Conserving Natural Resources as We Grow Food
Jim Alderman
photo credit: Florida Farm Bureau, Used with Permission
Sometimes I wonder why there is a need for one special day—Earth Day—to celebrate the bountiful natural resources surrounding us in Florida or anywhere else.
On my family’s farm we achieve Earth Day objectives throughout the year, guided by respect for the blessings natural resources provide. We must conserve and protect natural resources to grow food and sustain our farm for future generations. As stewards of natural resources, we’re helping sustain water resources and greenspace not just on our farm, but across the region of The Sunshine State we call home.
We grow an array of certified organic vegetables, including tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, eggplant and cabbage from late October to early June. We also produce beef cattle and conventionally grown herbs.
By maintaining our Palm Beach County farm as level ground, we prevent soil erosion. We flood it during the summer months with collected rainwater and nearby surface water to control harmful insects, avoiding the use of chemicals. In all seasons our farm functions as a large retention pond that helps to recharge the aquifer all southeastern Florida residents depend upon for drinking water.
We are proud that we can serve as natural resource stewards as we contribute to the foundation of life for everyone.
Regular soil testing allows us to apply precise amounts of fertilizer for each plant only when necessary for growth. As a result, we achieve plentiful harvests while making sure that water leaving our farm is not contaminated by phosphate. We have to conserve our water and our soil not only for the next crop, but for the next generation and the generations after that.
We pick and pack what we grow. One of our staff members oversees food safety daily, assuring that the produce coming out of our farm is safe and fresh.
Like other fruit and vegetable farmers in our county and across the nation, we do not receive federal price support for our harvests. We grow and deliver food independent of any guaranteed return for it. Our main challenge stems from large shipments of fruits and vegetables from foreign nations with very low-wage workers.
As a primary part of our beef cattle production we suppress invasive vegetation with controlled burns. This technique suppresses invasive species, supports the growth of native plants and trees and also maintains habitat and food sources for the abundant wildlife around us.
We also support our local economy. My family’s farm maintains 50 full-time employees. Collectively, farms in our county support more than 194,000 jobs, as University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences data show.
Along with other farm families in Florida and across the nation, we help preserve our national security by providing abundant, health-giving food. Without it, we would all be dependent upon foreign sources for our daily nutrition.
I hope that this year’s celebration of Earth Day (April 22) will highlight farmers as outstanding conservationists. We are proud that we can serve as natural resource stewards as we contribute to the foundation of life for everyone.
Jim Alderman is a farmer and Farm Bureau leader in Florida.
