Miami Florida, August 17, 2015
Florida farmers are being praised for their continued efforts towards restoring the Florida Everglades and improving its vital water quality, by benchmarking and documenting their in-the-works on-site-farm restorative programs and the measurable results they are producing. The South Florida Water Management District this week declared a record-breaking whooping 79% reduction in the annual level of phosphorous substances flowing from Florida sugarcane and vegetable farms, that lay just south of Lake Okeechobee, well know as being one of the nation's most profitable farming regions also commonly known as the Everglades Agriculture Area.
One frequent common misconception is that farm fertilizers are the source of phosphates on sugarcane producing farms. However, the rich, organic "muck" soils just south of Lake Okeechobee, already have a high level of phosphorus.
Local sugarcane and local farmers are having a major impact in cleaning water flowing south through a system of innovative Best Management Practices. These on-site-farm practices are almost wholly and 100 percent paid for by the farmers.