 Feature
Story
Tampa Bay
Farmers
Outstanding in their
Field
By Carol Cortright
Agricultural pursuits in one
form or another used to be the bread and butter for
early Tampa Bay area residents. Now, almost all of the
family gardens, truck farms, orange groves and cow
pastures have been replaced by condos, strip malls, car
dealerships…and grocery stores that sell tidy,
prepackaged foodstuffs that keep the majority of us from
having to get our hands dirty.
What does “agriculture” mean in the 21st century? Our
traditional notion of cultivating crops and raising
livestock still exists. For farming families, it’s in
their blood and continues to be a way of life, albeit
one that may include efficient new technologies and
methods. That said, the current state of the global
economy, coupled with staggering environmental concerns
and burgeoning social issues, strongly encourages us to
consider agriculture in a new light—what is happening in
our own back yards, for example—and paves the way for
forward-thinking entrepreneurs who want to help change
the world.
Deep Roots
“Hillsborough has a rich
heritage of agriculture,” says Alicia Whidden, UF/IFAS
Commercial Production Extension Agent for that county.
“The strawberry and tomato industries (here) are over
110 years old. Livestock and citrus…have an even longer
history. Our growers have been far ahead of the curve in
using best management practices to conserve natural
resources, (including) drip tape and plastic mulch in
the late 70s to very early 80s, and
‘fertigation’—putting the fertilizer in the irrigation
water—in the mid to late 80s.”
Neighboring counties are
major players too: “According to the USDA Census of
Agriculture, Pasco County generates over $48 million in
sales of livestock and livestock products each year,”
cites Ed Jennings, Regional Specialized Livestock Agent
with Pasco County Extension. “This value ranks sixth
among Florida's 67 counties. Hernando County livestock
sales are over $13 million per year.”
The Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services breaks down production
county by county on its related website,
www.Florida-Agriculture.com. For instance, livestock,
greenhouses, and fruit, vegetable and citrus crops
dominate Sarasota County while adjacent Manatee County
ranks second in seafood production and cultivates a wide
variety of fruit and vegetables and even more livestock.
Citrus Country ranks third in seafood and supports some
livestock and citrus. Polk County grows produce and
livestock and is home to more bee colonies than any
other Bay area county.
Even Pinellas County, which
boasts a statistical claim to fame as the most heavily
peopled county in the state for its size (almost 1
million residents on 280 square miles of land mass,
according to 2000 US Census data), supports some
agriculture. This includes over 900,000 square feet of
greenhouse space, just under 40 acres of citrus, and a
little poultry and apiculture (bees). Considering that
the census also registers about 320 square miles of
water as part of its official area, Pinellas leads Tampa
Bay area seafood production with over 12 million pounds
of catch (average harvest 2002-2004, according to the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).
New Growth
Though a gloomy ecological
outlook may be the motivation for a renewed interest in
the world around us, exciting things are happening in
the field of agriculture broadening the way we react to
and exist within our environment. To a large extent that
means what we eat— the common denominator that we can
all understand.
Dr. Robert Kluson,
Agriculture/Natural Resources Extension Agent II, UF/IFAS
for Sarasota County, believes that current discussions
“are confirming that ‘agriculture’ must mean a
sustainable local food system—all the steps for food to
get from the field to your plate.”
The sustainable agriculture
movement has been going on for 25 years, he says, but
now there is an “urgent need” for sustainability’s
implementation—there’s finally enough of a worldwide
crisis that many national organizations are taking up
the cause. Support is coming from all corners too:
like-minded social, economic and environmental groups
and others have formed the Community Food Security
Coalition; the government’s USDA SARE Program
(Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education); and
educational institutions like the University of
California’s Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food
Systems (CASFS).
In addition, Dr. Kluson has
seen a rise in new consumer groups that tie into the
growing “green” philosophy. “(These groups) are
accepting the challenge of providing education about
sustainable agriculture…to foster informed consumers who
will vote with their food dollars to rebuild local food
systems,” he says, naming Slow Food, Organic Consumers
Organization, and Local Harvest as a few examples.
“I get lots of questions in
my office about establishing community gardens where
people can grow their own food,” says Pam Brown,
Pinellas County’s Urban Horticulture Extension Agent.
Similarly, there is a
growing interest in CSA, Community Supported
Agriculture. Farms that participate in CSA offer
memberships to individuals who pay a fee up front and
then share in the harvest. The members usually visit the
farm weekly during the growing season to pick up their
allotment of produce. “There is a rise in demand for
local, organic foods in Florida,” says Dr. Kluson.
