FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 18, 2025
Contact: Ernie Shea, President of Solutions from the Land
Email: eshea@solutionsfromtheland.org
Phone: 410-952-0123 (cell)
Solutions from the Land to release Voices of Florida Farmers: Building a Circular Bioeconomy on Dec. 18
LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — As Florida agriculture faces rising input costs, extreme weather, invasive species, and growing sustainability demands, a new report highlights practical, farmer-led solutions emerging across the state. Solutions from the Land (SfL) and Florida Smart Agriculture will release Voices of Florida Farmers: Building a Circular Bioeconomy during a forum on Dec. 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. EST at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred.
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. It provides insight into new revenue streams created from repurposing farm waste, cost-saving innovations that lower fertilizer, fuel, and water use, firsthand producer experiences detailing what works and what doesn’t, and opportunities for rural economic development, job creation, and technology adoption. It also outlines action-ready recommendations for policymakers, researchers, and partners supporting Florida’s transition to a more circular, resilient agricultural economy.
The Dec. 18 forum will bring together growers, researchers, and policy leaders to highlight how circular practices can improve soil and water health, reduce production costs, increase farm resilience, and scale profitable, sustainable solutions across the state.
About Solutions from the Land (SfL):
Solutions from the Land is a farmer- and scientist-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit advancing land-based solutions to global challenges. Through state, national, and global initiatives, SfL brings together farmers, ranchers, foresters, and partners to showcase innovation and champion the policies, investments, and research needed for agricultural landscapes to deliver cost-effective, integrated solutions for food and energy security, sustainable economic growth, and environmental health. For more information, visit www.solutionsfromtheland.org.
About Florida Smart Agriculture (FLSA):
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 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 smart agriculture solutions and ecosystem services that benefit the producers (farmers, ranchers and foresters), the public and the planet.
