The eleventh “One Night in the Tropics” captured the true taste of South Florida and took center stage. Held on November 1 at the UF/IFAS TREC in Homestead, the event—officially kicking off Farmers Month—brought together community members, researchers, and growers for an evening of tropical-inspired food, drinks, and music. With Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins serving as title sponsor, guests were treated to a meal built from locally grown, farmer-donated produce.
In the kitchen, chefs turned that harvest into a dinner for nearly 300 attendees, crafting a starfruit salad, calabaza fritters, and dishes featuring fresh mango, avocado, okra, and microgreens picked from just miles away.
Sudeep Adhikari, a graduate research assistant at UF/IFAS Tropical Research & Education Center (TREC) attended the event. “The okra tasted on a different level—fresh, crisp, and full of real flavor,” Sudeep Adhikari said.
The farmland in Miami-Dade’s historic Redland area is shrinking as urban growth and a changing agricultural market pressure property owners to make room for homes. This is raising concerns among agricultural leaders, who say the food security of the nation and its $2.7 billion agriculture industry are at risk.
The Redland region is located south of Cutler Bay and west of Homestead. It is one of the few agricultural zones in the continental United States that can grow a large range of tropical crops. The rare oolitic limestone soil and its subtropical climate allows farmers to grow lychee, guava, dragon fruit, winter vegetables, and mangoes that supply the national markets and the county.
Researchers say that the system is in danger.
Dr. Edward “Gilly” Evans, an agricultural economist and director of the UF/IFAS Tropical Research Center and Education Center in Homestead, shares that this fall has been in process over the last few decades.
“We have been witnessing a steady decline in this precious natural resource with acreage declines from about 120,000 in the 50s and about 59,000 as of the 2017 Census,” Evan said.
He also stated that the policies, such as the Urban Development Boundary, are the cause of a slowed development and are not enough to fix these trends.
The reduction has consequences for the farming economy and extends beyond the Redland region.
“Miami-Dade County has been known as the winter vegetable basket for the USA because it is capable of supplying a large portion of U.S. fresh vegetable demand during this period,” Evans said. Production has declined as a result of reduction in farmland. The agricultural industry provides about 14,000 people which generates outside revenue, It supposed the economic activity through the “multiplier effect.”
This issue is personal for the farmers living in the region.
Catalina Obando did not grow up farming. She was born and raised in Medellin, Colombia. In 2019 she moved to Redland and has been based there ever since. As an adult she began gardening out of love for plants, and that is where her journey started. She is the owner of Spring in a Box, a woman owned five acre farm-based business in Homestead that creates resources for the community and grows herbs. It started with selling to the public for commercial purposes, but now they focus on education and sustainable gardening.
“The land gave me the chance to grow food, learn, and build something meaningful with my own hands,” she said. “It’s not poetic for me – it’s day-to-day work, but it changed my life in a good way.”
Obando fears the continued disappearance of farmland and the loss will be permanent. “People don’t realize how many immigrant families depend on agriculture for their jobs and stability.”
Many workers of the farms are tied to vegetable farms, nurseries, packing facilities, trucking companies, and fruit operations. They all rely on the year-round growing season of the Redland.
The county document issued in 2023 titled Resolution R-423-2022 notes that more than 20,000 acres of farmlands have already been lost because of suburban expansion. The change is happening rapidly alongside population growth and development pressures.
Advocates warn county residents that the results could influence and reshape the food landscape of Miami-Dade because the county is already importing a large portion of produce from other countries and states. The increase in reliance on suppliers could potentially make fresh food vulnerable to storms and the prices will skyrocket.
Miami-Dade County Agricultural Manager Charles LaPradd emphasized the importance of farmland. “The nation’s domestic winter fresh food supply is reliant on Southern Florida and Southern California,” LaPradd said. “Without this domestic food production, the country is beholden to foreign producers for fresh vegetables between November and April.”
Redland has a lot of cultural importance. The crops help sustain culinary traditions that are central to Asian, Caribbean, and Latin American communities in South Florida. This includes mamey sapote, sugarcane, starfruit, lychee, and malanga. These are foods that cannot be replaced easily if production moves locations. As Obando states, “Protecting farmland is protecting people, culture, and a key part of Florida’s economy.”
The county officials are looking into the issue and discussing long-term planning strategies, such as zoning protections, incentives for agricultural operations, and farmland preservation programs.
The area is largely zoned agricultural, meaning the land is designated for farming and prevents most residential and urban development. No major land-use protection has been proposed, but they continue to face the pressure from developers and residents who demand more housing.
“If the agricultural industry disappears, we lose more than just farmland,” Evans said. “We lose livelihoods, food security, environmental benefits, and a vital part of Miami-Dade’s identity.”
Investing directly in the next generation of innovation and impact, this year’s “One Night in the Tropics” underscored how supporting future scientists are essential to strengthening the agricultural industry; especially as farmland continues to disappear in the Redland community. Students are driving research to help producers improve efficiency and develop sustainable practices that protect natural resources while still feeding a growing population. In alignment with this mission, the event launched Challenge 180, a bold initiative to raise $180,000 by 2026 to fully fund one Ph.D. student for four years, ensuring continued scientific progress that supports agriculture in Redland and across Florida.
“History shows that once land is converted to non-agricultural uses, it is lost. Without land, there will be no farming,” LaPradd said.
