March On Tallahassee A Fruitful Exercise For Florida’s Present, Future Farming Leaders

FFVA Emerging Leaders Class 4 visits Tallahassee

Photo courtesy of FFVA

Water legislation and Amendment 1 spending dominated the conversations in Tallahassee among legislators and members of FFVA’s board of directors and Class 4 of its Emerging Leader program during their annual “drive in” to the state capital. The groups spent the better part of two days early in the session voicing their concerns to lawmakers on our industry’s priority issues.

The agenda was packed with back-to-back meetings with members of both houses. The group also met with state Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, and Jon Steverson, the new secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection. Rich Budell of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Water Policy also talked with the group about the department’s budget needs this year.

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First Thing’s First

Much of the discussion focused on how money earmarked by Amendment 1 would be spent. Approved by voters in November, the amendment will set aside a third of all documentary tax revenue for the next 20 years — almost $19 billion — to buy, manage, and improve conservation lands. Several legislators talked about what kind of water bill will emerge from this session. The House passed its bill, sponsored by Rep. Matt Caldwell, 106-9 in early March. “We all have to get along, and hopefully we’ll come up with a good water policy,” said Rep. Tom Goodson, who chairs the Agriculture and Natural Resources Subcommittee.

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Budget Concerns

Budell reviewed key budget requests for this year. The department’s priority is the Northern Everglades, he said. The goal is to “restore the lake and protect estuaries, but also how do we recreate the hydrology north of the lake to have a better opportunity to manage the lake to avoid the damaging discharges to the estuaries?” He added, “The more storage we can put north of the lake to buffer peak flows in late spring and early summer, the more opportunity to decrease those discharges when it’s wet down there.”

The group also heard from lobbyist Mary Ann Gosa-Hooks on the outlook for UF/IFAS’ budget priorities. They have requested $5.5 million “to put out the work product to serve our clientele through research and Extension,” she said.

Sound Advice

A recurring theme during some of the conversations was the importance of having a relationship with your lawmakers. Several of the elected officials commended the participants for making the trip to discuss their concerns.

Goodson encouraged the group to stay involved with FFVA. “Don’t rest or you’ll get run over,” he said. “Keep working on the issues and don’t rest.” Goodson acknowledged the challenges of the political process these days.

The trip is always a valuable experience for members of the FFVA’s Emerging Leader class, some of whom have not met with legislators in Tallahassee before. They see the good, bad, and ugly of the political process up close. And it underscores for them the value of taking the time to meet their elected officials — preferably before session when they’re in their district offices — to introduce themselves, voice their concerns and offer to be a resource on agriculture issues.

“I found our trip to Tallahassee to be incredibly informative,” said John Beuttenmuller, executive director of Florida Foundation Seed Producers Inc. and a Class 4 member. “Having the opportunity to meet one-on-one with so many state representatives and senators allowed us to gain unique insights in the legislative process and the current legislative session.’’

Although it grows more challenging every year to convey the importance of agriculture to lawmakers — many of whom have no connection to farming — the industry is fortunate that several legislators in leadership positions are familiar with ag issues.

“It was excellent to see that so many legislators understood the importance of agriculture to the state of Florida,” Beuttenmuller said. “[FFVA Director of Government Relations] Butch Calhoun and the FFVA staff have done an excellent job in carrying the voice of Florida’s agricultural producers to Tallahassee.”

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