EAA Farmers Distressed after Negron Bill Advances

EAA Farmers, Inc., an organization of Everglades Agricultural Area farmers opposing Senate President Joe Negron's plan to buy 60,000 private acres south of Lake Okeechobee, issued the following statement Tuesday following the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee's passage of SB 10:

"Today, the Florida Senate confirmed that SB 10 is nothing more than a big government land grab. Four hours of expert testimony prior to today gave evidence that the sources of the water volume and pollution problems come from north of Lake Okeechobee and in Martin County’s local basin, yet the bill has no mention of how to stop that pollution from plaguing Florida’s lakes, rivers and estuaries. Instead, it solely puts those problems on the backs of farmers.  

"Despite knowing that landowners in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) are not willing sellers of their private property, senators voted to move forward with this liberal plan to take the land. The Senate’s overreach with SB 10 will accomplish nothing more than devastating thousands of farm families, hurting our local food supply, and making Americans more dependent on imported food from foreign countries."