Three Florida farming operations were announced winners of the state’s Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award at the 74th Florida Farm Bureau Annual Convention in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The annual award, presented by the Florida Department of Agriculture since 1994, recognizes enterprises at the forefront of developing and adopting innovative and environmentally sensitive farming practices. Nominees from different areas of Florida’s agricultural industry were reviewed by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and industry and environmental groups. Environmental practices considered in the nominations include: wildlife protection and habitat conservation; pesticide/nutrient management; water quality; soil and water conservation; and waste management/recycling.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam introduced and presented the awards to the winners. “These recipients have each shown a commitment to improving Florida’s environment and conserving our natural resources, especially water,” Putnam said.
The recipients are:
Dennis Carlton
Dennis Carlton, owner of Carlton and Carlton Ranch in Hillsborough County. Carlton is a seventh-generation Floridian whose 35,000-acre ranch includes cattle, citrus, sod and strawberries. Since taking over the ranchland, he has restored and improved wetlands, provided corridors for protected wildlife, and filtered stormwater on the property.
After several hurricanes in 2004 devastated parts of the ranch, Carlton replanted thousands of pines and oaks. He recycles citrus pulp into feed for cattle and collects rainfall to help water his crops and protect them from freezing weather.
Carlton is a former president of the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau and currently sits on the Florida Farm Bureau’s Citrus Advisory Committee.
In 2014, he was named the Sunbelt Ag Expo’s Florida Farmer of the Year.
♦ Click on the following pages to learn more about the other winners ♦