Barriers to Economic Development in Immokalee,

Florida 1/8/2018

Barrier to growth •  Agricultureistheoverwhelmingeconomicdriverinthecommunity•  Agricultureaccountsfor60%ofallemploymentand20%ofallbusinessestablishments

• MuchofthecapitalearnedinImmokaleedoesnotstayinImmokalee•  Casino•  Migrantworkers-send$backtosupportfamiliesintheirhomelands•  Middleclassworkers(schoolteachers,police,…)donotliveinImmokalee(AvaMaria)

• MuchoftheresidenIalandcommercial(nonagriculture)landinImmokaleeisprivatelyowned(40%?)•  successfullysucceededinblockingtheImmokaleeMasterPlan•  LiNleeconomicincenIvetoinvestintheland-CashCows

•  ThoseImmokaleeciIzenswhodowelleconomicallytendtoleaveImmokalee•  Substandardhousing•  SubstandardfaciliIes

•  ThosemiddleclassemployeesworkinginImmokaleeliveelsewhere(AvaMaria,forexample)•  In2005therewere263businesseswithanaverageemploymentof6,816andanaveragewageof$23,649

Large percentage of Immokalee ci=zens are Illiterate Unskilled Poorly educated Impoverished

2016 Census Bureau data

Mediumearningsperworker

Mediumincomeperfamily

Immokalee

$22,249 $26.684

LehighAcres

$30.787 $40,226

•  ImmokaleeisunincorporatedwhichcreatesdifficultyincollecIngdata

•  ThefollowingDataisdatedandwhiledirecIonallycorrectisnoisey

Demographics 2010 Census Data •  75.6%Hispanic•  46.7%bornoutsideUSA•  29.7%graduatedhighSchool•  3.8%havecollegeDegree•  PopulaIon 24,154•  Personsperhousehold 4.85%•  Unemploymentrate 12.8%•  Mediumworkerincome $16,139•  35.6%ofhomesarerental•  30.7%areoccupiedbyowners;

•  homeaverage4rooms•  Mediumvalueofowneroccupiedhousing $78,700•  MediumHouseholdincome $26,684•  Percapitaincome $9,814•  PersonsinPoverty 43.9%

Countermeasures

•  CharitableorganizaIons•  Childandinfantcare•  Medicalcare•  EducaIon•  Shelters•  food

•  economicdevelopmentineastcollier•  Newplannedtowns-construcIonworkers,skilledworkers

•  ITECK•  Businesses-Collier,Artrex,•  Airport

Immokalee School Data January5,2018

Demographics Collier County vs. Immokalee

Hispanic

Hai3an

Forignborn

Speakenglishathome

SpeakspanishSpeakcreole

belowpovertyline

Economicallyneedy

Migrant

DemographicDataCollierCountyvs.immokalee

CollierCounty Immokalee

CollierCounty Immokalee

Hispanic 49% 81%

Hai3an 11% 15%

Forignborn 23% 43%

Speakenglishathome 47% 22%

Speakspanish 42% 65%

Speakcreole 7% 9%

belowpovertyline 14% 42%

Economicallyneedy 64% 97%

Migrant 9% 43%

MediumHouseholdincome/leighAcres

$62,126/$40,226 26,684

Early childhood educa<on resources

Type Gold Seal

Accredited

Offer VPK Quality

Unknown

Total

Providers

Child care Facilities 5 4 5 14

Family Providers (Lrg and Sm) 0 1 30 31

Non-public Schools 0 1 0 1

Public Schools 0 5 0 5

Total 5 1 1 3 5 5 1

TheGuadalupeCentercurrentlyservesatotalof270childrenagessixweekstofiveyearsold.

Source:FloridaKindergartenscreener(FLKRS)test

Schools in Immokalee

•  ElementarySchools•  EdenPark•  Highlands•  ImmokaleeCommunity•  LakeTrafford•  Pinecrest•  VillageOaks

• MiddleSchools•  Immokalee

• HighSchools•  Immokalee

• Alterna6veSchools•  ImmokaleeTechnologyAcademy•  ImmokaleeTechnologyCenter•  Immokaleeteenparen3ng•  NewBeginningsImmokalee•  Stepstothefuture•  ThePaceProgram•  ThePhoenixProgram

Elementary Schools

English

MathScience

Immokalee BestSchools Collier

Source:Colliercountytestscores

Percent>3 English Math ScienceImmokalee 32 44 31BestSchools 80 81 76Collier 55 63 54

Middle School Test Results

English

MathScience

Immokalee BestSchools CollierC

Source:Colliercountytestscores

Percent>3 English Math Science

Immokalee 38 26 24

BestSchools 68 65 61

CollierC 57 52 51

High School Test Scores

English

Algebra!

