What are the Top Priorities for Florida Ag Interests in 2022?
January 8, 2022 
Supply chain disruptions fueled by lingering effects of the pandemic continue to be a concern for Florida growers heading into the new year. Photo by Frank Giles
Even though the new year has just begun, agendas are filling up quickly. This is certainly the case for associations that serve Florida’s specialty crop industry.
I recently reached out for feedback from Christina Morton, Communications Director with the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA), to learn what ranks among the most important issues for the organization to tackle in the next 12 months. Check out what she has to say:
Has FFVA been made aware of grower members dealing with supply chain issues/shortages?
Morton: The disruptions across the global supply chain are being felt intensely by the Florida agriculture industry, and more specifically, our specialty crop grower members. It’s important to remember that we are talking about fresh, perishable products. These are not items that can sit on a truck, in a warehouse, or in a container for days or weeks on end.
We are hearing from growers and shippers daily about the short supply of inputs like agrichemicals and fertilizer, hold-ups at ports, and shortages of packaging materials. As we have seen for months now, pallets and shipping containers continue to be in short supply, and, in some cases, impossible to find. Labor is hard to come by. And with transportation, the truck driver shortage is a very real issue, diesel prices continue to rise, and freight rates are way up.
Christina Morton
All these disruptions mean much higher production costs for growers, especially as the costs compound on each other. And all of this is happening as the Florida harvest season is just getting underway. Relief for our growers, packers, and shippers cannot come soon enough, and it will require a concerted effort by all industries to address the bottlenecks.
Our members are the best in the world at what they do, and despite all these challenges, they are working every day to get fresh fruits and vegetables from the field to retail and food service destinations without interruption.
Regarding legislative priorities, what’s on the radar for FFVA in the coming year?
Morton: We know that there are always difficult decisions to be made each year by the Florida Legislature, and the 2022 session is shaping up to be no different. That said, we appreciate the positive steps our elected leaders take to support one of the three primary legs keeping Florida’s economy strong.
As the Florida legislative session begins, we were watching a few bills that address issues important to our members, including food recovery, nutrient rates, and agritourism. What these bills mean and how they might impact our members will become clearer in the days and weeks ahead as they move through the process.
Lastly, as we did last year, FFVA will support appropriate funding for UF/IFAS nutrient application research and the Fresh from Florida program.