Farmers across the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) are celebrating another year of clean water success: a 65% reduction in phosphorus in 2026, nearly triple the 25% standard required under Florida's Everglades Forever Act. 

"EAA farmers, and farmers statewide, continue to implement BMPs, delivering cleaner water, providing wildlife habitat and green space, all while ensuring a safe, abundant and affordable food supply for our nation," said Jake Fojtik, assistant director of government & community affairs for Florida Farm Bureau.

"Farmers in South Florida leverage proven technologies and best management practices to restore and protect Florida's water resources, and the latest data shows the water leaves farms far cleaner than the water applied to farms," said Keith Wedgworth, sugarcane grower and president of the Western Palm Beach County Farm Bureau. 

"There's a lot of investments, a lot of effort, a lot of science that goes into our environmental efforts," said Drew Bartlett, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. "When you see the results, it's good to let people know that their advocacy, their investments, everything is paying off in our environmental efforts." 

The Everglades Forever Act, which was implemented in 1996, requires EAA farmers to reduce phosphorus running off their land by 25% through on-farm Best Management Practices (BMPs). By utilizing precision fertilizer application, water table management and sediment control, among other techniques, growers have not only met the standard required by state law but consistently surpassed it. Farmers in the EAA have achieved an average 57% reduction annually over three decades.

In the 30 years since the passage of the Everglades Forever Act, South Florida farmers have prevented 5,111 metric tons of phosphorus from heading south. Today, 95% of the Florida Everglades (Water Conservation Areas and Everglades National Park) is meeting the strict 10-parts-per-billion water quality standard required under federal law - cleaner than a bottle of water from the store. 

The measurable improvements were made possible by the farmers' own investments in restoration efforts. Since 1996, farmers have invested more than $500 million toward the development and operation of one of the most successful on-farm water cleanup programs in American history, more than any other private entity to date.