Algebra2

Geometry

Biology

History

Immokalee BestSchools CollierC

Source:Colliercountytestscores

Percent>3 English Algebra! Algebra2Geometry Biology History

Immokalee 32 19 34 40 50 58

BestSchools 75 82 82 78 85 84

CollierC 55 68 72 66 68 68

CollegeReadinessIndex

APteated

APPASSEDMathProficiency

EnglishProficiency

CollierHighschools

Immokalee Average

Immokaleehighschoolgradua3onrate:89%

Source:USNewsandworldreportsurvey

Take away from the radar charts

•  Immokaleestudents’academicperformanceattheprekslightlylagstheoverallCollierschooldistrictandsubstan3allylagsthebestschoolsinColliercounty•  ThepreKresourcesinImmokaleeareeffec3veinpreparingchildrenforelementaryschool

• ButImmokaleestudentssignificantlyfallbehindthedistrictattheendofelementaryschoolandthegapgrowsduringmiddleschoolandhighschool• Academicinequali3esmagnifyasstudentstransi3onfrom“learningtoread”,whichtakesplacefromprekthroughearlyelementaryschool(3rd/4thgrade),to“readingtolearn”.

Agriculture: Immokalee’s Economic Engine

Makeclassawareofthemajorcurrentandfuturechallengesfacingtheagriculturalbusiness,farmworkersandimmigrantsintheImmokaleecommunityandhowthevariouscommunitysectorsarerespondingtoandaddressingthesechallenges

Agriculture is the economic engine of Immokalee

•  Agricultureaccountsfor60%ofallemploymentand20%ofallbusinessestablishments• Immokalee’sCropsincludeCucumbers,bellpeppers,citrus• Athirdofourfreshtomatoes,and90%ofthenaDon’swintertomatoes,aregrowninFlorida

HoweverFloridaAgricultureandhenceImmokaleeareunderpressure:

Labor – Decline of Immigrant workers are entering the USA

•  Florida'svegetableindustryisheavilyreliantonmigrantlabor.•  manyoftheselaborersareundocumented

•  "Theflowofnewarrivals(toworkonfarms)hasstopped,"•  "It'sthepeoplenewlyinthiscountrywhowilldotheworkthatpeopleheredon'twanttodo."

• Mexico'sfallingferDlityratedroppedfrom7.2to2.5childrenperfamilyfrom1960sto2000,accordingtodatafromtheUnitedNaDons.•  Lowwagesaren'ttheissue,acommissionof$2.50abox."Agoodpickercando10or12boxesperhour,"earningmorethan$200aday,•  Theaverageisabouthalfthat.•  Wageshavegrownfrom$7.80in2002to$10.35perhourin2011

Labor Shortage – H2A Visas •  H2Avisaprogram-bringsintemporaryagricultureworkersfromLaDnAmerica.•  Expensive.•  Grower’sresponsibility•  morethan$1,000intransportaDonandgovernmentvisafeesforeachlaborer•  thecostofhousing•  theworkers'hourlypay,whichbylawhastomeetorexceedthatofAmericanlaborers'.

•  ChangestolawunderTrumpadministraDon

ShortfallofimmigraDonismiDgatedbyH2Avisasandthedropintheneedforworkers

Declining Resident Farm Workers

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Resident 121,673 106,985 106,534 105,279 104,142 96,726 89,173 89,794 89,798

H2avisa 31774 31392 37149 50791 64404 60112 55921 55382 65345

153,447 138,377 143,683 156,070 168,546 156,838 145,094 145,176 155,143

•  Source:U.S.BureauofLaborStaDsDcs,QuarterlyCensusofEmploymentandWages;U.S.DepartmentofLabor,NaDonal

Forces Challenging Immokalee’s Future

PressuresofFlorida’sAgriculture

CROPYIELD

CROPDISEASE

CONSUMPTION

DECLINES

EXPENSES

IMPORTS

INCREASES

DECLINEIN

LABORDEMAND

HURICANEIRMA

Year 2004 2005 2015 2016

OrangecropYield(millionboxes)

204 242 89 70.Diseasedestroyed75%ofFloridaorangeandgrapefruitcrop

Citrusgreening obliterated75percentofFlorida’sorangeandgrapefruitcrop

DecliningDomesHcDemandConsumpHon/person/year

5.49gallons 3.95gallons

LaborDemandDecline 18percentfewerworkersthanfiveyearsago

IncreasingExpenses

$850/acre $2,250/acre

DecliningLanduse(ACRES)

750,000incitrus

126,000abandonedgroves

130,000acresofghostorchards476,000acresincitrus

DecliningLanduse

Developershaveboughtup1millionacresoffarmlandinthelast10years

Imports-pricewar 1/5oftotalUSAconsumpHon

1/3oftomatoconsumpHon2.4billion/yr

•  8millionboxesofcitrusharvestedin2014inColliercounty

Whether Immokalee?

