Hundley is Expo Farmer of the Year for Florida

(Gainesville, Fla.) – John L. Hundley, who produces vegetables and sugarcane in the Everglades Agricultural area (EAA) of South Florida, has been named Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year for Florida. He will represent his state in the competition for Swisher Sweets Sunbelt Southeastern Farmer of the Year. The winner will be announced during Sunbelt Ag Expo 2010, Oct. 19-21 at Moultrie, Ga.

“My wife and both of our children as well as my son-in-law work within and are involved with all aspects of our farming operation as managers, both in the field and in accounting,” Hundley said. “Family plays a key role in the progress in the progress and success of our family businesses.”

The Hundleys produce sweet corn, radishes, green beans, peanuts and other vegetables along with cotton and sugar cane near Belle Glade. He also has a cow-calf operation. As a producer in the EAA, the farm complies with all of the South Florida Water Management District Best Management Practices. Growers in the EAA pay a $25 per acre Everglades Privilege to Farm tax. The farm has installed owl houses for rodent control in sugar cane and uses no rodent killing agents other than the owls, a beneficial practice that also helps protect the bird population.

Crop scouting, combined with integrated pest management and best management practices, helps conserve natural resources and protect the environment. The farm incorporates GPS technology  to ensure fertilizers and chemicals are not wasted or over-used. Hundley says the practice has increased yields while lowering some variable costs, although extensive capital was spent to acquire the necessary equipment. Hundley has decreased phosphorus leaving the farm and slowed the rate of soil subsidence by using laser leveling, crop rotation, precision application of fertilizer and advanced water table management.

Hundley is a member of the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association and Florida Sweet Corn Exchange. He is the president of the Sweet Corn Growers Exchange and serves on the board of directors of the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative and the Pioneer Growers Cooperative. He served on the board of directors of the South Florida Water Management District from 1978-1983 and was a director of the South Florida Production Credit Association from 1975-1990. He is a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Pahokee and a director of the Children’s Home Society of Florida.

Florida Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest agricultural organization, is a supporter of Sunbelt Ag Expo. More information about Expo is available at: www.sunbeltexpo.com