Agricultural and Trade Policy under Administrative Water Regimes

Abstract

Urban growth in Florida over the past twenty-five years has been nothing short of spectacular. In 1975, Florida was the ninth largest state in the nation with a population of 2 million people. By 1996, the population in Florida had risen to 12 million people—the fourth most populous state in the nation. This growth has led to resource conflicts between urban demands and Florida’s traditional agricultural economy, particularly where land and water are concerned. Between 1970 and 1995, freshwater withdrawals for public supply increased by 134 percent, while self-supplied withdrawals for agriculture increased 54 percent (Marella, 1995). The conflict between agriculture and urbanization in the state is complicated by recent changes in agricultural and trade policy. Specifically, agriculture’s water use tends to be dominated by the state’s high-valued crops that compete with imports. In addition, dominant crops in north Florida are heavily reliant on traditional commodity programs. Hence, the changes implicit in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) may have significant ramifications for both cropping patterns and water use in Florida. Given the history of water-management in Florida, the emerging conflicts between agricultural and urban-water use will likely be resolved less through markets or courts and more through a unique regulatory environment under administrative law.