•  Immokalee’spastandpresenthavebeenintricacyintertwinedwiththefortunesofagriculture• Agricultureisundersiege:decliningdemand,compeDDveimports;increasingexpenses,dieses;lesslandunderculDvaDon;lessneedformanpower•  Immokaleeisaruralslum,whichifconDnuetorelyonagriculturewillfail,asmanyruraltownshaveinAmerica•  ManyeffortsbymanygoodcapableorganizaDonsandagencyshaveworkedinImmokalee,butlijlehaschanged

The Future of Immokalee

• WhatistheimpactonImmokaleefutureofthedeclineofagriculturalproducDon,henceacorrespondingdeclineinfarmworkers.• HowisImmokaleerespondingtothischallenge?• WavingImpactFees•  Businessincubator

Lipman Family Farms 02/16/2017

2

Macro Overview

u  Florida agriculture is a multi billion dollar contributor to our economy, 2nd only to tourism.  

u  Florida farms cover more than 9 million acres and are a model of conservation.

u  Farmers, due to advances like micro-drip irrigation, are using 50% of the water today than they were just 10 years ago. That is 13 billion gallons of water! 

u  Southwest Florida has been helping to feed the nation for decades. The winter months give us nearly perfect weather (80 degrees during the day and 60 at night) to grow vegetables. 

3

Macro Overview

u  But the pressures against farming are significant.

u  When I entered the produce business in 1985, there were over 100 tomato growers in the state of Florida. Today there are 12...and that number will go down this year.

u  Since we began harvesting in October, we have sold millions of boxes of beautiful tomatoes and vegetables...all at a loss.

u  There is static demand so the perfect weather and improved farming techniques of today have given us an excess supply.

u  Increased supply causes a rush to the bottom as farmers know that they need to "sell it or smell it". 

4

Lipman Overview

u  North America’s Largest Open Field Tomato Grower

u  Divided into 2 Sections:

u  Farming

u  Florida

u  South Carolina

u  Virginia

u  California

u  Mexico

u  Value Added

u  Repack and Processing

u  13 Locations

5

Lipman Overview

u  We employ thousands of people.

u  Many of them are migrant laborers.

u  In the 6 short years since I have been running this company, we have continually lost our ability to find people.

u  Our average harvester makes over $30,000/year, far more than alternative jobs, but pressures have continued to shrink our supply of people.

u  Florida is now a model of social responsibility, but this is tough work.

u  Let me be very clear, regardless of what you hear from our national leaders...these are hard working, God fearing, law abiding people who do work that no one else wants to do

6

Lipman Overview

u  Tomatoes are the world's largest vegetable category. (technically a fruit)

u  Global production is around 130 million tons.

u  About 2/3 is fresh market and the rest is used for processing. 

u  Lipman Farm #7 here in Naples is the largest continuous tomato farm in the US encompassing nearly 5,000 acres.

u  Each year we lay over 3,000 miles of plastic mulch and plant around 9 million tomato plants.

u  We use over 31,000 miles of twine to tie the crop. 

7

Lipman Overview

u  It takes about 100 days for a plant to be ready for harvest.

u  The average yield is about 12 pounds per plant, but this year has been more than that.

u  In the months of November and December we packed over 500,000 more boxes than last year on the same number of planted acres.

u  That is why the market is so cheap. 

u  This time of the year, nearly 800 people harvest around 2 million pounds of tomatoes a day on our Naples Farm.

u  That is nearly 50 tractor trailers of product.

u  There are over 80 John Deere tractors on that one farm.

u  In total, Lipman owns over 450 John Deere units. 

 

8

Lipman Overview

Coastal Brokers 2011

The Produce Exchange 2014

Western Repacking

Sam’s Produce 2015

Legend Distributing 2014

Comb’s Produce 2012

North Carolina (Branscomb Produce 2012)

The Produce Exchange 2014

The Produce Exchange 2014

Tennessee

New Jersey

Florida

The Produce Exchange 2014

9

Lipman Future

u  The Lipman Family has a long term view of business and allows the leadership team to do the right thing. 

u  There will most likely be fewer tomato farmers in Florida next year, but we will be here.

u  We will plant the same number of acres and wait for the market to change.

u  We have a debt free balance sheet that gives us the power to think long term. 

u  What does the future hold?

u  Farming will be tough. We know that.

u  Sustainability will be a given.

u  Competition from Mexico will continue to put pressure on us and land costs will force more out of farming.

u  The best farm land in Florida is along the coast. We know that is now nearly all developed. 

u  It will take committed families like the Lipmans to feed us. 

u  Abraham Lincoln referred to agriculture as the "vital interest of the nation". Never was a more accurate statement made!