Agriculture and natural resources oriented public policy issues are often addressed reactively by stakeholders, lobbyists and the “expert system” comprising the land-grant university and its extension arm. However, we contend that change in the nature and intensity of these issues necessitates a new approach, one focused on addressing national and statewide public policy education objectives in a more proactive, consistent, and systematic way.

When asked what are the most important agriculture and natural resources issues affecting Floridians, stakeholders have consistently indicated that, regardless of the specific context, the most important priorities that need to be addressed in order to achieve successful resolution of these issues are:

• Lack of knowledge of agriculture, natural resources and the connections between the two;
• Lack of civic engagement due to complexity of systems within the agriculture and natural resource sectors.