SfL Network
The Florida Smart Agriculture Work Group
Florida Smart Agriculture Work Group
Solutions from the Land (SfL), in collaboration with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), initiated in late 2018 a climate smart agriculture dialogue with a group of highly respected and well networked agricultural and forestry thought leaders and value chain partners in the state.
The consensus view of the Work Group was that Florida agriculture was undergoing transformational change resulting from a growing population, land fragmentation, rising operating costs, labor shortages, trade imbalances and that changing climatic conditions represented a major threat multiplier to the future economic viability of the industry.
Based on these conditions, they committed to work together to accomplish the following mission:
The Florida Smart Agriculture (FLSA) initiative will accelerate and scale the implementation and delivery of climate smart agriculture solutions and ecosystem services that benefit the producers (farmers, ranchers and foresters), the public and the planet.
Areas of Focus:
Circular Bioeconomy
Healthy Farms-Healthy Bays
Communications Outreach
Clean Energy
Group Biographies
Leaders
Owner of Strickland Ranch and managing partner of Big Red Cattle Company and Blackbeard’s Ranch, a cow/calf operation; Past President, Florida Cattlemen’s Association; Past Chairman, Florida Cattlemen Foundation; Vice Chairman, Florida Conservation Group.
Co-owner of Usher Land and Timber Inc., a cattle and timber operation; 2013 Woman of the Year in Agriculture; Past President, Florida Forestry Association; Trustee of the Florida Chapter of The Nature Conservancy; Past Chair, Suwannee River Water Management District Governing Board.
Steering Committee
Work Group Activities
Circular Bioeconomy
As Florida agriculture faces rising input costs, extreme weather, invasive species, and growing sustainability demands, a new report Voices of Florida Farmers: Building a Circular Bioeconomy highlights practical, farmer-led solutions emerging across the state. The report is the first to capture how circular systems are helping producers turn agricultural byproducts into marketable co-products, reduce costs, strengthen natural resources, and build more resilient operations.
AI-Harvest
Develop a national ecosystem services monitoring network and AI-driven approaches to quantify the impact of ecosystem services.
Healthy Farms – Healthy Bays (HF-HB)
Work Group Meetings
As part of the recruitment process, farmer leaders were advised that they would be joining a “self-directed” work group with the following mission:
- Review the impacts that extreme weather events and changing climatic conditions are having and are expected to have on the state’s agriculture and forestry sectors;
- Determine any need for and benefits of developing an agricultural and forestry adaptive management strategy for the state based on climate-smart agriculture principles; and
- If participants agree that such a strategy would be useful, develop an action plan for producing same.
More than 90% of the individuals nominated agreed to serve on the Work Group, and after two inaugural meetings in February and April 2019 concluded that there was work to be done, the group announced the Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Initiative.
Communications Initiative
The Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Work Group is working with Volo Foundation to produce videos and other media to share the stories of conservation in Florida. Op-eds and film appearances by FLCSA Co-Chairs Jim Strickland and Lynetta Usher-Griner can be found below!
In the Press
Stories from Florida Leaders
Featured EventS
2022 Florida Climate Smart Ag Forum
On December 14th in Gainesville, the Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Work Group hosted their second forum on pathways to sustainably intensify production, improve resilience and deliver ecosystem services. Read our report on Hurricane Impacts and Recovery
2019 Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Forum
Agriculture and Forestry in a Changing Climate: What the Future Holds for Florida--- On August 12, 2019 the Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Work Group – through Solutions from the Land and UF/IFAS – hosted Florida House Representative Kathy Castor and chair of the...
FLCSA Project News
Check out articles related to the Florida Climate Smart Agriculture Work Group.