products, and studies are being conducted on new methods of irrigation that 

 will reduce both water and energy use and help protect crops frorr the cold. 

 Such methods would lower the use of outdoor heaters that are now protecting 

 citrus and vegetable crops from winter freezes in Florida. The development of 

 new disease resistant and high yield crops will lessen energy use. These 

 methods and many others are now being studied to help conserve energy. 



Labor 



In Florida, labor in the past has been unskilled, relatively cheap, and 

 seasonal. As the trend in increasing farm size and mechanization continues, 

 unemployment patterns also will change. Increased skills and training of farm 

 laborers are now needed for the operation and maintenance of farm machinery 

 and new cultivation practices (Covery 1975). The need for this skilled labor 

 will bring farmers into direct competition with industry, thereby forcing 

 farmers to raise wages to retain or attract new workers. In addition to rais- 

 ing wages, farmers must increase productivity if they are to maintain profits. 



Air Pollution 



Agricultural damage from air pollution is difficult to assess. The major 

 effluents responsible for damage to crops and livestock are sulfur dioxide, 

 ozone, and fluorides. In Southwest Florida, the major source of these pollut- 

 ants is industrial and utility plants. 



Sulfur dioxide from smoke stacks or other methods of emission entering 

 the atmosphere are absorbed by plants through the respiratory process and if 

 in excess it may become toxic to plants (Seneca and Tausig 1979). While in 

 the upper atmosphere, sulfur dioxide combines with moisture and falls to earth 

 as acid rain. Acid rain bleaches the soil, rendering many of its minerals 

 inert and incapable of supplying needed nutrients to plants. The result is 

 decreased productivity and increased cost to the farmer. Acid rain also 

 damages leaves and roots. A comprehensive study of acid rain and its impact 

 on the environment was begun in 1978 by the Florida Department of Environment- 

 al Regulation (DER). 



In the 1950's and the 1960's, flourides and ozone caused considerable 

 damage to crops and beef cattle in Polk County where substantial amounts of 

 fluoride were released from phosphate mining. Similar damage was apparent in 

 Pasco and Hillsborough Counties. Fluorides and ozone enter the leaf system 

 and interfere with photosynthesis and plant food production. When plants 

 laden with fluorides are eaten by livestock, the animals contract fluorosis. 

 Fluorosis symptoms are loss of weight, reduction of growth, lack of mobility, 

 and sometimes death. Ozone damages the leaves and plant cells and destroys 

 plant life. Ozone pollution is most evident in heavily industrialized areas. 



Water Use 



Water use is a seasonal concern, not only to farmers in Southwest Flor- 

 ida, but to all inhabitants. The combination of droughts, irrigation, phos- 

 phate mining, industrial use, and urban use have periodically created water 

 shortages. In Southwest Florida, intensive water use and drought lowered the 

 water level in the Everglades, endangering valuable wetlands and wildlife. In 

 the future, greater competition between agricultural and nonagricultural water 



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