ABSTRACT
Lake County had traditionally grown a variety of crops for its own consumption as well as for market and export. As early as 1887, when the county was founded, Lake County produced citrus, grapes, fruits, vegetables, forage crops, livestock and poultry. More recently, the county made the tragic mistake of investing too much of the community agricultural infrastructure in one monocrop. The suburbanization of the rural landscape is apparent and the focus on construction and suburban sprawl has caused a shift in the economy. Many economic and social impacts are being seen throughout our changing communities. Being lumped into the Orlando Metropolitan Area for the purposes of gathering statistics has grossly skewed the data used by Lake County to develop policy. The school board, responsible for educating the next generation of Lake Countians has no representative from the agricultural community.
