Page 23 - Strategic Plan

Strategic Priority #1:
Provide High Quality Programs
Reorganize our efforts into three high impact core programs
Program 1. Agricultural Innovation
Current Situation
Agriculture in south Florida is constrained by many factors, including competition from imports, limit- ed land availability, high labor costs, urbanization, biotic and abiotic stresses, adverse regional water management, and proximity to sensitive natural areas. In addition, an escalation in the introduction of exotic pests and diseases, such as the laurel wilt disease, citrus greening and erinose mite, threaten multiple agricultural production systems. Despite these challenges, agricultural production con- tinues to thrive in south Florida due to its unique subtropical environment that allows domestic pro- duction of tropical fruit, vegetables, and ornamen- tal plants. The subtropical environment in south Florida, the only one of its kind in the continental United States, allows year-round crop production, hence earning growers’ premium prices for their produce. Development of strategies aimed at tack- ling challenges can greatly improve the value of production in the region, as discussed below.
Major Issues
1. Competition from imports:
Domestic growers cannot directly compete with commodity imports on an economic level. There- fore, our researchers will focus on niche opportuni- ties that support growers in moving into premium markets that are beyond the reach of commodity imports. Our research efforts will focus on assist- ing our growers to produce specialty cultivars of established species, producing higher quality ag- ricultural products, and facilitating the establish- ment of new industries for south Florida.
2. High labor costs:
Labor in south Florida is more expensive than in most competing markets. Labor costs heavily im- pact the bottom line of grower’s profitability, yet support the livelihoods of many field laborers. Ef- forts to reduce the impact of labor costs can be achieved through research aimed at spacing la- bor-intensive field activities, including harvesting, through diverse cultivar selection, mechanization of production activities, and development of culti- vars that require less maintenance and fewer agri- cultural inputs.
3. Biotic and abiotic stresses: