Who Really Defends Farmers? Lessons for Miami-Dade on Agriculture.

Who Really Defends Farmers? Lessons for Miami-Dade on Agriculture. When the Countryside Pays for the National and Local Crisis

A Local Problem, a National Symptom

In 2025, American agriculture faces its deepest recession since 2016. Headlines speak of “urban invasion,” record-high land prices, the decline of traditional farmers, and the relentless pressure of developers in Miami-Dade. But the reality runs deeper: Miami-Dade isn’t an exception—it’s the epicenter of a crisis shaking the entire nation.

According to the USDA and Farm Bureau, farmers’ net incomes will fall by 15% this year and production costs will climb another 8%, suffocating small and medium producers. In South Florida, this is made worse by demographic imbalance, government neglect, and unstoppable urbanization.

1. Why Are Farmers Throwing in the Towel? Keys to the Crisis

The “perfect storm” forcing Miami-Dade farmers to sell their land to developers is the result of both national and local factors:

• Unsustainable production costs: Fertilizers, seeds, and fuel are up more than 20% in just two years. Agricultural machinery repairs—often monopolized by corporations like John Deere—cost up to $168 per hour. GPS-equipped tractors require software updates costing $20,000 or more per unit.
• Low prices and global markets: Cheap imports, international competition, and a 90% collapse in Florida citrus production over 20 years. Orange juice is no longer a safe business.
• Climate change and disasters: Hurricanes, floods, and diseases like citrus greening have wiped out historic crops. Greening alone causes $6.9 billion in losses annually.
• Real estate pressure: Agricultural land in Miami-Dade is worth more than $2 million per acre. The “Live Local Act” and zoning changes accelerate the conversion of fields to urban developments.
• Lack of succession: The average farmer is now 58 years old. Lack of heirs, poor economic prospects, and urban migration push young people to sell instead of continuing the tradition.
• Lobbying and institutional neglect: The Farm Bureau and other big agricultural lobbies block key reforms (like right-to-repair for tractors) and prioritize corporate interests over small producers. In Florida, support laws rarely benefit family farmers.
• Debt and consolidation: 85% of medium farms could be forced to merge or disappear due to rising debt, high interest rates, and lack of affordable credit.
• Artificial “recovery”: The bump in farm incomes for 2025 is almost entirely due to extraordinary federal subsidies (e.g., the American Relief Act, $31 billion in direct payments). Without these, true profitability is at its worst in decades.

2. Miami-Dade: The Laboratory of the National Crisis

What’s happening in the county?

• 10% loss of agricultural land in just 6 years (UF/IFAS, 2023).
• Local farmers sell to developers out of necessity, not choice; real estate pressure is suffocating and the lack of public incentives makes things worse.
• Projects like the “developer we can’t mention because we’re being sued for ‘defamation’ for telling the truth” (changing AU to RU-3M for housing) are popping up across the county, using “affordable housing” as an excuse to destroy productive and natural heritage.
• The value of agricultural production in Miami-Dade is increasingly concentrated in large operations and ornamentals (see graphic), while citrus and historic crops disappear.
• Selling land is the only way out for many farmers, to pay debts and guarantee retirement in the face of an uncertain future.

3. Key Data and Comparative Tables

Key Indicators of the Agricultural Recession 2023–2025 (U.S. and Miami-Dade)

*Note: In Miami-Dade, real income drops and cost increases are even greater due to real estate pressure, hurricanes, and lack of succession.

4. Social Impact: Beyond the Numbers

• Thousands of displaced families: The abandonment of the countryside is, above all, a human drama. Every sale of farmland means loss of culture, tradition, and social fabric.
• Labor crisis: Farm wages are the lowest; chronic labor shortages and migrant workers face legal and social barriers.
• Inequality and speculation: Land hoarding by funds, developers, and big companies reduces food sovereignty and pushes traditional farmers out.

5. The Role of Politics and Lobbying: Who Really Defends Farmers?

• Major farm associations (like the Farm Bureau in the U.S. and Florida) have signed agreements with corporations like John Deere that block right-to-repair laws, directly hurting producers and favoring monopolies.
• Developer and construction lobbies finance political campaigns via PACs and legal donations, tipping the scales in zoning boards and local legislation. In Miami-Dade, many commissioners and officials have been called out for prioritizing private interests over the public good.
• Real access to subsidies and aid is determined by political and economic criteria that exclude family farmers.

6. Opportunities and Solutions: Is There a Future for Farming in Miami-Dade?

The only way to prevent the disappearance of farmland in South Florida is a combination of citizen pressure, technological innovation, and real public policy:

Urgent and Long-Term Solutions:

• Right-to-repair: Demand Florida pass and enforce laws allowing farmers to repair and maintain their equipment without monopolies or exclusive dealerships.
• Active opposition to rezoning: Mass participation in public hearings, social campaigns, and citizen petitions to stop housing projects on farmland.
• Incentive reform: Improve and audit the Greenbelt Law to prevent abuses and guarantee real tax benefits for those who produce food, not for speculators.
• Access to technology: Support producer co-ops to access satellite monitoring, AI, blockchain traceability, and efficient resource and fleet management.
• Support for new generations: Training programs, soft loans, and partnerships with universities to attract and retain youth in local agriculture.
• Legal defense and transparency: Audit public fund use, demand accountability from officials, and insist on transparency in land use decisions.
• Promote agritourism and diversification: To increase income and link the countryside to urban communities.
• Alert and solidarity: With new evictions and forced sales imminent (e.g., trailer parks pending zoning board decisions), the message is: “If you see your neighbor’s beard burning, soak your own.”

7. The Role of Technology: What’s Already Working

Platforms like Farmonaut show that, with accessible technology, even small producers can monitor crop health in real time, optimize inputs, improve traceability, and even reduce their carbon footprint—meeting the strictest market standards. This is not a utopia: in 2025, it’s the difference between survival and disappearance.

What’s at Stake

Miami-Dade’s story is just one chapter in the drama facing American agriculture. The crisis isn’t just economic—it’s social, cultural, and political. The future depends on our ability to organize, innovate, and defend the countryside as a strategic asset, not just as real estate.

The people deserve transparency, justice, and representatives who serve the common good, not private interests. Today, the challenge is to stop the disappearance of agriculture, but the opportunity is to build a productive, competitive, and sustainable system for the next generations.

Key Tables and Data from the Official Study (UF/IFAS, 2023)

1. Agricultural Land Area in Miami-Dade (Acres)

The difference between the 2023 and 2023** values is due to counting methods: one is UF/IFAS estimate, the other is official parcels with ag tax status.

2. Minimum Land Needed for Viable Agriculture (Projection 2030–2050)

*Note: If the loss trend continues, the county will fall below these minimums before 2030.

3. Top Crops by Value (2021)

4. Economic Value and Employment Trends

• Direct ag jobs (2021): 12,836
• Ag sales (2021): $1.555 billion
• Average profit margin (2021): 4.8% (historically 30%)

5. Farmland Loss (2017–2023)

• Acres lost: 8,699 (from 78,543 to 69,844, UF/IFAS)
• % lost: ~11% in just 6 years

6. Average Land Price

• Inside the UDB: up to $160,000–$200,000+ per acre (2023)
• Outside the UDB: $40,000–$70,000 per acre
• Ag land sold to developers: $2,000,000+ per acre in urbanizable areas (recent cases, 2025)

7. Pressure Factors Identified by Study

• 20-year increase in ag costs: +42%
• Average farmer age: 58 years
• Vegetable production (2021): 33% less than in 2012

8. Map of Agricultural Land Use (Visual Reference)

The study includes an official map (pages 20–21 of the PDF) showing:

• Most ag land concentrated in the south and southwest (Redland, Homestead, Florida City)
• Urban pressure and rapid conversion zones near the UDB

If you need the map as a ready-to-publish image, let me know and I’ll adapt it.

9. Key Diseases and Pests

• Citrus: Greening (90% reduction in 20 years)
• Avocado: Laurel wilt (regional devastation)
• Oriental fruit fly: Recent outbreaks forced crop destruction

10. Study Conclusion

“If the loss of agricultural land continues at the current rate, the viability of the agricultural sector in Miami-Dade will be irreversibly compromised before 2040, affecting jobs, food security, the rural economy, and disaster resilience.”

References

• UF/IFAS, Final Report, Sep 2023.
• Presented as Agenda Item 2(B)(5) to the Board of County Commissioners, December 12, 2023.
• Full tables and maps on pages 13, 19, 20–21, 24, 31, and PDF annexes.

• Bill aiming to increase access to equipment repairs advances through second committee
• FTC, States Sue Deere & Company to Protect Farmers from Unfair Corporate Tactics, High Repair Costs
• Right-to-repair revolution: Farmers challenge John Deere’s control over equipment repair
• John Deere faces U.S. lawsuit over farmers’ ability to repair tractors
• Climate change is pushing up the cost of Florida’s crops
• People are flocking to Florida. Will there be enough water for them?
• Florida’s citrus outlook remains bleak, but new science offers hope
• Transforming Florida Agriculture: Microcap Conference 2025 Unveils Investment Opportunities in Real Estate and Land Management
• Wilton Simpson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, discusses the state of farming. 01/03/2025
• Florida’s citrus industry faces steep decline amid disease, extreme weather, and economic pressures
• Food Price Outlook – Summary Findings
• Is Florida’s citrus decline an opportunity for California?
• Florida citrus industry ends growing season with production lowest in century, USDA says
• Farm Progress America, April 4, 2025
• Americas Farm Recession 2025: Top Challenges & Opportunities
• SB 178, 2025
• USDA Report, 2025
• Transcript Kevin Kenney/Louis Rossmann, 2024
• SB 178: Agronomic Study on Emerging Crops
• The Florida Senate, BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT