The Altered System Figure 25.
Sugarcane fields south of Lake Okeechobee.
Agricultural activity increased in the 1920's as more and more peat soil in the northern Everglades was drained. Increasing availability of farm machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides allowed for intensive farming and farming of marginal lands. Vegetables from the region provide a large part of the Nation's winter supply. Much of the farming in south Florida depends on the rich muck land for the production of sugarcane, snap beans, celery, cabbage, sweet corn, as well as other crops. However, oxidation is progressively removing this important rich organic soil.