Sugar farmers assail ‘misinformed’ Tampa Bay Times article

Florida Sugarcane Farmers (FSF), a group representing the state’s sugar farmers, is out with a statement defending those farmers’ support of Adam Putnam after a critical article appeared in the Tampa Bay Times.

The article hits Putnam on his defense of sugar farmers in light of the new round of algae blooms hitting the state. The story notes farmers are “getting blamed for toxic algae blooms,” making it curious Putnam would still accept their support in light of the attention paid to the algae bloom problem.

But the farmers argue that blame is misplaced.

For instance, the Times references sugar farms on “the northern edge of Lake Okeechobee” not requiring “permits with strict pollution limits.”

The Times adds, “The amount of pollution flowing into the lake from the north — where half the land is owned by agriculture — is about the same as it was in 1985,” implying sugar farmers have not done their fair share in reducing pollution into Lake Okeechobee, which can help exacerbate the blooms.

FSF says there are two problems with those claims.

First, “sugarcane farms in Florida are located almost entirely south of the lake,” said the group’s spokesperson Ardis Hammock.

Indeed, “only five percent of the water in Lake Okeechobee comes from sugar farmers,” according to at least one report.

Hammock also maintains the farmers are going above and beyond in reducing the output of phosphorus, one of the pollutants most responsible for the blooms.

“Sugarcane and vegetable farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) are required by law to reduce phosphorus by 25 percent annually, and they bettered that by more than twice what is legally required of them for more than two decades,” Hammock said.

“Every single drop of water flowing off their land is cleaned, and the farmers pay 100 percent of the cost to clean the water flowing off their property—the vast majority of which flows south to the Everglades.”

Hammock added that this “misinformed article is why people have been so skeptical of the media and are reluctant to be included in inaccurate portrayals of agriculture.” She then defended the industry’s support of Putnam in the Florida gubernatorial race.

“Florida’s sugarcane farmers join citrus farmers, sweet corn farmers, cattle farmers, potato farmers and just about every other type of Florida farmer in wholeheartedly supporting Adam Putnam for governor.”

Hammock also noted that the Tampa Bay Times editorial board also endorsed Putnam in his primary race against U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis. Editorial boards, however, generally operate separately from newsgathering reporters and editors.