Pam Brown agrees. “When I
moved to Oldsmar seven years ago, I was looking for a
CSA and was delighted to find Sweetwater Organic Farm
(in Hillsborough County). I believe they had a hard time
back then selling all of the available memberships, and
now there is a waiting list. So times have changed and
people are more interested in eating organic produce and
eating local produce.”
Pinellas County now has its
own brand new CSA venture, Gateway Organic Farm, which
raised its membership capacity from last year’s 40 to 75
for their second growing season beginning in November
2008. As one who reaps Gateway’s bounty for her evening
menus, Café Ponte’s pastry chef Cathleen Ryan says,
“Today’s climate is ripe for sustainable agriculture in
the Tampa Bay area. Eating locally produced foods helps
the economy, provides jobs, and instills confidence in
the consumer knowing the food is grown here and is
picked fresh.”
Other notable ventures come
from Hernando County’s Regional Specialized Small Farms
Agent Stacy Strickland, who mentioned a conventional
blueberry grower that has transitioned into organic and
is experimenting with CSA, and a holistic beef operation
that keeps chemicals out of the equation.
In addition to more
conscientious food production, the concept of
sustainability promotes the idea that “long-term
environmental health and economic prosperity go
together,” as explained on Pinellas County Extension’s
web site. Take the Watergoat, for example: “It’s tough,
it’s tenacious, and it eats trash,” says Sheron
Maksimowicz, president of New Earth Industries, Inc.,
makers of this product, a custom-made netted frame that
attaches to outfall pipes to catch stormwater debris
before it spreads throughout an ecosystem.
Sheron and her husband Mark,
along with several of Mark’s family members, were
cofounders of the Green Armada, an organization
dedicated to cleaning up the Bay area’s waterways. From
this nonprofit experience, they learned that the search
for funding was a never-ending quest that took time away
from their mission. So the Maksimowiczs moved on,
creating their own company that makes the aforementioned
aquatic garbage collectors. Their goal is to make them
widely available—and affordable- - to give even
grassroots efforts the chance to make a difference. “The
only way to get things done is through free enterprise,”
says Sheron.
Already, Watergoats have
been purchased by several municipalities, including the
cities of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Miami. They’re
marketed to homeowners’ associations and business parks
as well. “Public outcry” is what Sheron says inspires
their company to come up with new ideas to tackle old
problems. “In fact, our latest product, Watergoat
Island, an actual manmade island that floats in the
middle of retention ponds, was created because of such
feedback.”
The root mat of the island’s
plants, combined with infused oxygen from a solar
powered aerator, filters excess nitrogen and phosphorus
from the water and controls the pond’s vegetation
naturally, without the use of harmful chemicals. They
hope to grow edible plants like tomatoes and cantaloupes
on the island too, and are waiting to have the test crop
analyzed to make sure the fruit is safe to eat,
considering that it’s growing in a retention pond.
So You Want to be an
Agripreneur?
The time is ripe! Sarasota’s
Dr. Kluson says, “There’s a wealth of new sustainable
agriculture initiatives being developed.” He sees great
potential in the following areas: “small farm incubators
(economic development and training programs); urban and
backyard market gardener entrepreneurs; and integrative
production methods such as agroforestry, multi-species
grazing systems, and aquaponics.”
No matter what facet of
agriculture piques one’s interest, be forewarned, say
experts in the field. “It is not for the faint-hearted!”
assures Alicia Whidden, the extension agent in
Hillsborough. “It is a gamble every time that weather,
insects and diseases, prices and who knows what else
will let you make enough to pay off the production loans
and hopefully pay your family bills too. People should
check out the business they want to go into—do your
research!”
“Develop a relationship with
the UF/IFAS Extension office in your county,” advises
Pam Brown.
New Earth Industries’ Sheron
Maksimowicz summarizes agricultural enterprise in the
21st century this way: “Our entire culture is just now
waking up to the fact that we have to be responsible and
factor in the environment into any business
decision—perhaps here in Florida more than anywhere. Our
entire economic base is built on tourism and development
growth.”
As for combining the
responsible use of our resources with the bottom line,
she says, “It is all important, perhaps more important
than anything on our plate. If we lose the ground we
stand on, all will become moot. We would describe
ourselves as passionate environmentalists that happen to
be capitalists."
Visit these websites for
more information:
back to top |
