We’re proud to be part of the solution for Everglades restoration.
Restoring and Preserving a Treasure
The Everglades are a treasure where our employees and neighbors enjoy the outdoors. We work diligently to protect this unique ecosystem. Combined, Florida sugarcane and vegetable farmers have invested more than $450 million in restoring and preserving the Everglades.
Striving to Protect the Unique Ecosystem
1990s
U.S. Sugar has been a key supporter of the 1994 Everglades Forever Act, which was designed to increase the quality and quantity of water entering the Everglades and protect the native plants and animals from invasive species.
The Act required water runoff from farms to be twice as clean as rain, and created the most rigorous environmental rules on farming operations in the United States.
2000s
For nearly three decades, U.S. Sugar and other farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area have reduced the amount of phosphorus leaving farms by an average of 57% each year. That far exceeds the 25% annual restoration requirements.
2010s
In October of 2010, U.S. Sugar sold 26,800 acres of land to the South Florida Water Management District for the River of Grass initiative to help restore the Everglades. Today, that land is being used for environmental efforts.
Today
Farmers continue their significant success in reducing phosphorus leaving the farming area. The long-term performance of best management practices shows that farmers are meeting and surpassing phosphorus reduction goals year-after-year, with sugarcane farmers being proud partners in restoration.
An Impact on Clean Water
Thanks to advanced soil and water management practices, water flowing off farmland is significantly cleaner than when it enters. Today, more than 95% of the Everglades meets water quality standards set by the federal government and the state of Florida. Once the projects associated with the Everglades Restoration Strategies are completed, they will raise that percentage to 100.
Leading the Solution
In 2015, the South Florida Water Management District issued a proclamation that recognized the efforts of the Everglades Agricultural Area farmers for more than two decades of success in reducing the nutrients in the water entering the Everglades. Through our on-farm best management practices, U.S. Sugar has been a leader in that achievement and its continued success.
