SUGAR IN THE EVERGLADES

At first, vegetable and sugar farms in the Everglades struggled and failed. Farmers needed more land, reliable labor, and knowledge of growing conditions in reclaimed muck. By mid-century, the small farms of the 1910s had been consolidated into large plantations in the Upper Everglades, and farmers had acquired the knowledge and labor to successfully farm crops. Beginning in the 1960s, growers concentrated upon sugar, and increased the number of acres under cultivation. The water table was lowered to stimulate sugarcane growth, and the nutrient-laden water that flowed south from the fields altered the vegetation in the Everglades. In many places, for example, cattails replaced sawgrass.

Next: Lower Everglades Settlements