’m sure).
- She gave us a statistic that, since 2010 Florida’s blueberry production had essentially remained around 25 million pounds of production per year. In 2010, Mexico was producing 1.7 million pounds and however, last year they produced 53 million pounds. Additionally, she said the average wage of a worker harvesting berries in Mexico is $10/ day, and that the H2A labor for US harvested berries is about $11/hour. I’ve heard Michael quote about the same figures before too which is just astounding.
- Based on the above stats, trade and imports were her industries largest challenges, and one major factor in their tough decision of whether to replant their remaining 40 acres. One issue compounding the trade issue is that there are large U.S. farms who have production in Mexico which muddies the waters for regulating the “dumping” of produce on our market.
One last nugget I thought she gave us was, not only to get to know your representatives, but also to call them and ask them what you can help them with sometimes, don’t just call when you need something from them. She said that had proven to be successful for her and that they seem to appreciate and remember you for it.
“Water” (What are) Our Resources?
The first session of the Wedgworth Maximize series began with a focus on the value and importance of water as it relates to many different individuals within North Central Florida. The players in focus for this session included passionate environmentalists and recreationalists, large institutional land holders, farmers, agriculture entities, water management districts, and even the local population. Every single one of these players has a distinct rationale as to how and why they should have access to this precious commodity. The takeaway quote from one of the local farmers that seemed to resonate throughout the day:
“Water is a resource to be used but not to be abused.”
- The day kicked off with a visit with the director of Our Santa Fe River, a nonprofit lending a voice to the local waterways. Through her passion and volunteer direction, she has helped to guide, limit, and/or restrict some activities or entities that could potentially negatively affect the rivers and tributaries within this region. These may include:
- CAFOS, farm operations, and large-scale ag operations (Pilgrim’s Pride, local mining operations, greenways or trailways, or intensive chicken production facilities)
- Her passion has led her to Tallahassee to meet with lawmakers, to even run for a seat in the state house, and to have influence with key decision makers in her area. A takeaway from this visit was that someone is going to be making decisions. If we aren’t part of that, our best interests may not be represented.
- Who knew that water was so vital to production agriculture? We next visited with the tenants of Suwannee Farms. This land produces peanuts, potatoes, carrots, sweet corn, and field corn. With 100% of these acres irrigated, the comment was made that without irrigation the farm would not be viable. This farm operation works in close conjunction with the Suwannee River Water Management District using groundwater monitor wells, water use consumption rates, and upgraded efficiency practices on the irrigations systems themselves. Some key points in the use of this irrigation to consider:
- It is monitored intensively and extensively for nutrient management
- It is used to help with herbicides, yield, fungicides, and even harvesting efficiency
- It is used judiciously so as not to leach nitrogen, waste water, or affect neighbors
- This water is leveraged to create the highest use value for the property
A neighboring dairy farmer then shed light on how water is being used in denitrification of a contaminated area he is utilizing. Using monitoring wells, he can recycle ground water through a sand and wood chip trap to create an environment in which bugs can pull the nitrogen out of the groundwater. The filtered excess water is then utilized throughout the dairy operation to create a nearly zero-sum consumption of water for the entire operation. This also reduced his point source pollution to acceptable levels.
Wrapping up the day was the introduction to REITs and the Suwannee River Management Water District.
- REITs are defined as real estate investment trusts and are companies that own or finance income-producing real estate across a range of property sectors. Most REITs trade on major stock exchanges, and they offer a number of benefits to investors.
- Using an average value of $6000/acre, REITs in 2020 accounted for approximately 2 million acres of owned farmland throughout the US.
- These REITs on average seek a 5% ROI from their activities.
- REITs will be seeking to add additional acres in the North Florida region in the future. Ample water, sunlight, relatively low land prices, and access to large markets lends to additional investment opportunities in the area.
- Although Suwannee Farms is not a part of a REIT, the concept behind the purchase of this farm was similar. Wealth preservation and a better return on investment was the sentiment of the purchase of Suwannee Farms by the Gates Foundation.
The Suwannee River Water Management District is right in the middle of every one of the above entities. The focus of the district is four-fold:
- Water Supply
- Water Quality
- Flood Protection and Floodway Management
- Natural Systems
With 400 individual springs throughout the district along with many rivers, creeks and drains, it is imperative the district balances the needs and use of this precious resource. 2015 data shows the district used 253 MGD (million gallons per day) with 58% of this being used in some form by agriculture. It is estimated that by 2035 the daily water use in the district will rise an additional 117 MGD. A fascinating read on this data can be found here.
A question I leave with all: “What are the resources you have in your hands?”
“Water” Your Resources? Is it water, land, timber, grass, sunshine, location, leadership, availability, access to decisionmakers, business acumen? Will we choose to use it or abuse it? Will we leverage what we have for the good of those around us? How will we steward it – will we be engaged, intentional, and on purpose? Will we ignore what we have and one day wish differently? Will we recognize others could benefit from our resource or will we ignore those that we could partner with to make everyone better? How will we use the resource we have been given to make our community, region, and world a better place? Let’s go do that today.
You must be logged in to post a comment.