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Florida University Ag VP sees bright future for state

According to many in the industry, agriculture in Florida is thriving and things are only looking up. Jack Payne is the University of Florida's senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and is adamant about Florida's place as a leader in agriculture, saying he'd like Florida to become the Silicone Valley of agriculture.

While thousands move into the state every day, more farm land is built upon to give these people homes. This may sound counter intuitive to growing agricuture but according to Jack both are possible given the state's investment in innovative technologies which are increasing production per acre.

Florida is very dependent on its agricultural industry as Jack explains:

"In addition to keeping you very well fed, it's an economic boon for your community. We can start with the 2.2 million jobs linked to Florida agriculture, nearly a fifth of all the jobs in the state."

"Unless we stop eating, Florida agriculture has no choice but to grow. The state's population is expected to increase by nearly 14 million by 2070."

Jack remains confident in Florida's ability to continue to innovate in the industry in order to meet demand and expects the already impressive export of $59 billion and a local economic impact adding up to 14% of the states total economic output.

source: gainesville.com
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